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At a time when the hopes and dreams of every martial arts movie junkie seem to rise and fall with the coming and going of a Donnie Yen movie, the pedigree behind 'Once Upon A Time in Shanghai' reads like a wish come true. Leading the cast is the Wing Chun practitioner cum action choreographer Philip Ng, the wushu and Jackie Chan Stunt Team-trained Andy On and last but not least the no-need-for-further-introduction Sammo Hung; but perhaps even more astounding is that the action is directed by none other than Yuen Woo-Ping, who is undoubtedly a legend in his own right.

And indeed, the fight scenes are nothing short of impressive. Together with veteran action star cum choreographer Yuen Chung Yan, Yuen Woo Ping demonstrates why he is the grandmaster (pun intended) of martial arts direction. Every scene exhibits a spontaneous fluidity, one move leading to another ever so effortlessly and gracefully, and the result is balletic and beautiful in its own right. It certainly helps that the Yuens are working with real-life martial artists; despite weeks and even (in the case of Tony Leung) months of training, there is nothing quite like seeing true blue actors trained and raised on martial arts going at each other and complementing each other's styles at the same time.

Intended as a showcase for the Hong Kong-born, American-raised Ng, the multi-talented 28-year-old doesn't disappoint in the action department. The film opens with him standing up for a little girl against a group of bullies en route to Shanghai, and right from the start, Ng recalls the form, physique and intensity of Bruce Lee. He gets his first real opponent to speak of in his duel with Andy On, the ferocity and swiftness of their mutually matched blows astounding to watch. And then there is of course the extended climax, in which he takes on a trio of venerable martial arts actors including his choreographer Chung Yan, Chen Kuan-Tai and Fung Hak-O, before moving on to a younger and equally well-matched adversary in budding Mainland actor and wushu-trained Mao Jun Jie.

Those looking for Ng to have a showdown with Sammo Hung however will have to wait for another movie - both of them are cast as the good guys, with Hung playing the village head of that which Ng becomes a part of and whose younger daughter he eventually falls in love with. We might as well caution you too that Hung doesn't show off much of his prowess here; in fact, while he may receive equal billing with Ng and On, he is pretty much a second-degree supporting act, that 'alliance of kung fu masters' between Hung and Yuen Woo-Ping that the poster speaks of quite misleading in our opinion. But even with that notable omission, the action here is among some of the best we have seen in recent years in a period martial arts movie, and more than lives up to the hype that fans must have had since the announcement of the collaboration between Ng and Yuen one and a half years ago.

Next to the fighting, the rest of the movie plays like a companion piece to scriptwriter and producer Wong Jing's 'The Last Tycoon'. Like the latter, this one is also set in Shanghai in the 1920s and 30s, the 'City of Dreams' which attracted many from other provinces in China seeking fortune and fame. Like the latter too, there is an underworld element to the story, this time in the form of Andy On's Long Qi (or literally 'Dragon Seven' in Mandarin). And finally, like the latter, there is a strong whiff of patriotism, as Ng's labourer Ma Yongzhen and Long Qi join forces to defeat the Japanese spies infiltrating the city with an insidious agenda to take over it. Jing's script may not be compelling, but it provides an engaging enough narrative glue to hold the action scenes together.

Amidst it all, it is perhaps easy to forget that there is a young director Wong Ching-Po at the helm. A rather unlikely choice given his filmography, Wong's contributions here are evident in the surprisingly artful touches the film boasts. You have to credit Wong not only for giving the movie a classy feel, but also for reining in the possible excesses of Wong Jing's script - after all, a similar clichéd love story spun between Ng and Jiang Lu Xia as well as On and nightclub singer Michelle Hu Ran avoids the melodrama of 'The Last Tycoon' no doubt because of Wong's restraint.

Yes, this is probably one of the rare martial arts films that you can call elegant, and we're not talking about the action choreography. But of course, the attention here is on the up-and-rising star Philip Ng, his magnetic and perhaps even more charismatic co-star Andy On, as well as the esteemed Yuen Woo-Ping. If it isn't obvious enough, the fights are nothing less than thrilling, building up to an exhilarating finale that you'll want to watch and savour more than once. As a remake of the 1972 film 'The Boxer from Shantung' in which Chen Kuan-tai played the titular character, it is also a splendid throwback to the old-school action movies which the Hong Kong film industry was founded on. But even if that little nugget doesn't tickle your fancy, you'll still find this a fine period action movie that more than lives up to its pedigree.

This modern take on The Boxer from Shantung from 1972 from Ching-Po Wong was a chance find for myself but I'm glad I did.

Set in 30's crime ridden Shanghai the film is shot in black and white with splashes of colour.

Excellent cinematography, flawless sets, not too over the top cgi and a classic albeit very predictable storyline.

Once Upon a Time in Shanghai delivers where it needs to most - lots of quality choreographed action.

A must for any kung-fu movie nut and the casual fan alike, if you're not already a fan of Philip Ng prepare to become one.

Once Upon a Time in Shanghai (恶战) is another action-packed drama film from the legendary martial arts choreographer, Yuen Wo Ping and HK action legend, Sammo Hung. The film sets in Shanghai in the 1930s, where the city once attracted many youngsters from different provinces in China to find fortune and fame. The film has a simplistic and straightforward plot, a story about a youngster, Ma Yong Zhen, well- equipped with martial arts and possesses incredible strength on his right fist, together with an unshakable sense of morality, comes to Shanghai looking for an opportunity.

While it's nothing new here, the story is predictable as these sort of movies been done countless times before in the past, but this is a well- made stylish action film that reminds me of the HK martial arts films of the 80s and 90s about the criminal underworld and Japanese infiltration. The film features a lot of impressive martial art fight scenes...the intensity and swiftness of the fights between the actors were just astonishing to watch. You still cheer the lead character, saying 'Serves them right!' when he puts down the bad guys in the climatic battle near the end.

Although the brotherhood and romantic love themes in the films are not properly fleshed out or developed, it still engaging enough to hold the action scenes together for the audience to continue watching it until the very end. It seems that Andy On and Phillip Ng are further establishing themselves as rising action stars other than the currently famous Donnie Yen. Not a bad movie by any means, this is still a decent Chinese film to watch for martial arts action junkies.

Rating: 7/10

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Lets face it, the glory days of our Hong Kong action heroes such as Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Yuen Biao, Jet Lee and such are gone... Heck, they don't even make them the same anymore, with each new film becoming more and more Hollywood-ised which was part of the reason we loved them in the first place - gritty originality!

And with respect to all my heroes, it is nice to see a host of them standing proud alongside the next generation of action stars - namely, the handsome Philip Ng and Andy On.

Once Upon A Time In Shanghai brings these great 2 talents together under the wing of the fantastic Wong Jing, amazing Yuen Woo Ping and many more to give us an epic martial arts feature!

Sharing the screen is the always incredible Sammo Hung, Yuen Cheung Yan, Chen Kwan Tai to name but a few, each gaining a bout of screen action without ever stealing the limelight from the ass kicking Philip Ng.

Beautifully shot and directed, simple and hard hitting, OUATIS is worthy of a place in any kung fu film fans collection!!

There wasn't much local buzz for OUATIS and if the short release run is any indication, folks in Hong Kong just don't seem to care about it. What a shame, because there is so much martial art talent at the helm.

What is also a shame, is how underwhelmed I felt when the credits rolled.

I was initially attracted to up-and-coming talent that was presented as the face of this film's marketing. The pairing of dark horse Philip Ng and underdog Andy On intrigued me. They've both had minor to secondary roles in many other films that lent a glimpse of their talents. Could this finally be the big break for them to to join the ranks of Hong Kong martial arts stardom? The director was Wong Ching Po, who has gained minor fame in art-house circles with his frequently unusual, sometimes violent, but always interesting takes on popular genres. How would he approach the old chop socky genre? The involvement of Sammo Hung and Yuen Woo Ping's further escalated my curiosity. Two pillar directors and choreographers of the genre, working with a fresh director, spotlighting two able young men who have clear ability but not yet chance to shine? Could such a fresh combination result in anything short of exciting? Turns out, it fell short by quite a stretch, actually.

Let's start with the script. There's no hiding it was penned by Wong Jing. The man who, over the eons of Hong Kong film history, has written, directed, and produced a vast body of the most locally definitive but simultaneously most unbearable garbage ever put on celluloid man has ever seen. Fortunately, he restrains from unloading his bag of wacky fart jokes and idiotic schtick here, and keeps the story fairly straight forward and on track.

Unfortunately, this also translates into a story so conservative, so safe, it might as well have been ripped from the pages of an archetype textbook. Now, this might be unfair criticism, because old fashioned kung fu movies—which OUATIS styles itself after—never had elaborate plots or deep characters. Those old movies also often had silly dialogue, mischievous situations, and whimsical choreography that blended into a cohesive whole. That was back then however, and expectations have changed since.

The plot is presented as stoic and occasionally dramatic, but this angle is at odds with the overproduced action sequences and awkward, naive humor injected throughout. The resulting mix is choppy and transitions happen abruptly. It doesn't help that the dialogue itself is heavily stilted. Narrative shortcuts such as fluffy montages and poorly chosen events employed to develop a character keep the story shallow. The lack of emotional engagement leads to hollow, unearned catharsis at the end. Factors of believability, such as the use of long-knives where guns should be or On having less than 10 henchmen when he owns half the city, are sacrifices made for the sake of the action.

The actors make do with what they can, but being limited by the script there's little room here for anyone to truly shine beside On, who receives abundant screen-time to verbalize and terrorize. Sadly, On seem to be dubbed out of his native tongue, affecting his delivery. He compensates with body language that effectively portrays his character. Ng, playing a shy country boy, doesn't have as much dialogue as On, but being the protagonist means a lot of screen time, which he fills earnestly with facial and body language. His slight stiffness and obvious introversion fits his role and services the thin plot. Michelle Hu and Jiang Luxia, who play respective love interests of the leads, manage to bring a surprising amount of vibrancy into their scenes with admirable performances.

What is readily apparent as the film progresses is the limited budget. The sets appear thinly decorated, sparse, and empty. Most jarring is the ghost town streets of Shanghai, which is unconvincingly explained away by a character by gang warfare. Moreover, the cinematography employs a "hard" digital look with a blatant color filter that undermines the period setting and compounds the sense of cheapness. The low-key sound design is unable to mask the visual shortcomings. None of these technicalities usually matters for an action film but the glossy way the film chooses to present itself makes such issues glaring.

Then there are the fights. Thanks to the skilled martial artists in the cast, they have a manic, explosive energy that is as ferocious as anything the industry has ever made. Yet the choreography and camera work can be hit or miss, sometimes blurring brawls into a slurry of indistinguishable chicken slaps. The extreme under-cranking of certain portions hurt the fights more than it helps. Too many blows are exchanged, but not enough of them are memorable, and occasionally the camera runs out of ideas on how to spice up the action. Nowhere is this more evident than the final fight, which despite pitching Ng against a string of opponents with different skills and weapons, could have benefited by being shortened.

The vets on this project have seen better days, though their effort is evident. Wong is disappointingly conservative in his direction, and has not pushed the creative boundaries as he has done for other genres. A stronger script would have benefited the production. The shining beacons here are the two leads, who excel in both their roles and the demanding combat, and the two supporting actresses, who charm and captivate despite their short screen time. Together their chemistry has elevated the film to a standard it could not have otherwise achieved. Don't get me wrong, OUATIS is not a bad movie. Yet it is a Hong Kong martial arts movie released in 2014, with all the baggage that implies. When they only release once in a blue moon, I have inflated expectations for such flicks to build upon the genre's glorious legacy. As such, OUATIS's crime is being merely average.