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With
Jet
Li,
Shido
Nakamura,
Yong
Dong,
Betty
Sun,
Hee
Ching
Paw,
Nathan
Jones,
Brandon
Rhea,
Jean
Claude
Leuyer,
Anthony
De Longis
Directed
by Ronny
Yu
Asian
superstar
Jet
Li decided
he’s
getting
too
old
for
this
kind
of physical
movie
and
said
this
would
be his
last
Wushu
film.
These
period
pieces
have
a long
tradition
and
are
still
great
additions
to the
action
genre
which
contains
more
emotional
levels,
and
focuses
on the
people
as opposed
to a
modern
gun-toting
Hong
Kong
actioner
(however
exciting
many
of these
may
be),
which
can
easily
substitute
substance
with
flair.
The
older,
low
budget,
badly
lip-synched
movies
like
these
with
super
loud
sound
effects
are
fun,
but
have
been
replaced
by these
bigger
and
more
expensive
productions.
Here
Jet
Li plays
the
real
life
martial
arts
expert
Huo
Yuanjia
at the
turn
of the
20th
century.
Growing
up in
a Chinese
village,
he had
a hot
temper
and
big
ego,
directly
leading
to multiple
tragedies
which
forced
him
to introspectively
re-evaluate
his
life
and
project
it outward.
He vows
to go
the
honourable
route
and
climbs
the
ranks
to the
best
fighter
on the
continent.
But
a tournament
with
corrupt
organizers
pitting
him
against
fighters
from
around
the
world
led
to him
ultimately
going
down
in history.
Shot
on a
grand
scale
with
great
fight
sequences
by the
legendary
action
choreographer
Yuen
Wo Ping,
the
wirework
further
enhances
Jet
Li’s
physical
agility
and
acrobatic
prowess.
5
/ B
- PB
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A -
B
- C