| Once Upon a Time in China II |
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| Genre: | Action |
| Year: | 1992 |
| Rating: | R |
| Length: | 1 Hour 53 Minutes |
| Cast: | Tsui Hark, Rosamund Kwan, Jet Li |
Fans of Tsui Hark's dazzling martial arts epic Once Upon a Time in China won't be disappointed by this sequel, which serves up jaw-dropping kung fu with the same visual flair as the original. Jet Li (Romeo Must Die) reprises his role as folk hero Wong Fei-Hung, acupuncture expert and master kung fu fighter. Also back for the ride are Rosemund Kwan as Aunt Yee and Mok Siu Chung as Hung's goofy sidekick, Fu. The difference is that this time around the super-stylized action is backed by a stronger and more coherent story. A broadly sketched historical epic, Once Upon a Time II sports some particularly baroque bad guys in the form of the White Lotus Clan, a violent, quasi-mystical sect who want to cleanse 19th-century China of its Western influence -- specifically, greedy British imperialists. Fei-Hung takes it upon himself to both protect the Brits and preserve Chinese culture. This provides Li, a stoic leading man straight out of classic westerns, with the opportunity to show off his awe-inspiring kung fu moves in several breathtaking fight sequences choreographed by Yuen Wo-Ping of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon fame. Each fight makes ingenious use of the film's picturesque locations as well as various inanimate objects, so that even something as innocuous as a piece of cloth comes writhing and twisting to life. This is kung fu raised to the level of an art form, and it's surrounded by a sumptuously designed and photographed drama that deftly incorporates touches of humor and romance. Once Upon a Time in China II takes its place beside its predecessor as an example of Hong Kong cinema at its entertaining best. Kryssa Schemmerling
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