User reviews

In order to unite the people of China and strengthen their spirit, the Qing government decides to hold a lion dance competition to promote the study of kung fu. This only leads to violence and conflict. Wong Fei Hung, who is visiting Beijing, sees this and is disgusted by the way it's being handled. However, his efforts to get through to the government are futile. He finds himself having to join the competition when he discovers a plot by the Russians to assassinate President Li Hung Chang.

This was the first movie in the OUATIC series that I saw. I was actually quite disappointed when I first saw it. I thought the fighting lacked intensity and the end seemed anti-climatic. It's not that the choreography is bad. Jet looks fit and is in great fighting shape for the film. However, there are no good one-on-one battles for him. His duel with Xiong Xin Xin in the street is short and disappointing, as is the finale against the head of the oil factory. The lion dance scenes are cool.

The story on the other hand, is really good. It has just the right amount of romance, humor, and historical background to sustain itself between the fight scenes. This would be the last of the truly historically relevant entries of the series, as the following films were either over-the-top or would not even focus on historical matters.

Overall, this is good watching. This is not one of Jet's greatest performances fighting-wise. The story makes up for it. Oh, and let me add that Rosamund Kwan is cuter than ever in this movie.

As far as the fighting is concerned, I thought that this one was a little unimpressive. It's pretty slow, overall. I'd really only recommend it to big fans of the first two. There are some good bits of humor and we see some actual romance between Wong Fei-Hung and Aunt 13, but I don't think that that sort of thing is the main reason we watch this sort of movie. And even if it were, there's just too little of it.

I really think that Jet Li's talents are wasted when you try to use goofy camera angles to make it look like he's doing superhuman feats. The man is practically superhuman already. I think you're better off showing off the amazing things that he can do rather than focusing on trying to make him look like a cartoon. I'm sure that his work in the movie was very demanding, but it just didn't come off as too impressive on the screen in my opinion.

And way too much lion dancing.

...but still entertaining for the most part. This third move in the series is the weakest and least ambitious of the group, seeming satisfied to ignore the actual politics of China's tumultuous 19th century in favor of some made-up nonsense about Russian spies.

There is a martial arts tournament at the movie's center which Wong Fei Hung (Jet Li again) enters and must win for some reason, plus the always welcome Rosamund Kwan is back as Aunt Yee and the movie contrives to put her into danger again and again to keep things lively. The resulting mish- mash of a plot is rather hard to keep straight and honestly there is little profit in doing so. The producers themselves seemed to have a poor awareness of where everything was ultimately leading.

Enjoy the good period look and the quite impressive martial arts on display in the tournament and try not to take anything too seriously.

Though nowhere near as good as its predecessors, episode three of the legendary series does have some memorable moments, though they may appear few and far between. On this occasion, Empress Dowager tries to cause hostility between foreign powers settling in China by holding the ultimate Lion Dance competition set to restore Chinese pride and heritage, only to have it quashed by martial madman Chiu Tin Bai who's intent is to annihilate the competition and win the Lion Dance himself. Wong Fei-hung steps in after his father is beaten down by Chiu's crazy henchman Clubfoot, and the stage is set for Wong's single-handed onslaught of all evildoers and the restoration of some kind of sanity in this crazy town. There's plenty of colourful lion dances to please the eye and Jet is still the most exciting thing around, yet what it really lacks in is purpose, setting no real moral high ground and merely acting as a relentless cash-in on its previous successes.

The Empress of China decides to hold a Lion King competition as a show of strength to foreigners; rather than uniting her people, the impending event causes fights to break out between rival martial arts schools across the country. Out to ensure that as many potential winners are quashed before the contest even takes place, the nasty Chiu Tim-ba and his men attack the other competitors, including the father of the legendary Wong Fei Hung.

Wong (Jet Li) steps in to protect his old man, gets in a few scraps, and eventually becomes involved in foiling an assassination attempt on a high ranking governor, whilst at the same time trying to make sure that the ex-boyfriend of his sweetheart stays his distance.

As a big fan of Jet Li, I really have tried my utmost to enjoy the OUATIC movies, but, even with the incredible cinematography, lavish sets and costumes, powerful score, and welcome appearances from industry greats such as Yuen Baio and Donnie Yen, the series has left me rather unimpressed.

And Part 3 does nothing to change that.

This chapter moves the action from Canton to Beijing, but almost everything else stays the same. We get more xenophobia, more silly wire-work enhanced fight scenes, more playful romance between Wong and his girl (the gorgeous Rosamund Kwan), more lame comedy, and not enough memorable martial arts action from Li. And this time round we also get lion dances. Lots and lots of lion dances.

If the sight of men dancing and leaping about in brightly coloured lion costumes doesn't sound like fun to you, then I strongly suggest you do not watch this film (lion dance fetishists, however, will have a field day!).

I had always found the traditional Chinese lion dance rather interesting to watch, but this film has dampened my enthusiasm for them more than just a tad. OUATIC 3 starts with lion dances, has a few lion dances throughout, and end with lots of... you guessed it.... lion dances!!! Sure, some of the lions have booby trapped mouths which fire arrows, and another has blades attached to it, and there's a humongous lion at the end to spice things up, but there's only so much wiggling of lion bodies, jiggling of lion heads, snapping of lion mouths and fluttering of big lion eyes that I can take.

In fact, only the presence of the delightful Miss Kwan as Aunt (or is it cousin?) Yee kept me sane. Once again, she is a joy to behold and makes the whole lion-infested film worth enduring.

5.5/10, rounded up to 6 for IMDb.

Jet Li plays the legendary Chinese martial arts hero, Wong Fei Hung once more. Set in ancient China, the cinematography once again catches the scenery and atmosphere beautifully and sets the stage for all the awesome action sequences.

Jet Li's impressive martial arts moves continue to be a highlight of the film, battling bad guys left and right. In this movie, he and his disciples take part in a "Dancing Lion Competition" to stop an assassination plot.

The lion dance competition toward the climax of the film is probably the biggest highlight of the film - dozens of lion dancers battle it out to win the prize, including facing off with dragon dancers and the humongous sharp-toothed lion head.

The acting went overboard in my opinion. Jet Li acted too dramatic in his role and Xin Xin Xiong acted like he was angry at the entire world - too vengeful and too full of uncontrollable rage.

The music score is also well played, especially the toe tapping and theme sung by George Lam. Not as suspenseful as the original Jet Li Wong Fei Hung movie, though. The lion dances were a treat, but the overall plot went all over the place somewhat.

Grade C

Jet Li's "acting" series whips around for a third time in this somewhat disappointing movie. I say "disappointing" because all his previous movies were more about the fighting and less about character development and goofy love triangles. Not that character development is a bad thing, I just feel that it doesn't have much place in a kung-fu film, and ESPECIALLY a Tsui Hark film. While break-dancer Club Foot does some incredible kicks, his character really drops low in the last half hour of the movie, and you wonder why the directors make him do what he does. Jet Li does some incredible fighting as the famous Wong Fei-Hung, but I was truly hoping that Tianbao from "Tai Ji Zhang San Feng" would come in and start a GOOD fight amidst all this lion-dancing crap. C'mon, I wanna see poles, swords, three-part staffs, and nunchaku, not these cumbersome lion masks!

While the third movie in the "Once Upon a Time in China" series were better than part one, but wasn't up to part two story-wise, then this third installment did manage to hold its own. While it was very weak in storyline, it more than made up for the shortcoming in action and Chinese lion sequences.

It seemed like the storyline was rushed through and that most of the movie had a script that was just made up as director Tsui Hark went along with shooting the film. But luckily the impressive action and martial arts were more than making up for it. It should also be said that there is a lot of scenes and fighting sequences with Chinese lions. So take that into consideration if you might have a problem with that.

Jet Li delivers quite well once again, despite not having much of a solid and proper script to work with. So "Once Upon a Time in China 3" (aka "Wong Fei Hung III: Si wong jaang ba") seems mostly like a showcase for Jet Li's martial arts skills.

This is not one of the brightest moments in Hong Kong cinema, nor in Tsui Hark's directing career.

"Once Upon a Time in China 3" is a movie mostly appealing only to fans of Jet Li.

After seeing this, I realized Tsui Hark really has a knack for period films. Jet Li is Master Wong in this third part of OUATIC series. Honestly, I really enjoyed the scenes with Wong and Aunt Yee (played by always lovely Rosamund Kwan). The way they play off each other is so innocent that you can't help have a smile on your face. It's also a chance to see a jealous Jet Li which adds to the humor. You really root for him to get the girl (lucky Jet).

The action is on point as Jet Li displays his martial arts prowess as he battles a lot of enemies. Great use of a jacket to ward off a street battle and the restaurant fight scene is classic Jet Li (you gotta love that shadowless kick). The Lion dance ceremony was interesting and I enjoyed how chaotic it was as all the dragons battled to get the bait. Foon adds comic relief and Club Foot was a cool character who knows how to get his "kicks".

Overall, I had to see this one after watching part one and two. Even though I expected to see superb fighting, I really enjoyed the romance in the film as well.

'Once Upon A Time In China III (1992)' may be considerably less epic, and arguably a lot more safe, than its predecessors, but it's still an entertaining martial arts movie. Although elements of traditionalism vs Western influence are still prevalent, primarily in the form of Wong Fei-Hung's apparent jealousy of a Russian official who studied abroad with 13th Aunt, and the motivation for the lion dance competition at the core of the story comes from a desire to prove China is superior while also somehow sewing seeds of discontent between other nations in the hope they'll destroy each other, there's a lot less thematic focus on the shifting landscape of China circa 1900. As such, the film seems to lack the keen sense identity of its predecessors, even if it isn't a million miles away from them in terms of intention and execution. Still, there's plenty of opportunity to showcase Eastern traditions (the lion dancing at the core of the story is the primary example) and to pull off several exciting set-pieces that balance wirework with grounded choreography in a free-flowing, almost poetic fashion.

There are several really entertaining set-pieces sprinkled throughout the picture, all of which make excellent use of their performers' impressive skills and director Tsui Hark's admiral disregard for things like physics. It's arguably less believable than its predecessors, at least in terms of choreography, but it's also really inventive and fun and that's what matters most. The finale is interesting because it adds some life-or-death stakes to an already dangerous lion dance royale rumble, pitting Jet Li's hero - along with his apprentice Ah Foon and his new friend Ghost Foot Seven - against a slew of opposing dancers more interested in harming their opposition than outmaneuvering them. An earlier set-piece puts the star at a disadvantage and forces him to think on his feet; it's perhaps the closest these films have ever come to showing him in real trouble, and you're not quite sure if he's going to be able to come out on top (at least not uninjured).

There's a lot of comedy to go along with the action, as Wong Fei-Hung meets up with his father and has to figure out how to tell him he's going to marry 13th Aunt. The protagonist's jealousy also causes a few chuckles, even if his suspicions of his romantic rival do turn out to have a ring of truth to them. It's never hilarious, but it keeps you in good spirits and puts a smile on your face on occasion. The drama elements of the piece are somewhat muted, but there are a couple of classic character arcs that are actually quite satisfying.

As usual, the period setting is beautifully evoked and the picture has a storybook quality to it that makes it rather appealing to watch even when its at its least exciting. There's an emphasis on outside locations rather than sets, something which has always set this series apart from quite a few of its predecessors. The feature does have several lulls in pacing and it also isn't as focused as it could have been. There are moments which make you wish for a tighter edit, which would surely have improved the end result by making it more consistently engaging. Still, its set-pieces are fantastic and its execution is admirable.

In the end, this is an enjoyable effort that may be less effective than its predecessors, but is just about as entertaining. Its action is great, its comedy is charming and its aesthetic is immersive. It's a solid martial arts movie.

An extremely enjoyable and fun film. Xin Xin Xiong, Jet Lee and the other actors perform incredible martial arts stunts, including the obligatory fighting scenes with Lee looking startled at his weapon's rapid disintegration.

Overall, a reasonably good plot and a very interesting and fun film to watch.

A very good movie for understanding China's History. And it's Entertaining, action is good, acting of Jet li is also good. Story could be better.

Review: I couldn't really get into this movie because the acting was terrible, along with the poor storyline. The showdown at the end wasn't that great and I found the love story annoying. Once again, the film is based around foreigners taking over China, but this storyline gets a bit silly after a while because people are fighting each other for no reason. I was hoping to see some of the old characters from the first movie, but the director chose to stick with the annoying sidekick from the second one. I did like Thunder Foot, who looked pretty strange but his martial arts skills was brilliant. In all, I was very disappointed with the film especially because the first one was so good. Disappointing!

Round-Up: They should have called this movie "Return Of The Strings" because some of the action scenes was ridiculous. The fighting in mid-air went way too far and a lot of the action was unrealistic. I doubt that I'll be watching any of the other movies in this franchise because it went downhill after the first movie and they also don't star Jet Li. Once I started to see the flying in the air, I knew that the rest of the movies might go down this road so I've chosen to stay away from them. 

Budget: N/A Worldwide Gross: HK$27.5million

I recommend this movie to people who are into their Jet Li movies and who are familiar with this franchise. 2/10

This sequel is set in Beijing; the Dowager Empress has decided to stage a lion dance festival to show off Chinese martial arts and encourage more people to take up kung fu. As preparations are getting underway Wong Fei-hung, along with 'Aunt' Yee and Foon, arrive in Beijing to visit Wong's father. He is the head of one of the martial arts schools hoping to compete in the festival... however the leader of one school is trying to bully all of the others into backing out of the competition. Inevitably Wong gets involved as he tries to encourage peaceful behaviour. In the background to this Wong is jealous after Aunt Yee meets up with a Russian friend she first met while studying in Britain. As the festival approaches tensions rise further and there are more intense fights.

This film is a fun addition to the 'Once Upon a Time in China' series of films; it has a decent, if simply, story, plenty of laughs and a lot of brilliantly choreographed martial arts. The three main characters are back, although for some reason 'Aunt' Yee becomes 'Cousin' in the subtitles of the version I saw. There are also good new characters, notable Clubfoot (renamed Iron Foot), the villain Chiu Tin-bak and the Russian Tomanovsky. As said before there is lots of impressive martial arts action; some of this includes obvious wire-work but that didn't bother me; much of it also takes place while the characters are in their lion costumes which looks pretty cool. The romantic subplot provides a few decent laughs without distracting from the main plot. The acting is pretty solid throughout; most notably from Jet Li and Rosamund Kwan as Wong and Aunt Yee. Overall I really enjoyed this and suspect most fans of less brutal martial arts films will enjoy it too.

These comments are based on watching the film in Cantonese with English subtitles.

In order to demonstrate a show of strength to the foreigners, the Empress decrees a Lion King competition between the various martial arts schools. Wong Fei-hung returns home at this time to visit his father's school to find that the Tai-Ping school have set out to destroy the other schools before the competition itself. Fei-hung tries to bring peace between the schools but fails to stop the contest. Meanwhile Cousin suspects something more sinister going on around the contest.

I feel like I'm under pressure here to say this isn't as good as the previous two films, simply because that seems to be the consensus of opinion on among reviewers here and also conventional wisdom says that a series will lose quality as it goes along. I settled to watch this expecting to be a drop from parts I & II (both of which I enjoyed), however I must say I found it to be every bit as enjoyable as part II (which I considered a more enjoyable film than part I). I do, however, recognise that it has weaknesses over the other two films.

First off, the plot is significantly weaker and even needs a last minute conspiratorial shot in the arm to help up the drama and give the characters something extra to do. That said I still felt the film moved along well and wasn't too bothered by the lack of a real strong structure. The fights are free flowing and enjoyable (even if they have weak reasons for occurring sometimes). There is no one fight that really competes with the climax of part I but that doesn't mean they're bad. Certainly fans of Matrix and Crouching Tiger (who think this stuff is all a new invention!) will be impressed as indeed was I. The Lion King contest has been criticised for hiding the skills of the actors but I think it made for a different show of skill that did involve their martial arts skills and showed them in a big way. There are some scenes that are too clearly wire-work (although it is all wire work) but the majority of it flows very well.

The main reason this film worked well for me was the way that it kept the humour from part II. The gentle comic touches all through are laugh-out-loud funny and really binds the whole film together. I've always felt that part II's humour made it better than part I, and part III continues that well. The romance between Fei-hung and cousin is also played well for both laughs and romance.

The main reason the comedy works so well is the cast who all show a real skill for it. Mok's Yoon is the main reason for this and his little touches are great fun to watch. Jet Li also shows a real ability in comic acting that Hollywood has spectacularly failed to utilise (thus far). His interaction with the excellent Kwan brings a real spark to the film in the quieter scenes. His real skill of course is the martial arts and he is a real presence in every action scene. The addition of Iron Foot (Xiong) works well and he is a good character who is developed past the bad guy character he is first presented as.

Overall I can understand why many would feel that this is a lesser film but I must say that I find it hard to put a wedge between any of the first three in the series (I have only seen these thus far). However, I enjoyed the action and felt that the comic touches worked very well and made this a very enjoyable film that was very easy to watch. The plot may be weaker than the previous films but it has other strengths that are used well. I can't comment on the rest of the series but this film made parts I-III a very strong and enjoyable series of films.

Oct 21

Once upon a time in china III is at the same level as part 2 for me.

The overall story continues to roll along and more and more humour finds its way into the series now.

Jet Li didn't return for parts 4 and 5, but did come back for the 6th one, Once upon a time in china and america.

Still well worth watching.

8 out of 10.

In the third film, Jet Li goes to Beijing to visit his father. Doesn't have as much good fighting as the other 3 OUATICs that Li is in, but Xiong Xin Xin plays a great Clubfoot Seven. Worth seeing only if you really like the OUATIC series (like me). 3/5 stars, I'd have to say the best part and most hilarious is Aunt Yee teaching Huang Fei Hong english, which is of course only funny if you understand and watch the cantonese/mandarin version, not the dubbed.