Les Griffes d'acier

This film produced by mythic Golden Harvest is based on a legendary Chinese character : Wong Fei-hung, basic figure in the Chinese folklore. He was a famous practicing of ¨Hung gar Kung Fu¨and ¨Tai Chi¨ and his character served as starring in various film from art martial history. Here is well played by Jet Li, Wong has changed his art- martial school in Canton but results he has just moved near a brothel. Wong is worried and a prostitutes attempt to lure him. Soon he's fighting exaggerated nasties, corrupts authorities, judge and a monks from a weird temple dedicated to slave-trading where are kidnapped beautiful girls for human traffic. Meanwhile, Wong is poisoned and turned deaf but is healed by acupuncture by a traveling artists. Ultimately, there take place the parade the lion against centipede dance-fight with a spectacular and breathtaking struggle with hyperbolic Kung Fu, plenty of kicks, bounds and leaps.

The Wong character, both a doctor and professor of martial art, served as starring in various movies from arts-martial cinema history. Wong figure reflects the Chinese cultural identity facing foreigner invasion that submitted China, especially during XIX century (Boxers war, Opium war). Wong was played by Jet Li in six occasions, and appears in the Jackie Chan's ¨Drunken master¨films, besides appears as secondary character in the new version of ¨Iron Monkey¨ also titled ¨Wong Fei Hung¨ with Donnie Yen. Here, Jet Li reprise splendidly his role who became him as a real star in Asian markets . Li is the biggest Asian movie star after Jackie Chan, he won Chinese national championship in the acrobatic martial art, Wushu. Jet Li, lights in his fighting , using Kung Fu special slicks : drunken boxing, tiger or crane technical though many confronting are filmed with goofy humor and silly comedy. The fights are choreographed by means of cables by Woo- Yuen Ping, author of choreography of hits as Fearless, Kunfu hustle, Danny the dog, Kill Bill and Matrix, among others.

My introduction to kung fu movies was Jet Li's "Fong Sai Yuk", which blew me away, and I'm happy to say that "The Last Hero In China" is every bit as great as the former. Lots of good jokes (incl. bad guys with infectious fits of hysterical laughter), lots of impressive fighting - even if it's wire-aided -, lots of enjoyable acting, and an uproarious climactic fight scene at the end; rooster vs. centipede!

The story, starring the legendary kung fu doctor, Wong Fei-Hung, is an old-fashioned romp which is perfectly suited to Jet Li's acting talent and charisma. The rooster costume he dons at the end, and the fighting style he invents, are hilariously entertaining, and he pulls it off with flying colors. This is the sort of thing Jet Li does best.

8 out of 10.

There are two reasons to see this movie: (1) the fighting is quite good, and (2) the translation is good enough that English-speakers will get the jokes.

This is a comic digression from the "Once Upon a Time in China" series. Jet Li again plays Master Wong. He is down on his luck, and so moves to Hong Kong to open a school in a run-down neighborhood. The austere and dignified Master Wong tries to protect his randy students from the corrupting influence of the brothel next-door, while investigating a gang of perverted Shoalin monks who have been abducting young women. In one great fighting scene, Master Wong is so disdainful of a convict with whom he is fighting that he refuses to stand up from his chair to defend himself (instead he conducts the whole fight with his butt in the chair).

A hilarious and fun movie, if about 10% too long.

I was surprised at this movie. It seemed so unlike all the other Wong Fei Hong movies starring Jet Li. There were several hilarious gags in the movie, really funny stuff, but I also had a real problem with the casting for the role of Fu. Why they chose somebody who isn't a young rascal like the character has typically been, instead going for someone who looks much older than Jet Li, is beyond me.

The kung fu in this movie is pretty good, but the movie itself is overly comic. It's good, but not what I was prepared for in a Wong Fei Hong movie.

Refreshing Chinese style humour, new to me, worth dozens of predictable Hollywood "blockbusters", because this is something we don' see everyday. I'm ignorant about kung-fu movies, but happy to see something new. I read a review that criticised the ending. That is very strange because at the end the good fighting scenes and the refreshing absurdities are married.

Compared with recent Jackie Chan movies, the makers of this movie seem to have some pride. The choreography is artistic and both the added music and the music that comes with the plot work well. I don't think the producers said "Let's make another Jet Li movie."