The movie is about the early days of Wong Fei Hung, a real person in late-19th century/early 20th-century China whose deeds have been greatly embellished and made into dozens of films and TV series. He is the same character portrayed by Jet Li in the Once Upon a Time series.However, the film itself has almost nothing to do with the real person. The main character uses the WFH name and his father conjures up familiar memories of a umbrella-wielding kung fu master popularized by the Iron Monkey film. Also, in the real-life tales of WFH's heroic deeds, it is said that he took on a dock gang in his early days, which this movie loosely portrays.Other than that, this movie could have simply been a standalone film. But the WFH name is famous throughout China and no doubt was used to sell more tickets.Although the use of CGI and wire is very noticeable at times, the overall look and choreography of the film is very good. Unfortunately, as is common with Chinese films, too much attention is paid to the look, but not enough to the substance. Ultimately the movie does not break any new ground. As is common in Chinese action films, characters again do inexplicably idiotic things for the sake of creating "drama" or "emotion" and to create convenient scenarios to push the plot along without any serious attempt to explain WHY. Overall, it's not a bad movie but it's also little more than another typical Chinese flick that looks good but doesn't do anything beyond that.

Sammo Hung and Eddie Peng star in what is clearly an attempt to renew the success of Once Upon a Time in China's extended series about revolutionary hero and martial artist Wong Fei-Hung. A lot of money was spent on this, the casting pretty decent and the cinematography and sets are lush; what lets the film down is the choppy editing and the lack of ambition when it came to things like the final fight sequence which looked like somebody had set the stage for a battle to the death between two seasoned champions only to have the comic relief fight the third string henchman.The Plot centres on Fei-Hung and his childhood friends long drawn out revenge against a powerful gang they blame for destroying their lives and those around them. Fei infiltrates the gang and orchestrates bit by bit the spectacular downfall of his new family and betrayal of his adopted father, culminating in a showdown with Sammo Hung who plays the crafty mob boss. Melodramatic and tragic in tone, the film is choked with moments designed to elicit pained expressions of grief and frustration from Eddie Peng who we assume will have to carry the inevitable sequels should this be deemed good enough. Sadly Eddie Peng even on a basic pot boiler 70's Shaw Brothers scale is not quite there yet. Perhaps I'm being harsh on Eddie Peng, but when Jet Li first broke out ,there was never any doubt of how good he was and how big he would become, Peng however is no Jet Li. Sammo Hung of course plays Sammo, to be critical of this would be unfair. Rise of the Legend suffers somewhat to the earlier and definitive, version of the hero's life.As a martial arts film it highlights key fighting techniques and sets up action sequences that are if not as complex as Jet Li or Jackie Chan's works, are at least well filmed and hold your attention. Furthermore, several of the fight sequences recall earlier films both in use of sets and obstacles presented. In so doing we are asked to judge the homage to film makers past and conclude sadly that if we are looking for jaw dropping choreography and extended displays of original or at least well executed complex battle scenarios, we should set our expectations to medium. As a cognoscenti of the genre I will admit to not being bored by the fight scenes and looked forward to the next one, in fact you could count on them breaking out fairly regularly. Fighting being half of what you'd expect from such a film, it hits the right notes well enough to entertain.The other half of the story, in which we explore the motivations and machinations of the heroes and villains is pretty textbook and predictable, interspersed with sometimes annoying intrusions and cut aways of back story told in the form of flash backs to Fei-Hung's childhood, training at a monastery and the occasional sudden personal moments that are far too brief. More Shaw brothers than Crouching Tiger, in this regard the film is let down by sloppy story telling and relies on the next fight scene to forgive it.Rise of the Legend isn't as good as it could have been, but is good enough to entertain for two hours.

special effect, in addition to overly told repetitive boring storyline, totally unnecessary long and tiresome fighting scenes. the only impression of this bad movie is boring, boring and boring. why the Chinese movie industries in mainland china and hong kong so obsessed with this hwang legend. the dialog either done by the actors or voice over by some other people solely doing such line of work, but either turned out to be naturally enough just because of the contrite dialog. it's such a boring storyline with randomly inserted flash backs of the teenage kids or used some westerners for background extra purpose. there is nothing interested enough to keep the interest or focus. every scene in this film looked staged including the costumes and the make-up. the dialog is just so boring and the tempo of the most part of the film is too slow with suddenly explosive fighting scenes, but then again, the off screen narration by the main character also making the viewer like me feel unnecessary and awkward. i know this actor from taiwan is now a rising star, quite hot because he's been showing himself in so many films in recent years, but he actually is not an unique find but a regular and blended guy. all in all, this film is marginally watchable flick, if you have other better choice to kill the time, don't waste it on watching this, it's just so boring.

When I watched Rise of the Legend I wasn't aware that it's the origin story of Wong Fei Hung, so the revelation was a pleasant surprise. Different from many iterations of the iconic kungfu master, this one sets a more gangster oriented approach as Fei Hung tries to rid the city of the cruel mafia. The production is splendid with fantastic shots and clever use of camera during the fight scenes.Peng Yuan as Fei Hung is a great choice, he brings a brash and sometimes cocky nature that hasn't been seen often in this type of movie. Contradicting the wise mannered Fei Hung, he looks much more reckless, crude and exceptionally younger. The character goes through many developments in the course of the movie as he gradually becomes more mature and weights his responsibility. Also, he looks the part and able to perform the tricky moves.While this is still an action film, the focus is centered heavily towards crime aspect, including drug dealing, prostitution and other unsavory acts. Depiction of the corrupt city and the intricacy of the criminal empire are shown with high level of pomposity. It has been influenced by more modern vibe and is definitely a darker rendition than most kungfu movie of its kind.The movie has brilliant cinematography. Lingering poverty, dusty and murky streets, as well as shady dealings underneath dim light are depicted with gritty innate outlook. It fuses with great choreography, creating incredible brawls after brawls. The way the view changes direction, springs above or near the action, and simply effective slow motion make the combat much more enjoyable.However, the script has some fundamental issues. On occasions, the twists are handled without precision, often making the scenarios seems highly unfeasible. The movie brushes these disparities aside for the sake of pushing the plot. This is counterproductive to the realistic intrinsic it has produced. Some scenes are highly questionable as if the transition into latter arc is forced to make sensational set pieces.Sammo Hung is a veteran of the genre, but recently he's stuck on the same role. In here he doesn't distinguish himself enough from many other roles he had. It's unfortunate since his character could've had more emotional range. The movie has good foundation for brotherhood and loyalty theme, almost a reminiscence of Gangs of New York, but lacks the necessary complexity to fully realize its potential.Regardless of the bumps at the middle of the film, Rise of the Legend is an exciting action flick with fresh perspective and aesthetic production.