Once Upon a Time in China and America (1997) User Reviews

Enjoyable hokum

[Mike Astill · 7/10 · 16 August 2001]

The sixth film in the series, and the welcome return of Jet Li after a break in parts 4 and 5. This time around Wong Fei Hung and his cohorts take a trip to the wild west, a reasonable idea but ultimately one of the weakest of the films. The plot limps along rather pointlessly, although the frequent fight scenes (choreographed by Sammo Hung) are as exciting as ever. Their power is somewhat diminished, however, as at no point do you feel the characters are in any real danger.

Jet's cool bullet-dodging in the climactic fight is fun, but only real highlight is the scene where Fei Hung's loyal comrade Seven attempts to cure his master's amnesia by fighting him in the styles of villains from the previous films.

The supporting cast are a painful bunch of stereotypes, and their acting ability leaves a great amount to be desired, but if you can get past that this is enjoyable enough hokum.

Once Upon a Time in China and America

[Tweekums · 7/10 · 16 October 2014]

As this film opens Wong Fei-Hung and his fiancée 'Aunt Lee' are travelling through the American West in a stage coach, they stop to pick up Billy, a man lost in the wilderness, but they don't really get a chance to get to know him as their group of wagons is attacked by Indians as they stop to eat. They survive the ensuing fight but Wong Fei-Hung hits his head in a river and when he comes to he is with a group of Indians and has no memory. Aunt Lee and friend Seven join up with friends who have settled in America then set about finding Wong Fei-Hung; who has become friends with the Indians after helping them beat a rival tribe… he is now particularly close to one of the women. When his countrymen finally find him he still doesn't know who he is so Seven must fight him till his memory returns! That isn't the end of their worries though; the mayor of the town is making life difficult for the Chinese population and frames them when the bank is robbed; to prove their innocence they will have to survive hanging and fight the real robbers!.

If you are looking for a serious western then this isn't the film for you; however if you want some laughs and over the top kung-fu action then this is a lot of fun. Cliché is piled on cliché as we have marauding Indians, amnesia, corrupt officials and diabolical villains; the leader of whom just happens to know kung-fu! The action scenes are well choreographed for the most part although occasionally they look hilariously fake… the early wagon crash being most notable. When I watched this I had no idea that it was actually the sixth instalment in a series of films but that doesn't really matter; the cast are introduced in a way that means you don't have to have seen earlier instalments; the only real confusion was the title as we never see them in China! The Chinese cast do well; as one would expect Jet Li's action scenes are great as are those of Xin Xin Xiong, who plays Seven, Rosamund Kwan is also likable as Aunt Lee. The western cast aren't so great though; they aren't terrible but it is of no surprise that none of them are well known… or known at all for that matter. Overall this is a lot of fun if you want plenty of action and plenty of laughs… sometime unintended laughs!.

These comments are based on watching the subtitled version of the film; strangely everything is subtitled including the English dialogue… which sometimes doesn't match what is said!

Jet Li...Wong Fei Hung VI

[gorytus-20672 · 7/10 · 15 October 2021]

Oct 21

Once upon a time in china and america is the 6th and final film in the series.

I was a little disappointed in this one despite the return of Jet Li. Its effectively a martial arts western and some of it works and some of it doesn't.

I like it but do not love it, not quite up to the standard of Once upon a time in china 1 to 5.

7 out of 10.

Comical, but good.

[jajw98 · 26 May 2000]

This movie kind of makes you wonder if he wants to hit that niche that Jackie Chan has in China. The fighting is not only off the wall, but it's comical as well. Don't expect to see the serious Jet Li that you're used to though, otherwise you'll be disappointed. The best thing about this movie is; you didn't have to see any of the others in the series to know what's going on. Most Chinese sequels tend to leave anyone who hasn't seen the first movies in the dark. If you just take it for what it was meant to be, you'll enjoy it immensely. You can tell that Jet Li was making an attempt to start making his presence in America. I would highly recommend this movie to anyone who's a fan of Jet Li.

Undemanding eastern western with plenty of action and goofiness

[Leofwine_draca · 6/10 · 22 September 2016]

Jet Li's last appearance in the ONCE UPON A TIME IN CHINA film series is a straightforward East-meets-West adventure that offers some fun martial arts sequences and a storyline that's been done about a hundred times already (indeed, the martial arts western premise had already been exhausted by the time it first appeared in the early 1970s). This time around, Tsui Hark stands in as producer and brings sure-hand director Sammo Hung on board to lens the proceedings. Sadly, it appears that Hung's artistic vision was somewhat constrained on this movie, which has a kind of bland, glossy look and is far from the nitty-gritty action seen in his '80s offerings like MILLIONAIRE'S EXPRESS and EASTERN CONDORS.

Jet Li, who only made one more Chinese flick, Hit-man, before upping sticks to America, is good value for money, as always, but he does look a little bored with the material. Things do tend to get rather silly, especially when he joins a Native American tribe who nickname him 'Yellow' (a little racist perhaps?).You get the impression that Li was looking for a little more substantial material which is fair enough. Others returning from the third film in the series include Xi Xi Xiong (as lightning-fast as ever) and Rosamund Kwan, who looks a lot older, and is pretty much unrecognisable from her glory days in the '80s. The only other recognisable cast member is Richard Ng, better known as 'Sandy', who seems to have aged about twenty years since we last saw him.

The storyline is definitely episodic with one or two engaging stunts, including a spectacular carriage crash which has to be seen to be believed. The final drawn-out battle with a gang of bandits is a lot of fun, especially Li's showdown with Joe Sayah, a really weird looking guy who gets bottles and all sorts smashed over his head. Although the film never reaches the heights to which it aspires, it passes the time amiably enough if you're in the mood for non-demanding fare.

Not one of Jet Li's Best

[Poe-6 · 7/10 · 5 January 1999]

Jet Li reprises the role that he was born to play as Wong Fei Hung. This time, Master Wong is in America to set up his clinic Po Chi Lam there. But things go wrong as he gets amnesia and lives with some Indian tribe.

The story was okay, but the rest of it wasn't. First of all, the fight scenes were poorly filmed. I couldn't tell what was going on since it was blurred and/or sped up. This is too bad since I wanted to see Jet Li's physical talents. Also, the sterotyping of the Indians were pretty bad too. The American actors' lines were horrible and cliched, and the American actors themselves were pretty bad (of course, they could have been bad because of the bad lines they got). There were some good scenes, but a couple of good scenes doesn't make a medicore movie any better. This movie is worth a rental if there is nothing else to rent.

Stick to the first 3, don't bother with any of the rest, including this one

[Proz512 · 4/10 · 25 October 2002]

After watching the first 3 in a two period to see what was so good about the series, I decided to watch this as an off-chance. I was horribly disappointed. While it might have come out before Shanghai Noon, this was just plain unbearable to watch with painfully BAD stereotypical dialogue with a plot thrown in around the last 2/3rd of the movie. Do yourself some justice and skip this movie if given an option. Only watch it for morbid curiosity, but you'll only be disappointed. I feel like this horrible film tainted my eyes after watching the first 3, which were full of movie magic. The action scenes in this one didn't even keep my attention at times.

Widescreen not-dubbed Mandarin version is much improved.

[johnlewis · 8/10 · 28 October 2004]

It is understandable that some reviewers got such a poor impression of this film, because the commonly available China Star DVD (found at Best Buy et all) has a horrid Cantonese dub language track, and for some odd reason also has a poor Mandarin dub. It is also cropped badly (pan and scan). But the language problem is the most glaring enjoyment inhibitor, totally ruining the humor and timing of this very enjoyable western spoof/martial arts action flick. This film was actually filmed with live mikes right here in Texas, in live Mandarin, English, and some Cantonese. This original track is only found in the rare official Taiwan DVD from Thunder Media. The action and stunt-work in this film is almost the eighth wonder of the world. The things Jet Li does with his fighting and acrobatic skills are truly amazing. Great story, too. Very humorous in places- also being a spoof of the Once Upon a Time in China series in general. Since many of the stunts are rather large scale, the widescreen really helps also. Plenty has been said here about the story itself, so I don't need to add much. I agree this is not on the same level as the first two Once Upon a Time in China movies, but really neither is the third. I would rank this almost as good as OUATIC3, if viewed with the original soundtrack and aspect ratio.

Nice Action Flick

[sarthakjaiswaloo · 6/10 · 30 August 2021]

A very good movie for Time Pass, Acting is Good Story is Ok, acting is also good specially of Jet Li.

Waste of time! 1/10

[leonblackwood · 1/10 · 1 December 2014]

Review: It's been such a long time since I have seen a movie which is full of huge pixels. For a film that was made in the late 90's, I really can't see why the camera work so so terrible, and the movie wasn't that much better. The acting was appalling from the Red Indians and the weird looking blonde guy and the storyline was all over the place. The music sounded like it was done on one of those old, small casino organs but some of the fighting scenes weren't that bad. I'm glad that I didn't have to read subtitles through the movie because the script was really bad and the dubbing wasn't much better. On the whole, it's not a movie that I will be watching again in a hurry. Terrible!

Round-Up: This has to be one of the worst martial arts movies that I have seen in some time. The sad thing is that Jet Li actually isn't that bad in it. I do wonder how people can watch the screening of a movie and think that it's OK to release utter rubbish. I also can't see were all of the budget went. Anyway, I will just put this down as a bad day at the office for Jet Li.

Budget: $12million Worldwide Gross: HK$30million

I recommend this movie to people who are into their Jet Li movies about a group of natives, trying to make a new life for themselves in the Wild West. 1/10

Excellent martial-arts movie.

[7echnoid · 8/10 · 6 November 2002]

This is one of the best movies in the "Once upon a time in China" series. Funny once in a while with its goofy Chinese humour and filled with fast fightingsequences that are beyond us "normal" people. :) The synchronized sound is, as usual not the best, but it does the trick..

Crazy and entertaining film.

[dasa108 · 6/10 · 6 March 2023]

I've seen a lot of Jet Li movies and some of them are my all time favourites. To my misfortune, the ones he did impersonating Wong Fei Hung are one of the worst in his filmography and I emphasize the first two, which are an absolute disaster. Although this film is based on a delusional premise, at least it offers us genuine entertainment based on the fact that everything that happens is unexpected. It can even be asserted that Jet Li here, apart from being a producer, offers one of his most lucid performances. The cast pays off and the pace is hectic thanks to a careful Sammo Hung. It is a fast, entertaining film that, unlike its previous installments in the saga, may please someone not born in China or its surroundings.

terrible

[manfex · 5/10 · 18 November 2002]

i really liked the first two, and the third one was ok, but this one is terrible. the plot is crap, the actors are bad (except the original ouatic cast) and the camera work pretty much ruined it for me, the shaking of the camera and too fast cuts ruined the action scenes, that could have saved the film.

Sammo Hung Should Stay In Front of Cameras....

[premiumcream · 7 December 2003]

I'm going to be blunt: This is not a good movie. There are two major flaws holding it down. First, the direction is horrible. The regular dialogue scenes are shot well enough, but when it comes time for the fight scenes the camera becomes jittery, it's in way to close to the action and the angles are completely off. This is a shame because Jet Li and Xin Xin Xiong are amazing martial artists and their talents are completely wasted here. Which brings me to the other problem. The villains are...bank robbers? Jet Li fights the English and corrupt officials in the first two films and now he's got to fight bank robbers? Besides that, (minor spoiler) the main villain doesn't even put up a fight. Wong basically kicks his @$$ all over town. There is no dramatic intensity whatsoever. (end spoiler)

On a side note, the Tai Seng DVD release has terrible subtitles. They're out of synch with the dialogue and the only get worse as the movie goes on. At the end of the film they show up a good 6-7 seconds after the person has spoken making things a bit confusing.

My Film Rating: 3/10

Once Upon A Time In China & America

[kevinptown88 · 4/10 · 12 February 2004]

Saw this dvd and was completely distracted by the soundtrack that was about 10 seconds behind the actual words that were spoken. For a Jet Li film I thought it was good but I would like to see a repaired version. I see about 2 or three martial arts films a week and this was the worst subtitled yet.

Entertaining entry in the series

[drngor · 8/10 · 26 April 2000]

Jet Li returns as Wong Fei Hung in this great epic series of China's history. With Sammo Hung at the director's chair, one can expect some high-quality choreography. And good fights are not lacking in this movie. I thought that the characters were more defined and likeable then in OUATIC 4. I thought that the epic quality of the story and themes weren't there, but setting that aside, the movie is fun to watch. Sammo proves that he's one of the best choreographers, and Jet Li proves that he's one of the best on-screen fighters.