It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

Jet Li plays the legendary Chinese martial arts hero, Wong Fei Hung. Set in ancient China, the cinematography catches the sceneries and atmosphere beautifully and sets the stage for all the awesome action sequences.Jet Li's impressive martial arts moves are definitely the highlight of the film, battling bad guys left and right. Him doing the lion dances is also a very impressive treat to watch.The acting was pretty good and the cast of characters were in the spot. The music score is also well played, especially the toe tapping and theme sung by George LamA pretty fast paced plot for a pretty entertaining film.Grade B

Review: I quite enjoyed the first movie in this massive franchise. Its good to finally see a Jet Li film were there not flying in the air and fighting on strings. Anyway, the movie is basically about Americans trying to take over China. Some of the gangs buy into the Americans policies and attack the people that are trying to keep China the same. Its quite a simple storyline, but there are other aspects to the story, like the down and out fighter who wants to fight Jet Li so he can prove that he is the best and open his own fighting school. The fighting scenes were quite impressive and the different disciples who are working for Jet Li, we're quite funny. Aunt Yee, who was the lady character, did become annoying after a while but the showdown at the end was brilliant, mainly because it reminded me of the old Kung Fu movies and the ladder work was amazing. Anyway, the film does seem a bit long but it's an enjoyable movie which is worth a watch. Enjoyable!Round-Up: You can tell that this film had quite a big budget because of the epic scenes but it still looks unAmericanised. Personally, I think that there is a hidden message behind the movie, from a Chinese point of view, which is why this franchise was so big overseas. The added wit to the script made the movie original and interesting but it's the action that's second to none. I just hope that the rest of the movies in this franchise, are in the same calibre as this one. Budget: N/A Worldwide Gross: HK$30millionI recommend this movie to people who are into their Jet Li movies about a doctor trying to stop China from becoming Americanised. 6/10

Legendary Chinese patriot Wong Fei-hung, often played in the movies by Jackie Chan (Drunken Master and sequels) joins a secret group dedicated to stopping China's slave trade with America. Once Upon a time is a quite ambitious, historically accurate and very good looking production. There have been complaints by Western viewers about the slow pace, yet I found that the pace matched the pace of life and action in the period and thus seemed appropriate. The political content of the movie seems one-sided verging on xenophobia in its portrait of exploitation-bent white colonials, not that a Hong Kong producer ever lost money by appealing to his audience's dislike of the British. Still this gives everything much more resonance and story interest than is typical for martial arts movies, which usually have just enough plot to barely hold themselves together between punch-ups. It is nice for once to have a REASON for all of the fighting. The movie sprawls all over historic China and the period look is quite convincing, with excellent exterior cinematography.The script is lively, mixing adventure and intrigue with a little comedy and romance, and is well played by principals Jet Li and Rosamund Kwan as Wong Fei-Hung and his Aunt Yee(!) - actually the ninth and quite young wife of Wong's uncle - who is European educated and initially a defender of the very Western influences against which Wong is fighting.Martial arts fans looking strictly for a fight film might be disappointed. The stunt sequences are watchable, but I saw few new wrinkles in the fight choreography here. The Legend I and II are more impressive in this regard. But those looking for something beyond a straight punch up should be intrigued by the film's mix.

Eyes and ears. The movie is very stylish. Costumes, choreography, music - everything is fine.Mind. This film has rich national atmosphere and it is done sensibly. This movie doesn't present itself like kidstuff and does not relies of cheap plagiarism. It's original and therefore does not make a viewer's mind melt under the influence of "pop-culture" for masses.Heart. The point of the film when one person sacrifices his life for another (even for a stranger) is carried out quite well. There are many touching moments, which at the same time do not make the whole production feel too melodramatic.Overall quality. It's of the same quality as American "Gone with the Wind", Japanese "When the Last Sword is Drawn", and Russian "War and Piece". Of course, only the American movie is on the top 250 list now. If anybody starts to chat about kung fu movies disrespectfully, this title is to be mentioned to cool the chatter-box down a bit.The positive Chinese characters are provided with powerful looks (mind the haircuts, and as to Mrs Rosamund Kwan - she is orientally beautiful as always), righteous behaviour (cannot help admire the doctor's self-control), and insane stamina (to survive in such hostile surroundings seems to be impossible but the heroes live). The evil European characters in the movie are also well cut: they are disgustingly vindictive, their gestures and face expressions are sodden with contempt and hostility. They treat Chinese folks like cannon-fodder and some kind of dim-witted aborigines. And that character trying to fight the doctor in the restaurant is a memorable baddie ("Tiger"?). The doctor could whip him real hard but... And as a good add-on, there are Chinese baddies with bad looks, bad attitude, and bad behaviour.The follow-ups have no such quality - at least the second installation did not impress me much: its ridiculous wirework put me off instantly.It deserves a 10 out of 10 - a gem in its genre. Thank you for attention.