Huang Feihong: Ying Xiong you meng

special effect, in addition to overly told repetitive boring storyline, totally unnecessary long and tiresome fighting scenes. the only impression of this bad movie is boring, boring and boring. why the Chinese movie industries in mainland china and hong kong so obsessed with this hwang legend. the dialog either done by the actors or voice over by some other people solely doing such line of work, but either turned out to be naturally enough just because of the contrite dialog. it's such a boring storyline with randomly inserted flash backs of the teenage kids or used some westerners for background extra purpose. there is nothing interested enough to keep the interest or focus. every scene in this film looked staged including the costumes and the make-up. the dialog is just so boring and the tempo of the most part of the film is too slow with suddenly explosive fighting scenes, but then again, the off screen narration by the main character also making the viewer like me feel unnecessary and awkward. i know this actor from taiwan is now a rising star, quite hot because he's been showing himself in so many films in recent years, but he actually is not an unique find but a regular and blended guy. all in all, this film is marginally watchable flick, if you have other better choice to kill the time, don't waste it on watching this, it's just so boring.

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.

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.

This movie takes place in 1868 during the Qing Dynasty in the port city of Guangzhou, China with two rival crime syndicates controlling all of the lucrative American and European trade markets. And because these two crime syndicates are so powerful and ruthless the people living there have to subject themselves to all kinds of degradation simply to make ends meet. So when a young "Wong Fei-Hung" (Eddie Peng) watches as his father is killed trying to save innocent people from a fire set by one of these crime syndicates he decides to do something about it with the help from his close friends "Fiery" (Jing Boran) and "Chun" (Wang Luodan). But in order to accomplish this he must first infiltrate one of these crime organizations and coordinate his actions with his two friends on the outside. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this was a complicated movie for me to follow in some instances due to the in-depth intrigue and mystery incorporated within the plot. Likewise, some of the unrealistic martial arts scenes left me less than impressed as well. Even so, this wasn't a bad film necessarily and for that reason I have rated it accordingly. Average.

I give this actually a 7.5 .... Really decent art direction. The movie has a good pace and the action is good to great and also the fight scenes are filmed very well .... Plus the plot isn't as bad as some martial arts films .... I was entertained start to finish .... If action / martial arts films is a yes on your viewing list ... "Rise of the Legend" qualifies Very well.