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The year is 1868. In the aftermath of the Second Opium War, China continues to sink into chaos as the Qing Dynasty has proven themselves unable to fight Western influence and the influx of drugs and slave labor clinging to the underbelly of capitalism. In the city of Guangzhou, two factions control the Huangpu Port: the Black Tiger gang and the North Sea gang. The two gangs are in a stalemate until a brash young fighter named Wong Fei Hung appears on the scene. In an era where wicked men profit on the misery of the less fortunate, one man will rise up to change history forever. This is the rise of a new era. This is the Rise of the Legend.
A reckless youth.
Directed by Roy Chow and written by Christine To, Rise of the Legend was released by Edko Films (Hong Kong) in 2014, and picked up by American distributors Well Go USA in 2016. A wuxia in the same vein as Hero and House of Flying Daggers, Rise of the Legend follows the early life of Chinese folk hero Wong Fei Hung. Martial arts fans know that Wong Fei Hung's life has spawned numerous media including television shows, comics, and more than 100 films, most notably Jet Li's "Once Upon a Time In China" series and Jackie Chan's "Drunken Master I & II." When I first heard of Rise of the Legend my immediate reaction was "Omg not another Wong Fei Hung movie." Retreading old ground doesn't do anything for this reviewer so I was put-off from the film at the outset. However, Well Go USA only picks up the finest movies for American distribution. Given that this is the same company who brought us badass films like Wolf Warriors and Police Story: Lockdown, I had a feeling this movie would be something special.
Eddie Peng delivers his finest performance yet!
Rise of the Legend presents Wong Fei Hung as a cocky, vengeful, and borderline ruthless Wong Fei Hung. Overtime, we see Wong Fei Hung mature and become the hero China needs him to be. Eddie Peng does a superb as leading man and he absolutely owned the scenes. I've seen countless Wong Fei Hung films and Eddie Peng's performance is right up there with Jackie Chan's and Jet Li's. Eddie Peng's performance was gripping, but he wasn't alone in that regard.
BIG SAM!
The film has a great cast including Angelababy, Wang Luodan, and the legendary Sammo Hung who plays the villainous Master Lui, leader of the Black Tiger gang. I was pleasantry surprised by Hung's performance who typically plays the good guy, was intimidating and almost scary as Master Lui. Sammo Hung has a commanding presence and brings a completely different atmosphere to each scene.
FALCON PUNCH!!!
Industry veteran Corey Yuen is on board as the film's action director and his expertise really shows. Rise of the Legend has some spectacular fight sequences that do a great job of balancing brutality and style. The choreography is very well done and the hits feel like they have impact. While I felt there was a bit too much wire-work at times, I understand that's something of a mainstay of wuxia.
Must see!
The film has its flaws. It shows us an aggressive, hot-blooded Wong Fei-Hung which I thought was an interesting change of pace from the patient and wise folk hero. However, we're never given a reason for why he is the way he is. Even as a child the Wong Fei-Hung we see is violent and short-tempered, but we're neither shown nor told as to why that it is. It would make sense if it occurred later on after tragedy struck, but it seems he was always a wild child in this film. The film's score - while good wasn't memorable and I felt that a good 20 to 30 minutes of the film should've been cut because it took too long getting to the climax which was a bit rushed. Overall Rise of the Legend is a great martial arts movie and a must own for anyone into historical fiction or action movies.
