Seeking their family's approval to get married, Wong Fei Hung (Jet Li) and cousin Yee (Rosamund Kwan) travel to Shanghai. Delayed at the train station when Yee bumps into a former suitor in the shape of Russian officer Tumanovsky (John Wakefield) from the International College, Fei Hung arrives too late to stop his father's premises being smashed up by Triad Chui and his fearsome enforcer, the unorthodox martial artist Iron Foot (Xin Xin Xiong)
It transpires that Governor Li's Lion King competition, intended to demonstrate Chinese martial prowess to the foreign invaders, is backfiring somewhat by setting the various martial arts schools and groups against one another.
Fei Hung manages to convince most of his father's rivals to compete fairly and settle their differences during the lion dance contest itself, but fails with Chu, who resolves that if the incorruptible Fei Hung cannot be b(r)ought onto his side he must be taken care of…
Meanwhile, Yee discovers that Tumanovsky is involved in a plot against Governor Li, designed to destablise China still further and pave the way for foreign intervention…
And, if this isn't enough, the pair still have to explain why they are here in the first instance…
Though still an enjoyable, reasonably well-made film in its own right, Once Upon a Time in China 3 suffers by comparison to its illustrious predecessors.
Rather than giving us one well developed, interesting antagonist the film-makers give us two half-formed, somewhat inconsistent ones, suggesting – as actor John Wakefield confirms in his DVD interview – that Tsui Hark and his team were sometimes making things up as they went along.
Nor do the actions scenes seem up to the same high standards as those of the first two films. While Iron Foot's wire-enhanced duels with Wong Fei Hung and his father get us off to a good start, interest may wane somewhat with the lion dances that predominate thereafter, these being harder to follow and affording fewer opportunities for the performers to demonstrate their martial skills directly.
There's also a growing sense that the theme of China coming to terms with the west is running out of places to go, whether it be Fei Hung and Foon's happily travelling by train at the start, in contrast to their nervousness in Once Upon a Time in China 2 , or Fei Hung's father installing a steam engine and effectively mechanising the process of producing his traditional medicines.
On the plus side, the Fei Hung/Yee relationship moves towards its inevitable conclusion, adding some romance and comedy to the mix, while Iron Foot makes a useful addition to the team when, after being injured and abandoned by Chui, he is nursed back to health by Fei Hung and his friends.
Hong Kong Legends can generally be relied upon to deliver a quality DVD package and their Region 2 DVD of Once Upon a Time in China 3 is no exception.
The A/V materials have undergone the usual remastering and remixing job, with new 5:1 sound mixes replacing the original 2.0.
As with Once Upon a Time in China 2 the reliance of some jokes on miscommunication and mistranslation means one is better watching the film with the Cantonese language track accompanied by English subtitles.
Inevitably Bey Logan's commentary track overlaps somewhat with those for the previous entries in the series, although he continues to impress with his knowledge of not only Hong Kong action cinema – apparently there are two Yuen clans at work in the industry, so the action choreographer here is unrelated to the action choreographer on the first two films despite their sharing the name – but also historical and cultural background details like the Dowager Empress and lion dance.
Over the course of his 23 minute interview Tsui Hark talks about the historical background to Wong Fei Hung, the character's relevance in a contemporary context with regrd to the need for an exchange of ideas between the West and China, the fact that no one really knows much about the real historical figure being a oon to the imaginative film-maker, the industry and more – he has a lot to say and it's worth hearing at least once.
John Wakefield's interview segment is shorter – 11 minutes – and more focussed on the film. He emphasises that Hark was a demanding director to work for, and indicates that Tumanovsky was originally slated to be a martial artist type who would go mano a mano with Fei Hung, but that this idea had to be shelved when it became apparent that – with a limited talent pool of western actors to draw from – there was no prospect of getting someone who could both act and fight on this occasion.
The biography of Jet Li is the same one as was included on the Once Upon a Time in China 2 DVD, though is presented here sans voice over and as a series of individual pages of text which you can move through at your own pace.
Trailers and stills galleries round off the package.
Overall the film and DVD are worthwhile for followers of the series who want to see how it ends – yes, I know there are another two sequels and Once Upon a Time in China and America , but it feels like a natural conclusion – though newcomers would be better advised to start at the beginning.
Copyright © K H Brown 2002-2005
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