I have to admit I had forgotten just how good this movie is, I remembered the first one as being the good one, but in actually the first and second films are equally as good. This film too deals with a turbulent time in China’s history with foriegn oppression and the White Lotus Society preaching Mystical Kung Fu to protect them from all things (much like the boxer rebellion in Northern China from the same period). We have Sun Yat Sen and his revolution and the unveiling of the nationalist flag at the end. And we also get the conflict between old ways and new, which are brought together by Wong Fei Hung’s acupuncture and Dr. Sun Yat Sen’s surgery skills used to save people. And of course we get Jet Li and Donnie Yen having it out, and Sap Sam Ye finally admitting to loving Fei Hung, and him calling her by her true name for once. I think part of it is that i lamented missing Yuen Biao as Fu who was replaced by Max Mok Siu Chung, who does play a sillier younger Fu. You should not miss this film, and the new Fortune Star DVD is gorgeous and even includes the original Cantonese unremixed audio.

REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS…

Jet Li Lian Jie returns as the famous Wong Fei Hung, one of the Ten Heroes of Canton. He is elsewhere in Canton to attend an international Medical Convention with Sap Sam Yee (Aunt 13) played by Rosamund Kwan Chi Lam as his translator and Fei Hung’s student Fong (Max Mok Siu Chung). Fei Hung and Sap Sam Yee obviously care for each other, but Fei Hung is too proper to do anything with a woman he must consider as his aunt. Fong also loves Sap Sam Yee, but is mostly comic relief on the issue. A society called the White Lotus Cult has started an anti foreign movement, and claim that they get filled by god and become invulnerable. They are out trying to kill all foreigners and burn their buildings. The Governor and his Magistrate (Donnie Yen Ji Dan) are actually more worried about a revolutionary movement led by Dr. Sun Yat Sen (Zhang Tie Lin) and his friend played by (David Chiang Dai Wai). Sap Sam Yee is attacked by the White Lotus Cult and must be saved by Fei Hung. He then attends the medical conference without her, and meets Dr. Sun Yat Sen who translates for him, but the conference is attacked by the White Lotus Cult, and they must escape. Then Fei Hung and Sap Sam Yee hear that the foreign language school has been attacked by the Cult, so they go to find it destroyed and most everyone dead except for young students who they save, but not even the Magistrate will take them in, so Sap Sam Yee takes them to the British Consul who takes them in and they meet David Chiang’s character, and also are re-united with Sun Yat Sen. Then the White Lotus Cult attacks, but are fended off until the magistrate arrives, but since the British won’t let the Magistrates men in to search for Sun Yat Sen or his followers, he allows the White Lotus Cult to sneak in at night and massacre almost everyone, and then come in to “arrest” the Cult members, but really to find Sun Yat Sen (who has already escaped) and David Chiang, and he kills the British Consul, which Fei Hung sees. Fei Hung then helps David Chiang escape, and goes to find the Name list of the revolution to give to Sun Yat Sen, but the Magistrate and his men arrive and kill David Chiang, and Fei Hung must fight them, and he does in a spectacular fight that won Best Action Choreography for Yuen Woo Ping at the 12th Annual Hong Kong Film Awards. The Magistrate is killed, and Fei Hung gets to the boat and gives the flag to Sun Yat Sen who is leaving on a Ferry with Sap Sam Yee, and the name book has been burned.

And amazing film, good from the start to the end. Makes you wish Tsui Hark and Jet Li would be willing to work together again and maybe make something even close to this good again. This is such an amazing film.