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Starring
:
Jet
Li
Rosamund
Kwan
Donnie
Yen
David
Chiang
Mok
Siu Chung
Action
:
Yuen
Woo Ping
Producer
:
Tsui
Hark
Ng
See Yuen
Director
:
Tsui
Hark
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ONCE
UPON A TIME IN CHINA 2 (1992)
A.K.A.
- OUATIC 2; Once Upon A Time In China II
Reviewed
by Tony Ryan
The
first 'OUATIC'
was a true artistic and directorial masterpiece, making Jet Li
into the superstar he had long threatened to become whilst
simultaneously kick-starting the 90’s new wave wire-fu craze
that recently culminated in the globally successful 'Crouching
Tiger, Hidden Dragon' and 'The Matrix'. It would have been
a brave man to predict this sequel could match the original in
any way. Thankfully, no one seemed to be taking the challenge
lightly and a stellar cast and crew were called upon to make
sure that this was more than just a money-spinning follow-up.
Yuen
Woo-ping came in to style the action, which is equally as good
as in part one and sublime throughout except for the finale
which seems to end a little too abruptly, while Donnie Yen is
the most notable new addition to the cast and provides a clear
physical equal to Jet Li as the menacing General Yan.
Unfortunately, Yuen Biao is sadly missing, replaced by the
less charismatic and more comical Mok Siu Chung. The most
important aspect of making this film successful was the
directorial continuity of Tsui Hark, always eager to provide
us with an emotional and visual masterpiece, something that
was clearly lacking in the final, inferior OUATIC helmed by
Sammo Hung.
In
my opinion, this film does not have the same numerous levels
within its story which made the first such an all round
classic, however, much of the action is just as impressive,
especially as Jet required less doubling this time round
thanks to being virtually injury free. The ladder sequence
from the first instalment loses something on repeat viewing
when one can see how little Jet actually does, while here, we
are treated to some of Jet’s own true Wu Shu ability as he
battles numerous excellent opponents, especially Donnie Yen
who for me is one of the best screen fighters around. If only
he was undercranked less often in most of his other films!
This
was actually the 100th feature length Wong Fei Hung
film and fortunately is one of the best, falling slightly
behind the first film and Jackie’s 'Drunken
Master 2'. However, being almost as good as those makes
this a must have for any Jet Li or Jade screen fan, especially
as we are treated to such an excellent DVD release from the
team at Hong Kong Legends.
Rating:
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