This is one of the most satisfying resolutions to a trilogy I have ever seen. Makes me recall the ending to THE WONDERFUL COUNTRY starring Bob Mitchum, where when you came to the ending you KNEW it was over. When the hero of the piece appeals for education over reward for martial prowess you have something special on your hands. The ending of ONCE UPON A TIME IN CHINA III will stay with me for a long time.The thing that stands out for me is the characters this time. I really don't want to say too much as that would spoil all the fun. The Dowager Empress reminds me of my INTRODUCTION TO THE NOVEL teacher Miss Gomez and my Cub Scout Den Mother Mrs. Dubose. I loved all the colors of the costumes and the masks. At times it was almost a comment on the spectacular martial arts fights and stunts, making them at times seem childish and cartoonish. The characters are every one of them painted with a broad brush, but it was exhilarating to see that Tsui Hark was relying very thoroughly on Chinese theatrical traditions and not going out of his way to cater to Western tastes and appetites. A great judgment call in my estimation because you really come to feel warmly for all the characters as though you've finally come to know them at the end.I must say Rosamund Kwan comes across as more beautiful and glamorous in this third installment than ever before, and very nearly steals the show. Unlike a 'Bond Girl' whom we know will only be eye candy and 007's sexual conquest for a single adventure, we are now seeing Aunt 13 for the third time and the sense of chemistry and monogamy between her and Wong Fei-Hung is stronger than ever. I cannot easily remember where I have seen romantic character development across three movies like this.Love the chaos of the climatic scene at the Lion Dance competition! It seems so intricate that you just know some parts of it required improvisation to tie up inevitable loose ends. It is wild and woolly, and filled with all kinds of color in motion; like a circus parade unraveling itself. You truly have no idea what is going to happen next or what direction it will be coming from, and you also have a sneaking suspicion that some of the actors feel this way as well, as they are just trying this out that way and then trying that out this way through the various takes. The choreography of this feels like something that would defy even Hitchcock's attempts at story-boarding although I cannot vouch for how true that might be. But that wordless comment '-what the hell is going on???!!-' definitely comes to mind to this viewer with thrilling, giddy glee. This seems so suggestive of the internal social and political turmoil that Chinese society must have been experiencing at this time.Leave it to our hero Wong Fei-Hung to make sense out of all this somehow and bring order to this seemingly inexhaustible bedlam and melee. That he does indeed seem to do so and even gives the moral of the story to the audience in a way that is far from cheesy with nary a hair out of place in his Confucian reserve is a delight to behold. He marches away with polite indignation and we are called to stand in our hearts to a hero's anthem that exhorts us to improve ourselves every day.Here at the end, you feel this is what Wong Fei-Hung means to the Chinese people. This is their culture hero who will always exhort them to educate themselves to be better than they are.May I be excused?

The third film in the Jet Li series is very much a minor movie in comparison to the first two, with a plot that simply rehashes the old East-meets-West theme, throws in some very average comedy, some nice romantic touches between the two leads, and some enjoyable action sequences. One thing missing from the previous adventures is Yuen Woo-ping, who went elsewhere, leaving the action choreography to somebody else. The resulting fight sequences are just as lavish as before, but more obviously involve wire work; this time, Li is a superhero who can jump ten feet in the air and there's a villain called Iron Foot who can fly with his feet.The story is pretty unchallenging, involving an evil factory owner and a Russian agent with a dark secret. Props feature strongly, this time a camera and those Chinese dragons, which take centre stage at the film's climatic Lion King contest. This climax is a bit of a disappointment, as Li and his opponents are hidden inside massive dragon costumes for the most part, and it lacks the dramatic power of a one-on-one battle like the previous movies offered. However, Tsui Hark does offer something a bit more original and what it lacks in dynamism, it makes up for in sheer visual spectacle.Rosamund Kwan is probably the best thing in this film, having some very sweet moments with Li, who is good but appears to be going through the motions; it's no wonder he left the series, as he's had no character progression for two movies now. One actor who is very good indeed is newcomer to the series Xi Xi Xiong (DOUBLE TEAM) as villain Iron Foot, who has some fantastic wire-aided action moments and is easily the most memorable thing in the film. There are some 'fun' martial arts bits that make use of some imaginative scenarios. One has Li on an oil-slicked floor dodging missiles, whilst another sees him battling swordsmen using only his coat. There's a bit of blood and guts (including a pretty shocking mangled leg shot) and the classic Wong Fei-hung theme music is back infrequently. Although this film offers absolutely nothing new to the series or the genre as a whole, Hark's lavish choreography and production values make it a very agreeable viewing experience.

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$27.5millionI recommend this movie to people who are into their Jet Li movies and who are familiar with this franchise. 2/10

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.