Rise of the Legend

I got a chance to watch this on premier in Hong Kong. Overall this is the comeback franchise of the Huang Feihong, which was popularized by Jet Li. Now the new actor Eddie Peng (from Taiwan) who portrays the prequel of the Huang Feihong least to say is quite good. This version I find it's more darker than the Jet Li version, but overall I truly quite enjoy the fighting scenes.

The show is narrated in Mandarin and not Cantonese as I would have expect. Overall I think that having a Mandarin version allows a wider coverage of spectators in Asia and China.

The storyline is quite simple, basically it's tells about the young Huang Feihong joins the triad by showing his skills. But the underlying deep intention is to destroy the triad which has been smuggling illegal workers to overseas.

The movie is about the early days of Wong Fei Hung, a real person in late-19th century/early 20th-century China whose deeds have been greatly embellished and made into dozens of films and TV series. He is the same character portrayed by Jet Li in the Once Upon a Time series.

However, the film itself has almost nothing to do with the real person. The main character uses the WFH name and his father conjures up familiar memories of a umbrella-wielding kung fu master popularized by the Iron Monkey film. Also, in the real-life tales of WFH's heroic deeds, it is said that he took on a dock gang in his early days, which this movie loosely portrays.

Other than that, this movie could have simply been a standalone film. But the WFH name is famous throughout China and no doubt was used to sell more tickets.

Although the use of CGI and wire is very noticeable at times, the overall look and choreography of the film is very good. Unfortunately, as is common with Chinese films, too much attention is paid to the look, but not enough to the substance.

Ultimately the movie does not break any new ground. As is common in Chinese action films, characters again do inexplicably idiotic things for the sake of creating "drama" or "emotion" and to create convenient scenarios to push the plot along without any serious attempt to explain WHY.

Overall, it's not a bad movie but it's also little more than another typical Chinese flick that looks good but doesn't do anything beyond that.

When I watched Rise of the Legend I wasn't aware that it's the origin story of Wong Fei Hung, so the revelation was a pleasant surprise. Different from many iterations of the iconic kungfu master, this one sets a more gangster oriented approach as Fei Hung tries to rid the city of the cruel mafia. The production is splendid with fantastic shots and clever use of camera during the fight scenes.

Peng Yuan as Fei Hung is a great choice, he brings a brash and sometimes cocky nature that hasn't been seen often in this type of movie. Contradicting the wise mannered Fei Hung, he looks much more reckless, crude and exceptionally younger. The character goes through many developments in the course of the movie as he gradually becomes more mature and weights his responsibility. Also, he looks the part and able to perform the tricky moves.

While this is still an action film, the focus is centered heavily towards crime aspect, including drug dealing, prostitution and other unsavory acts. Depiction of the corrupt city and the intricacy of the criminal empire are shown with high level of pomposity. It has been influenced by more modern vibe and is definitely a darker rendition than most kungfu movie of its kind.

The movie has brilliant cinematography. Lingering poverty, dusty and murky streets, as well as shady dealings underneath dim light are depicted with gritty innate outlook. It fuses with great choreography, creating incredible brawls after brawls. The way the view changes direction, springs above or near the action, and simply effective slow motion make the combat much more enjoyable.

However, the script has some fundamental issues. On occasions, the twists are handled without precision, often making the scenarios seems highly unfeasible. The movie brushes these disparities aside for the sake of pushing the plot. This is counterproductive to the realistic intrinsic it has produced. Some scenes are highly questionable as if the transition into latter arc is forced to make sensational set pieces.

Sammo Hung is a veteran of the genre, but recently he's stuck on the same role. In here he doesn't distinguish himself enough from many other roles he had. It's unfortunate since his character could've had more emotional range. The movie has good foundation for brotherhood and loyalty theme, almost a reminiscence of Gangs of New York, but lacks the necessary complexity to fully realize its potential.

Regardless of the bumps at the middle of the film, Rise of the Legend is an exciting action flick with fresh perspective and aesthetic production.

No less than two decades have passed since Jet Li took up the iconic role of Wong Fei Hung in Tsui Hark's classic 'Once Upon A Time in China' series, and for good reason, no filmmaker for that matter has dared mount a similar big-screen version of the renowned folk hero. Until now of course – 'Rise of the Legend' sees Hong Kong director Roy Chow Hin-Yeung step up to the challenge of re-making a legend by way of an origin story, casting rising Taiwanese actor Eddie Peng as the titular protagonist.

We're sad to disappoint fans of Peng, but the actor is simply no substitute for Li. The comparison, unfair as it may be, is inevitable, because Li had so completely inhabited the character that the very first impression which comes to mind when one thinks of the character is Li himself. While he may project enough confidence and fresh- faced charm to convince as a younger and brasher Wong Fei Hung, Peng simply lacks his predecessor's poise and nuance to make his portrayal as dignified and compelling.

A lot of Peng's performance doesn't go much further than posturing, alternating between a smug self-confident demeanour when with the members of the villainous Black Tiger gang whom he infiltrates to dismantle from within and a spirited show of grit (not unlike that which he displayed in 'Unbeatable' as an MMA-fighter) when taking on his opponents fist-to-fist. Only when he gets the occasional reprieve to hang out with his childhood buddies Fiery (Jing Boran) and Chun (Wang Luodan) do we see a more sincere and earnest performance from Peng, but these scenes – given the covert nature of his character's personal mission – are sadly few and far in-between.

Though he may have the athleticism and physique (we're talking oiled-up pecs and rippling abs here) to boot, Peng lacks the physicality of someone who's trained in the martial arts. Indeed, that is too ostensible in the action sequences directed by veteran choreographer Corey Yuen, which in narrower high-walled alleyway settings is filmed with the sort of artistic distractions emulating last year's 'The Grandmasters' – complete with rainwater, (plenty of) slo-mo shots and p.o.v. framing – that sees Peng look rather than truly impress and in more expansive locations relies too heavily on the use of wirework to augment Peng's moves (or lack thereof). The fact that the fight sequences aren't as exciting as they should be isn't Peng's fault alone no doubt, but, unfortunate as it may be, it still is too clear Peng isn't a natural performer the way other luminaries like Li, Jackie Chan or Gordon Liu were.

To be sure, Peng is hardly the start of 'Rise's' problems, which, though absorbing in parts, has its obvious flaws. Though intended as a story to explain the origins of Wong Fei Hung, Christine To's script hardly gives the character much depth. A few flashback sequences show Wong's father (Tony Leung Kar-Fai) imparting some words of wisdom about saving people which he continues to hold dear as well as how a brief stint at a monastery transformed his sense of vengeance following his father's death at the hands of some local thugs to one seeking justice, but come off obligatory rather than poignant. There is even less time to get to know Fei Hung when Peng takes over as a young adult, as To has him too busy caught up in the plot machineries of a gangland thriller than to build a multi- faceted portrait of him – other than the already established fact of his inimitable sense of righteousness.

Not that the colourful underworld comprising of Sammo Hung as Master Lei, the leader of the Black Tiger gang, and his adoptive sons – North Evil (Jack Feng), Black Crow (Byron Mann) and Old Snake – isn't entertaining; there is good fun to be had in watching Fei- Hung, Fiery and Chun destabilise the squabbling trio and their domineering head from within – as Fei-Hung wins Master Lei's trust by killing the head of the rival North Sea gang to become his fourth adoptive son – and without – with Fiery and Chun leading the poor, hungry and oppressed men on the streets under the banner of the Orphan gang against the Black Tigers. To weaves quite an ingenious scheme here, so much so that Chow's filming struggles to keep up, and there are scenes which would clearly have benefited from the direction of a stronger helmer.

That is probably also part of the reason why To's attempt to paint Fei Hung as a man with a big dream of restoring justice to the masses, who stuck with his ideals even though they came at a hefty personal cost, isn't quite as rousing as it is meant to be. Yes, sacrifice figures heavily in the third act, but because the friendship between Fei Hung and his childhood buddies doesn't get enough screen time to be fully fleshed out, the eventual denouement awaiting some of them, in particular as it relates to Fei Hung, is less moving and persuasive.

Whereas one would have expected a character-driven narrative for this origin story of Wong Fei Hung, Chow and To (whose previous collaborations include the unintentionally hilarious detective thriller 'Murderer' and a middling follow-up 'Nightfall') opt instead for a plot-driven one that transplants the elements of a gangland thriller into a martial arts actioner. The result is more the former than the latter, so those expecting some thrilling fight sequences will surely come off disappointed – more so after a lacklustre showdown between Peng and Hung in a blazing warehouse where the two do more staring at each other and asking each other how 'hot' it is than fighting. For now, this 'Legend' remains firmly with Li and Tsui Hark, whose 'Once Upon A Time in China' remains the only Wong Fei Hung you need to know.

Rise of the Legend is another of those neo-actioners from Hong Kong which deliver the Kung Fu/martial arts goods but we're forced to watch some 'epic' building in the process. With choreography by the peerless Corey Yuen & a rare villainous turn by his Peking Opera classmate Sammo Hung, Legend has a lot going for it but taking events which happened, in this case, the oppression of wharf gangs on the poor & ungainly mating this storyline in a chop socky format, the seams definitely feel the bulge.