Seeing as how "Once Upon A Time In Shanghai" is a remake of my all-time favorite martial arts movie, "Boxer From Shantung," of course I held this one up against high standards. Well for the most part it succeeds, with it's many elegant, artistic touches. Here we have a visually impressive period piece, about a poor laborer who comes to the big city to find his fortune. What he finds is friendship, corruption, and ultimately betrayal. Here martial artist Philip Ng replaces the legendary Chen Kuan Tai in the role of Ma Yongzhen, the immensely likable peasant who yearns for power, but despises corruption. Ng is a great choice to play Ma, as he is a charismatic and handsome actor. It's not easy to compare to Chen Kuan Tai, but Philip Ng comes close. The fight scenes are fast and furious, and very well-staged, and for once we have a good story to compliment the action. The sets and the period costumes are beautiful and detailed as well, although I wasn't so crazy about the digital video look of this film. The colors are very washed out, and the film almost looks like it was shot in black and white. Still I highly recommend this remake, as there are so few good martial arts films being produced today. Fans of the classic 70's stuff should really appreciate this. I also strongly recommend searching out the original "Boxer From Shantung" from 1972. It is a true masterpiece of the genre, and surpasses this film in quality and artistry..
