Once Upon A Time In China 2

Once Upon A Time in China was an incredible movie, mixing interesting human characters (played by Kung Fu legends) with wondrous cinematography and incredible fight choreography. How do you follow up such a film?

Apparently you enlist Wushu wonderkid Donnie Yen and master action director Yuen Woo Ping and combine with a very strong plot, complete with added sprinkling of Temple of Doom.

Once Upon a Time In China 2 opens in the bowels of a temple as a young girl chants the chorus of the White Lotus group. The White Lotus is a fanatically xenophobic sect who follows their leader on a brutal purge of all western influences. We are introduced to the leader right at the start of the film as he and his followers eat fire, roll around in fire, and take gunshots to the chest.

While it’s easy to assume at this point that the temple leader is going to be another shade of grey villain in a series that is fervently nationalistic it becomes quickly clear that the White Lotus are just straight villains, a fact proved within minutes when a Dalmatian is ordered to be immolated for the simple crime of being western.

While there are a few moments of symmetry between Fei Hung and the White Lotus group, the famous Wong Fei Hung theme actually fades in and uses the same basic beat as the White Lotus groups theme, it is apparent that The White Lotus group are bad guys.

The main plot structure is once again fairly simple. Wong Fei Hung, 13th Aunt and new apprentice Foon (no longer played by Yuen Biao despite the character actually having things to do this time round) arrive in Canton to attend a medical seminar and attract the unwanted attention of the White Lotus group during a march. Despite his efforts to not get involved Fei Hung finds himself drawn into the conflict and ultimately galvanised to act after witnessing a massacre at a school for learning foreign languages.

While the central plot is relatively straightforward the secondary plot involving General Lan’s (Donnie Yen) plot to find and detain a duo of revolutionaries seems to be added to just give the film a second climactic fight. In fact the second plot’s relation to the main film is quite suspect in that it seems entirely separate from everything else that is happening, barring perhaps a few scenes involving the revolutionaries.

While the secondary plot does seem somewhat shoehorned in it does allow for the inclusion of two of the finest fights in the film, and perhaps in the series. The two encounters between Fei Hung and Lan are both explosive and precise showcasing the raw energy and charisma that both stars have. In fact the climactic battle while lacking the sheer poetry of the ladder fight from its predecessor is a raw and visceral experience which has its own fair share of tricks. While at times it seemed that Fei Hung and Iron Robe Yim were merely sparring with each other the fatal intent in the Lan/Fei Hung duels is never less than clear.

Yuen Woo Ping does a fine job in crafting fights which are both intricate and heavy hitting. In fact the penultimate duel handled by anyone else could have been a mess of wire fu antics. But in Yuen Woo Ping’s hand the rather esoteric fight, Fei Hung and the White Lotus leader battle for dominance of a series of impromptu altars, is granted a near poetic feel. While it transcends the barriers of believability there is something awe inspiring about the sheer ingenuity to create the fight using little more than practical effects and two able martial artists.

Despite some seriously impressive fight choreography where Once Upon A Time In China 2 shines is in Tsui Hark’s desire to experiment as a filmmaker. While he has always been good at conveying grandeur and emotion in this film he starts to experiment with ideas not seen before in his movies. The most noticeable thing is the montage sequence that takes place near the end of the first act which demonstrates the White Lotus attacks throughout the city. However there are other things which are refreshingly different such as Aunt Yee’s shadow dancing during a training session, the way the camera moves instead of keeping the stately but stoic stance of the previous film, and the use of unnatural lighting (such as in the temple scenes at the end).

In the end Once Upon A Time in China 2 is probably a far more accessible film than its predecessor simply because the line between good and evil is more distinct. The foreigners are still an effete bunch of ne’er-do-wells but the bad guys are definitely evil and lack any of the sympathy Iron Robe Yim was given. The movie is good fun, has an interesting plot, some incredible action scenes, and a good dose of humour (probably the best integrated in all the series). The only problem for me lies with the fact that Fei Hung is not as likeable in this film as he was in Once Upon A Time In China.

In many ways it surpasses the original and is far more inventive but a lack of emotional resonance in the conflict means that Once Upon A Time In China 2 is an equal to its prequel. Which still makes it a fantastic movie

8.5/10