Criterion US Blu-ray Synopsis: One of the pinnacles of Hong Kong cinema's golden age, the Once Upon A Time In China series set a new standard for martial-arts spectacle and launched action star Jet Li to international fame. It brings to vivid life the colourful world of China in the late nineteenth century, an era of immense cultural and technological change, as Western imperialism clashed with tradition and public order was upended by the threats of foreign espionage and rising nationalism. Against this turbulent backdrop, one man – the real-life martial-arts master, physician, and folk hero Wong Fei Hung – emerges as a noble protector of Chinese values as the country hurtles toward modernity. Conceived by Hong Kong New Wave leader Tsui Hark, this epic cycle is not only a dazzling showcase for some of the most astonishing action set pieces ever committed to film but also a rousing celebration of Chinese identity, history, and culture. Tsui Hark returned to the director's chair for the rollicking comedic adventure Once Upon A Time In China 5, in which the indomitable hero Wong Fei Hung (Vincent Zhao) tangles with a band of ruthless, finger-removing pirates who are exploiting the political chaos created by the invasion of foreigners in order to terrorize the Chinese coast. The fist-and-foot kung-fu set pieces – including a showstopping, gold-hued melee set in a warehouse full of pirate treasure – are plentiful, but Tsui ups the ante by introducing acrobatic gun-play to the proceedings, infusing this furiously entertaining crowd-pleaser with a bracing jolt of John Woo-style bullet-ballet mayhem. (101 Mins)

 

Views: The legend of Wong Fei Hung has been around for a long time. Of course, he was a real-life character born in 1847 in Foshan, that was challenged by many fighters across the land and was believed to have, seemingly, never lost a fight. While his true life story was most likely a bit more modest than those we are led to believe, it hasn't stopped the folk-hero from becoming the subject matter of hundreds of cinematic outings for over 70 years. Just as famous as the man himself was actor Kwan Tak Hing; a man who played the kung-fu master in a record-breaking 81 films from 1949 right through to the early 80s where he would complete his journey with roles as the master in The Magnificent Butcher, The Magnificent Kick, and the awesome Dreadnaught as well as a nod to the character in Dean Shek's 1986 comedy, The Family Strikes Back. As Kwan's appearances as Fei Hung started to slow down, other studios would attempt to tell their own stories of the kung-fu master including the Shaw Brothers, which would see actors such as Ku Feng and Gordon Liu taking up the mantle – with the latter being directed by the late Lau Kar Leung whose own father was a student of Butcher Wing – himself a student of Wong Fei Hung. Of course, the much-loved character would find a new lease of life courtesy of Jackie Chan in Drunken Master, with the superstar returning to the role of Wong Fei Hung in Drunken Master 2 about 15 years later – just as the Once Upon A Time In China hype was really kicking off, and Jet Li was seen as the next best Wong Fei Hung to many. While many others would step in the role over the years (both on the big screen and in many television shows), with the late Jimmy Wang Yu even getting the chance to play him in Sammo Hung's Millionaires Express, it would seem that Hong Kong audiences were tiring of Wong Fei Hung's adventures by the time Once Upon A Time In China 5 had its cinematic run. With a severe drop in numbers at the box-office and mixed reviews from the critics, it's understandable why Tsui would take things to the small screen soon after with Vincent Zhao, Max Mok, Hung Yan Yan and Kent Cheng continuing their roles in the Wong Fei Hung Series – a 20 episode collection of television movies that proved to gain a decent audience from 1995 – 1996...

 

I had waited years to see Once Upon A Time In China 5. Well over 25 years, in fact! And it was only thanks to the release of Criterion's complete film series that I had the pleasure of finally viewing it – and with a 2K restoration at that. After hearing horror stories and reading bad reviews over the years, I have to admit that I was actually pleasantly surprised with the film and, even though I can see its flaws and did feel that it could have been better, have enjoyed going back to this swashbuckling chapter of Wong Fei Hung time and time again. The great Vincent Zhao returns once again in the role of Wong who, along with his father, aunties, and students, are heading to Hong Kong, when they find the port town they must leave from desolate and ravaged by pirates. Teaming up with some desperate officials in the town, Fei Hung heads-up a new crime prevention force to take down the pirate army and return the stolen riches to the fearful townsfolk – as well as juggling an awkward love triangle between him and his two aunts!

 

Making his feature film debut as the wicked Governor who faces off against Jet Li in the awesome Fong Sai Yuk, Chinese actor Zhao Wen Zhuo (aka Chiu Man Cheuk) landed the role as Wong Fei Hung the very same year for the previous chapter. It was a great start for him with a role following that in Tsui Hark's romance-fantasy, Green Snake, before he would return here and then the television movies. Zhao would stick with Tsui this same year for a further two films including The Chinese Feast and awesome One-Armed Swordsman reimagining, The Blade. While a few more great titles would follow, such as Mahjong Dragon, The Blacksheep Affair, and Body Weapon, Zhao would see a shift in direction at the turn-of-the-century where he would star in more successful television shows than films including Tai Chi, Seven Swordsmen, Wind & Cloud, and Hua Mulan – but would see a resurgence of sorts when he starred as Beggar So in Yuen Woo Ping's fantastic True Legend. From there, Vincent Zhao made a welcome return to the big screen and returned to the role of Wong Fei Hung in films such as The Unity Of Heroes, Warriors Of The Nation, and Kung-Fu League respectively. While he's often had a lot of criticism and negative reviews surrounding his work, I've always enjoyed watching Zhao on-screen, and thoroughly enjoy him in the role of the legendary Wong Fei Hung. After a crazy busy year with no less than 10 features going on including the Tsui Hark produced/Benny Chan directed Magic Crane, Blade Of Fury, Love Is A Fairy Tale, End Of The Road, The Assassin, and Once Upon A Time In China 3 of course, Rosamund Kwan returns as Aunt Yee – this time sharing the screen with Jean Wang as the 14th Aunt; the replacement for Wong's love interest which goes on to create a weird love-triangle of sorts. Also returning is Kent Cheng as Butcher Wing, a character that made such an impression in the first film of the series, I was actually disappointed that he didn't show up in any others until now. Once again though, Cheng does a great job in the role and brings a lot of comedy to the film along with Bucktooth So – this time played by Roger Kwok instead of Jacky Cheung. Lau Shun puts in another turn as Wong Kai Ying – Fei Hung's well-respected father, and the handsome Max Mok returns as Leung Foon, delivering yet another fun performance that allows him to getting in on the action and play the comedy sidekick. Like many Hong Kong stars of his generation, and most before him, Mok made his debut as an actor in the Shaw Brothers studios starting with The Enchantress, a film directed by Chor Yuen. From there, the handsome hero would go on to star in films such as Holy Flame Of The Martial World, Journey Of The Doomed, Last Eunuch In China, The Dragon Family, Pedicab Driver, Outlaw Brothers, and so much more. His role here as Foon just elevated his status even more, with Mok continuing to play the character through every sequel (and series) except for part 6. And the great Hung Yan Yan returns as the popular Clubfoot – aka Ghost Foot Seven – the kick-ass rickshaw puller with an attitude who is now a dedicated follower of Wong Fei Hung. Having made his debut opposite Jet Li in Shaolin Temple 3: Martial Arts Of Shaolin, Hung would go on to appear in films such as Tiger On The Beat 1 & 2, Aces Go Places 5, City Cops, God Of Gamblers, and Skinny Tiger, Fatty Dragon before joining Tsui for his run in the Once Upon A Time In China series. I really love him in this role, with his wild style of martial-arts action just adding even more excitement to the mix – boosted even more here as a permanent member of the team and doubling-up (once again) as the assistant fight choreographer to Yuen Bun.

 

Chinese actor Zhang Tie Lan, who played Dr. Sun Yat Sen in Once Upon A Time In China 2, dons a beard to play a new character in this chapter – that of the Official Chief Constable – who befriends Wong Fei Hung after a mix-up sees them trade moves due to a misunderstanding. In the year between both films, Zhang would also star in the Tsui Hark produced Magic Crane for director Benny Chan, which would also see him star alongside Rosamund Kwan. Popular bit-player and action-choreographer Paco Yick Tin Hung plays dual roles, one of which is a constable to Zhang's character, and the other as Devil Cheung – the feared legendary pirate who is so old, many believe he died a long time ago. Starting as a bit-player in Tommy Fan's 1982 thriller, Gang Of Five, Paco has since went on to star in over 100 titles including Winners & Sinners, Hocus Pocus, Armour Of God, In The Line Of Duty 4, City Hunter, House Of Fury, Rob-B-Hood, and much more – with some roles proving to be a little bigger than others. The mid 80s would see him shift into stunt-work and choreography, going on to handle the martial-arts action in films such as Blood Stained Tradewind, City Cop, Warriors Of Virtue, No Problem 2, and Once Upon A Time In China 4 where he would assist Yuen Bun which no doubt led to his role here, as well as him continuing to help Bun in the action department. He plays the big boss to an exciting band of nasties including famed actor/director/choreographer Stephen Tung Wai, who plays Junior Cheung who leads his men with a fearless attitude – killing anyone that gets in his way. Of course, everyone knows him best for his role in Enter The Dragon where he plays the kid that gets a lesson from Bruce, but Tung Wai has been in plenty more superb titles over the years including Executioners From Shaolin, The Shaolin Plot, Mars Villa, Incredible Kung Fu Master, Hocus Pocus, Pom Pom & Hot Hot, and Extreme Challenge which would also be the last film he would have directed to date after Magic Cop, Fox Hunter, and Jet Li's Hitman. As an action-choreographer, Tung Wai has been behind a incredible number of impressive works from Mars Villa to Peacock King, The Blade to Kung Fu Jungle, Magnificent Warriors to Bodyguards & Assassins, and so much more. I really enjoyed him in his role here as deadly pirate Junior Cheung, where he gets to impress with his martial skill a number of times throughout the film. He is joined by fan favourites Dion Lam, Sam Ho, Kenji Tanigaki, and Paul Wong with the lovely Elaine Lui delivering a scene stealing role as Ying – the only female member of the pirate army. While she only starred in 12 films from 1986 to 1995, Elaine made quite the impression with Hong Kong film fans since her debut in The Innocent Interloper (a personal favourite) followed by her two most famous titles, Iron Angels 1 & 2. From there, Lui had enjoyable roles in Stanley Tong's Stone-Age Warriors, Sammo Hung's Ghostpunting, and Ronny Yu's Bride With White Hair. Her final few years saw her play more and more crazed characters, one of which was here in Once Upon A Time In China 5, with her wild role in Yuen Woo Ping's Red Wolf standing as her last to date – aside from a surprise appearance in Sammo Hung's popular US television series, Martial Law years later.

 

So what makes this particular chapter of the series a little less appealing? Well to be honest, I don't believe that Tsui Hark's heart was fully in it. Made between a sandwich of self-directed comedy-dramas with The Lovers and The Chinese Feast (with the latter also starring Vincent Zhao) which, in turn, had fantasy romantic-dramas either side of them, I felt that the direction in Once Upon A Time In China 5 was a little messier to begin with than in previous chapters. Certain scenes felt like they were just dropped in willy-nilly, and elements of time were just skipped over without thought – giving me the impression that production was rushed. It also lacked the solid story line and social commentary that was so present in previous chapters, exchanging the threat of foreign invasion for a more local problem, which wasn't necessarily a terrible choice – after all, it had been a good decade since Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung's hugely successful Project A offered fans a fun pirate adventure. But perhaps that's just the case! Once Upon A Time In China 5 is more of an adventure film featuring Wong Fei Hung, rather than the historical-drama we've been used to watching with the previous four films. In fact, this theme would continue with Once Upon A Time In China & America; a film that saw Wong Fei Hung travel to the old wild west in America. I suppose, in a way, that I find this one just as entertaining as that.

 

As mentioned previously, Yuen Bun acts as the lead action-choreographer of the film – a role he had been doing from Once Upon A Time In China 3 which also saw him take over Tsui Hark as director. With Paco Yick, Hung Yan Yan, and even Stephen Tung Wai by his side, as well as others, the action team manage to create a host of exciting fights that range from boat battles to pirate caverns, and more. The big difference is – and no doubt brought on with Tsui trying to do something different once again – that our heroes now get the chance to play with guns, allowing for plenty of fun moments of John Woo style gun-play mixed in with the crazy kung-fu fight action. And while it does seem a little odd at first to see the likes of Wong Fei Hung, Club Foot, and Bucktooth So taking aim and shooting down opponents – it actually works out and adds to the excitement of it, as well as being a precursor to Wong's next big adventure in America complete with its 'wild-west' feel. While the film opens with a few fun action-packed introductions of the pirates, Wong Fei Hung, and others, there is a bit of a lag until the first real fight scene of the movie that comes in around the 50 minute mark when Dion Lam's boat load of pirates attack. It's a pretty fun fight scene that kicks-off almost an hour of non-stop action after that. This includes a lengthy and exciting showdown between team-Wong and the pirates after they infiltrate their secret hideout, crossing paths with the crazy first-mate, Ying, and true leader of the clan, the lightning fast-but ancient Devil Cheung. I really enjoyed this action-sequence as it blends some great kung-fu fighting with frenetic gun-play on a huge scale. Surviving that, the heroes lure Junior Cheung and the rest of the pirates into the town with a show of fake celebrations – a scene that reminded me very much of a similar set-up in Mel Brooks classic comedy, Blazing Saddles – that delivers a couple of exciting showdowns between Vincent Zhao and Stephen Tung Wai, among others, in a barrage of bullets and blades that revives the epic finale of the original Once Upon A Time In China to some degree!

 

Backed once again by the movie machine that was Golden Harvest, and famed producer Ng See Yuen of Seasonal Films – director of classics such as The Secret Rivals 1 & 2, Tower Of Death, and producer of Jackie Chan's Snake In The Eagles Shadow and Drunken Master, as well as Ninja In The Dragons Den, Legend Of A Fighter, and Tsui Hark's very own Butterfly Murders and We're Going To Eat You – it's fair to say that Once Upon A Time In China 5 is not a complete failure, and for what it fails to offer in script and story it sure makes up for in its action scenes and entertainment. As mentioned, this chapter is an adventure movie, although fans would see Tsui return to the traditional way of the previous chapters for the series of television movies. And while Jet Li would return for the role of Wong Fei Hung in the aforementioned 6th entry to the Tsui Hark series, Once Upon A Time In China & America (of which, I believe, was a shitty move in leaving Vincent Zhao hanging after he officially played the character more than Li did at that stage), many others would attempt to deliver their own variations over the years, both on the small screen and cinematically, but none would match the epic scale of this beloved series. However, in 2014, up and coming director Roy Chow Hin Yeung, who was behind successful thrillers such as Murderer and Nightfall, attempted to revive and retell the story of Wong Fei Hung in Rise Of The Legend – a film that saw Eddie Peng as the new kung-fu hero, along with Hong Kong legends Sammo Hung and Tony Leung starring alongside him, and Corey Yuen Kwai delivering some of his finest modern action to date. But it was clear that fans were still hooked on Tsui's classic series – quickly writing it off, with many critics brushing it off as a failed attempt of a remake. Something it most certainly wasn't! Offering a much darker approach than any of Tsui Hark's stories, I felt that Rise Of The Legend was a fantastic film and the perfect reboot to a modern audience that should have started a whole new series representing Wong Fei Hung in a new light, as Burning Paradise did with Fong Sai Yuk. But I suppose there's still time. For now though, Tsui Hark's Once Upon A Time In China series still stands as the ultimate Wong Fei Hung collection of the new wave era, and part 5 is no exception...

 

Overall: Slow to begin but filled with plenty of great action and fun moments, Once Upon A Time In China 5 may lack the same charms that started the series, but is still a great watch!

 

Criterion Blu-ray Extras: 2K Restoration, Daring Difference: An Interview with Nan Sun Shi on the Founding of Film Workshop, Trailer

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Watch my unboxing video of this Criterion release HERE