User Reviews

Chen Zhen's first big-screen incarnation was the Bruce Lee classic "Fist of Legend" and forty years since then, the part of the fictional martial arts hero most famous for resisting the Japanese occupation of Shanghai has been played by many actors including Jet Li and Donnie Yen himself. The return of Donnie to the role since playing it in a 1995 ATV series shouldn't be surprising- after all, with both the Ip Man films and Bodyguards and Assassins, Donnie has been at the forefront of a recent wave of Hong Kong-China big-budget co-productions with strong Chinese nationalistic sentiment.

True to the character's origins, this latest entry into the Chen Zhen mythology trades heavily in chest-thumping patriotism. Chen Zhen/ Donnie Yen's enemies are once again the Japanese- this time in glitzy 1920s Shanghai, an era when the city was divided along the lines of different expatriate factions. The Japanese though were the most ambitious and aggressive, eager to take advantage of a disunited China to conquer the motherland. While an offshore and offscreen naval campaign was ongoing, their strategy in Shanghai was to target locals and foreigners opposed to their plan of expansion.

Donning a black suit and mask, Chen Zhen takes it upon himself to stop the wave of assassinations sweeping the city. Comparisons to Jet Li's Black Mask (1996) and The Green Hornet are inevitable, but Andrew Lau's story of the avenging hero bears even more resemblance to Batman, seeing as how Chen Zhen gets help from Huang Bo's local police constable (a la Commissioner Gordon). Lau's film however refuses to rest easy on one genre, eager to exploit its historical backdrop to deliver an old- fashioned thriller.

And so his Shanghai is one abound with Japanese spies, even in wealthy businessman Liu Yiutian's (Anthony Wong) flashy nightclub Casablanca where Chen Zhen hangs out to observe the politicking among the Westerners and the Japanese. Lau uses the tension between the various camps to keep up a fair amount of intrigue throughout the film, especially as Chen Zhen's underground resistance movement struggles to keep ahead of the stronger and more organised Japanese forces.

Amidst the suspense, the script by no less than four writers (including producer Gordon Chan) also throws in a love story between Chen Zhen and nightclub singer Kiki (Shu Qi), but the addition that was supposed to provide emotional payoff falls far short. So too the relationships between the other characters in the film- whether Chen Zhen's bond with his sister and his compatriots, or his friendship with Liu Yutian. Indeed, these interactions are given short shrift, and Lau fails to delineate them as much as he fails in fleshing out the various characters.

That is a problem especially for Chen Zhen, whose motivations for leading the resistance- other than teaching the Japanese that "Chinese are not the sick men of Asia"- aren't exactly clear. It is also tricky because the audience is not led to feel the level of indignation as Chen Zhen is supposed to, the kind of indignation that made the Ip Man films so satisfying to watch at the end- so the climax between Chen Zhen and an entire dojo of Japanese students and their master just doesn't turn out as emotionally rewarding as one would expect it to.

Those looking for Donnie Yen to kick ass should also lower their expectations. Unlike the Ip Man films, Donnie doesn't get much time here to show off his agility and prowess- thanks to Lau's frenetic efforts to develop a script chock full of undercooked subplots. That is a pity, because one would certainly like to see more of the fast, furious and lethal action that Donnie has on display during the breathtaking opening sequence (to whet your appetite, Chen Zhen uses bayonet knives to take out a section of enemy soldiers on the second floor of a building, running at a 30-degree angle up a pole, and then using the knives to scale up the wall). There are just two more big action setpieces after this before the finale, but what visceral excitement Donnie generates in both is extinguished far too quickly.

For what he falls short in the martial arts sequences, Andrew Lau tries to make up for in flashy visuals and lush cinematography. As with his other films, the director who started out as an acclaimed cinematographer takes up lensing duties here and his photography of 1920s Shanghai is grand and opulent. Nevertheless, most audiences would probably prefer to see Donnie Yen's fighting than Lau's gorgeous cinematography, and will find the latter inadequate compensation for the former.

Fans of Donnie Yen however should still find reason to rejoice. Chen Zhen sees Donnie Yen at his most suave and charismatic (even looking convincingly like he can play a piano). He is also a much better actor now, and the dramatic scenes possess none of the awkwardness that used to dwarf his earlier films. Perhaps most importantly, the exhilarating action sequences show that he has lost none of his mettle as the best martial arts star in Chinese cinema right now. For a younger generation who may not have seen Bruce Lee and his nanchucks in the original "Fist of Legend", Donnie Yen's take on Chen Zhen is iconic enough to leave a lasting impression.

The best thing about "Legend of the Fist" is that it features some of the most spectacular acrobatic prowess to come from the great Donnie Yen. Unfortunately, these moments of awe inspiring nirvana appear in fits and starts after long, long moments of exposition.

If this movie had a strong story, like Donnie Yen's "Kill Zone" with it's engaging plot about police corruption and the consequences of pursuing vengeance, all this exposition could be forgiven. However, the story is about Yen playing a Zorro-like folk hero, who dresses like Bruce Lee in 'The Green Hornet'. What should be a rollicking adventure instead becomes a violent drama about China's occupation by the Japanese. Granted, Donnie Yen's best film, "Ip Man" was also about the Chinese occupation; but that film managed a perfect balance between drama and spectacular action.

I would almost dismiss "Legend of the Fist" altogether; but then Yen does a flip, a jump, a punch, a kick and my jaw hits the floor.

Saw this at London preview.

This is a loose sequel to Bruce Lee's Fist of Fury. Its not important to know that but if you are a fan of Bruce Lee, you will enjoy Donny Yen's sometimes blatant impression of Bruce Lee's nuances and war cries. If you aren't familiar with Bruce Lee, than a certain fight sequence may look a bit bewildering! There is a fascinating story to be told here with some interesting sub plots and bizarrely evolving into a comic book superhero flick. Unfortunately, it makes for a complete mess. I wont totally blame the director for that, that's an editor's job to maintain a narrative flow. The potential is there for this to work but unfortunately it just seems to me that couldn't bind it all together, or they were in a hurry to complete the film because it all seemed rushed.

However, the film is sumptuous to watch in its period settings, and the 2 leads are charismatic enough to carry the film. There is a sprinkle of humour that gave me chuckles though some were unintentional.

But the real star of the film is Donny Yen. As he gets older, he has even more star presence than ever before and when he fights, you can always feel his punches and awesome kicks. The action scenes are adrenaline pumping, visceral, with a stylish visual flair. These alone are worth the price of admission.

I would watch this again, and maybe next time I can piece a few more pieces of the story together.

Overall, see it for the brilliance of Donny Yen action and if you actually followed the story and enjoyed it, then good for you!

Another fest of ass-kicking from Hong Kong superstar Donnie Yen, LEGEND OF THE FIST is loosely based on the same legend as Bruce Lee's FIST OF LEGEND and Jet Li's FIST OF LEGEND. Yen plays a masked freedom fighter battling against imperial Japanese forces during their occupation of Shanghai during the 1920s, and the film is a rousing, action-packed slice of superlative entertainment.

Okay, so the action doesn't quite have the edge of the similar IP MAN and its sequel, but generally speaking it's very good indeed. There's a particular viciousness to the scenes involving Yen going around and battling or murdering his beleaguered city's oppressors, and an involved, conspiracy style-storyline means that nobody can truly be trusted. The ending, which builds to one final bout with the enemy, is predictable in the extreme but nonetheless crowd-pleasing and hugely entertaining.

Yen sleepwalks through his role a bit, having played this type of character loads over the years, but he's given strong support in the likes of established names such as Shawn Yue, Anthony Wong and Shu Qi. The fast-paced story is handled well by Andrew Lau's Infernal Affairs, who brings the same kind of twisty, gritty vitality to this story as he did with that hugely influential cops vs. gangsters movie. And, of course, there are lots and lots of scenes of Yen kicking ass as only he knows how, including a spectacular opening that celebrates the little-known Chinese role in WW1.

Although the narrative gets convoluted at times, the historical setting of the Chinese labor corps sent to aid the allied war effort during world war 1 is historically factual ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Labour_Corps ), though it has been largely forgotten.

the Chinese intelligentsia also successfully mounted pressure to cause Japan to delay full scale aggression until the 30s ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twenty-One_Demands )

this movie is essentially a big budget hong kong action movie produced as a homage to Bruce Lee. At times it strives to be too many homages at once with Donnie Yen resurrecting both Kato AND Chen Zhen ( Fist of Fury).

It shouldn't be conceived as Chinese propaganda (anymore than any of the Bruce Lee movies were) or anti-Japanese, as long as you understand that the Chinese truly were the underdogs back then.

in fact, the young Japanese actor playing the colonel totally stole the show.

Previously this year, there were "True Legend", "14 Blades", "The Legend is Born: Ip Man" and the breathtaking "Ip Man 2". They have been well- made and enjoyable. September brings up another Donnie Yen flick: "Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen".

The movie was actually not bad at all. The acting was not really bad at all and everything was fine. But, why a 6?

First, unlike "Ip Man 2", the movie didn't get to roam many places as the setting like previous martial art flicks. Instead, most of the movie or at least 85% of the movie took place in a club. That made the movie look pretty dull and boring. I just wanted more locations and explore more of Chen Zhen's world rather than staying in a club doing nothing; in the club, there were only some non-action stuff and they were boring.

Secondly, the climactic moment. What the hell happened to Chen Zhen. It's just so strange if you watch the climactic scene. In other words, you're facing a tough enemy and you didn't even get to hit him once in the first round. Suddenly, you rose and the enemy didn't get to hit you once. So "what the hell happened". It's just perfectly shot in the first part and it just suddenly drops in the second round.

Thirdly, why did Donnie Yen do the signature "haya" noises of Bruce Lee. I didn't hear any of those noises in the first movie. What happened to Chen Zhen? It's just so bizarre and unnecessary.

For the others, they were fine. The music was satisfying enough to raise suspense for the movie and the action scenes were perfectly directed. Nothing wrong with the others.

However, the movie does show quite some semi-nude scenes which were pretty disturbing. Compared to "Ip Man 2", "Chen Zhen" has bloodier action scenes.

Overall, the martial action movie was enjoyable and worth to be watched. Only those three things spoil the enjoyment of the film.

Prince AJB's rating: 6/10 or 60%

Thanks for reading my review and hope it is useful.

excerpt, more at my location - One is an acclaimed director, the other an ever-growing martial arts man-of-the-moment. Their source material is Bruce Lee's finest hour. How does this first collaboration between Andrew Lau and Donnie Yen shape up?

That the film is not especially emotionally involving is a surprise when one considers who is at the helm. Andrew Lau is responsible for some of the more visceral and engaging moments in recent Hong Kong popular cinema (consider his Young And Dangerous movies, or the original Infernal Affairs), but here he shows an oddly clumsy hand with character and emotion.

Given the talent involved, it was not unreasonable to expect something of a classic. This is far from it, but its set-pieces still contain more genuine imagination and excitement than is likely to be found anywhere else - especially in the thrilling prologue sequence, which prompts hope from this reviewer that, someday soon, the conscripted Chinese soldiers in World War One get the cinematic tribute they truly deserve.

Imagine that an amateur screenwriter shat out a vomit draft and said, "That's Oscar-worthy!" Well, that pretty much describes this mumbled action flick.

In fairness, the script - or final cut - could have been messed up by anyone, so I won't blame the writer, but as an espionage-cum-action thriller, the film is a total dud.

If you're a fan of Donnie Yen (like me!), you'll watch this regardless of how bad anyone tells you it is, and where the big fight at the end nets it an extra star, please don't let the 4/10 fool you into believing that this is half-way decent, because it really is one of the worst Donnie films I've sat through. Which is a shame, because Shu Qi looks as gorgeous as ever and really pours a lot of emotion into her role... which only further highlights how badly the final film lets down both of its main stars.

This year marks the 70th year of Bruce Lee's birth, arguably the best martial artist the cinematic world has ever seen, with his short filmography still continuing to wow audiences young and old. With tribute screenings at the Hong Kong International Film Festival earlier this year, and at the Tokyo International Film Festival later this month, director Andrew Lau, writer Gordan Chan and leading kung-fu icon of the moment Donnie Yen pay their collective tribute with Legend of the Fist, taking one of the most memorable of Bruce Lee's characters Chen Zhen and imagining a follow up story.

But wait, wasn't the final shot in Fist of Fury quite definitive? But as movie rules are concerned, nothing's canon if you don't see it, so a slew of gunshots count for nothing, passing it off as one of many rumours to discount his death, when in actual fact Chen Zhen (now with Yen picking up the mantle) is still alive and kicking, and sent packing to the WWI front in France to fight alongside his Chinese labourer compatriots against the Axis forces. It's an unsatisfactory explanation I know, but one of the rare blips in what I thought was a riveting story concocted that alas was let down by a clichéd ending that was too abrupt to be satisfying, leaving doors open for another film if it does happen.

Other than that, Legend of the Fist continues how Bruce Lee films were steeped in Chinese nationalism, only here it went with trumpets blaring with any given opportunity. Chen Zhen assumes a dead comrade's identity to return to Shanghai keeping jolly well under the Japanese's radar, where now the city in the early 20s gets carved up into settlements, with a microscopic representation of the internal chaos existing within the nightclub of influential Shanghainese businessman Liu Yiutian (Anthony Wong), with whom Chen Zhen befriends, for an ulterior motive of course, since he's now with the resistance, and the Casablanca club providing a hotbed of information as they plot and counterplot moves against the Japanese's brewing aggression.

Of late there's been a wave of such nationalistic movies that Donnie Yen tend to get involved in, such as Bodyguards and Assassins, and his more recent and successful Ip Man films, where Chinese people gather around a representative hero of their time to defeat foreign aggressors, where even in Ip Man 1, we see and expect the same mano-a-mano against a Japanese general who shows off his fair share of kung-fu knowhow. Like how many caricatures would be crafted in many more films that deal with that difficult period in Chinese history. While Yen had portrayed historical characters in those films, this one he continues with a fictional one made famous by a historical martial artist in Lee.

As a film steeped in paying homage to Lee, there are times where you feel the characters and action get shackled from freedom of expression, but this is not always a bad thing. I had followed Donnie Yen's career pretty early when he was still doing television serials for Hong Kong's ATV, where he played Chen Zhen in a storyline that had to mimic Fist of Fury, but expanded to include a romance with a Japanese woman. Like some television dramas that gets new lease of life on the big screen, it helped that Yen has experience in portraying the role other than a few others like Jet Li in another feature film that was a remake, but this one had the guts to continue where the film / series left off with a new spin.

While aspects of the Chen Zhen character were toned down probably because the character has to continue staying under the radar, gone are the high shrieks when he fights in the beginning (purists, please don't worry, you'll hear that toward the end), and got replaced by plenty of what I thought was MMA executed in brilliantly brutal fashion, starting with the prologue action sequence which had Chen Zhen being that one man soldier, followed by yet another nod in Bruce Lee's direction when dressed in a deliberate Kato costume. I'd say if not for his age, I'd give my vote to Yen if he were to be casted as Kato in the upcoming Green Hornet film in lieu of Jay Chou.

More Lee homages were to come, with the necessity to go shirtless in highlighting the chiseled physique that has its fair share of punishment, and what would be defining of Lee in Fist of Fury with the use of the nunchaks, although with all due respect to Yen, Lee is quite indomitable in this area, and the filmmakers here can only up the ante by throwing in a lot more goons to dispatch of in the same dojo from the earlier film. Yen took the action choreographer reins, and skillfully designed some spectacular fight sequences for action junkies to go wow over, balancing the homage aspects as well as coming up with some really violent, finishing moves to rid opponents. Watch this in a cinema with a proper sound system decked out will heighten that sense surround of being within the all round action.

The story's pretty much plain sailing with little surprises thrown in other than to present shifting loyalties in a tumultuous time, where Anthony Wong lends gravitas, Chinese actor Huang Bo providing comic relief as a corrupt policeman, and Shu Qi lending her vocals yet again as a club hostess already seen in films like Blood Brothers. While the story wouldn't be as iconic as Fist of Fury's, the fight action sequences lived up to its billing, and celebrated manifold the legend of Bruce Lee's instead.

I probably enjoyed it to an 8/10 level but couldn't justify that actually reviewing the film. The fight scenes were good but not at the top standard we know Yen can perform. The story was frankly laughable but that for me was part of the fun everything was over the top slow mo every 5 seconds not even in fight scenes very over the top music throughout. But it fell into that so bad it was great at times category I couldn't stop laughing and then there were some pretty neat fight scenes in between so I can't complain. If you're looking for a film to take seriously then I'd probably avoid this one if you want to sit back and relax without taking life to seriously and like martial arts films in general then you'll probably enjoy.

Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen continues from the Fist of Fury (1995) TV series which also starring Donnie Yen. After a long absent since his last fight against the Japanese Occupation, he returns to Shanghai after fighting against the Italians and Germans in France.

The supposedly dead Chen Zhen (Donnie Yen) joins an underground resistance movement to prevent the future Japanese Occupation in China. In 1917, he and a few Chinese comrades went to France to fight against the Nazi Germany. Soon in 1925, he returns to visit his friend named Liu Yutian (Anthony Wong), a businessman and owner of a Casablanca nightclub, which is the central of attraction for most foreigners in Shanghai.

There are interesting fight scenes and moves done by Yen. He is the "superman", but can still be mortally wounded or injured. Yet again, there are some moves are remarkably impossible such as a long jump and a fast wall climb. The immersing power he puts on to take on everyone is tremendous and exploding.

Unfortunately, the last scene with the final battle with the Colonel Chikairashi isn't what I expect to watch. Such a short stint among those two. However, the film still preserves its famous scream tactic which the late Bruce Late uses in his film.

Lee was the original Chen Zhen before Jet Li took over the role and now Donnie Yen becomes the latest person to play the character. Chen Zhen's return doesn't seem to really focus on his return; it's more like donning the Kato's uniform seems to be highlight of it.

This film is not bad, the action is continuous! Acting: Donnie Yen has one serious intense expression all the time. Although you might laugh when he wears that mask, looking like Zorro/Daredevil/Spiderman standing on rooftops. Shuqi looks ugly and unnatural. Huo siyan(she's killed by Shuqi) is so pretty and when she died it was so poignant! Anthony Wong is a veteran and acts as good as ever. The bad guys are all one-dimensional and ugly. Choreography: Awesome. Donnie Yen takes off his shirt. He is really quick at fighting and running. Lots of blood and torture!! Plot: Basically it's a simple "Japanese--Bad. Chinese--Fight". It portrays what China is really like accurately though. Most of the times they are not united as seen from when they start fighting amongst themselves instead of against enemies. I think it's because they're too crowded. Sentimental parts are not bad, like Chen Zhen's parts and Shuiqi's parts.

If you're used to old-school chop-socky kung fu movies, you're in for a surprise with this film. Perhaps it's just my ignorance or my poor choice of martial arts films, but this movie has awakened me to how movies in China can be made. This film is thoroughly modern.

This move is epic and modernly made. It tells a story based on Chinese history, which is kinda the norm for martial arts movies from China, but on a somewhat grand scale and it works. While there are NOT a lot of fight scenes, there is a lot of story presented through exceptional photography of very beautiful and realistic looking sets/locations.

I highly recommend this movie for fans of martial arts that also want some story that doesn't involve two competing kung fu schools. It honestly reminded my of "The Last Emperor", which totally caught me off guard.

Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen (2010) is a movie that I recently watched on Tubi. The storyline follows a martial arts student whose master is murdered by a mob boss and the student is shot and left for dead. The student leaves the country and comes back years later and joins the same mob who killed his boss with a list of targets for his revenge.

This movie is directed by Andrew Lau (Infernal Affairs III) and stars Donnie Yen (Iron Monkey 2), Anthony Chau-Sang Wong (Infernal Affairs), Shu Qi (The Transporter), Bo Huang (Journey to the West) and Siyan Huo (My Name is Fame).

The attire and sets are very good and the cinematography was excellent. The choreography was perfect and the opening fight scene and the sequence in the rain were awesome. The final battle is also fabulous. There's a great throat slice too. Donnie Yen delivers a worthwhile performance that's an absolute must see.

Overall this isn't Donnie Yen's best picture but it is worth a viewing. I would score this a solid 7/10 and strongly recommend it.

Uneven yet entertaining routine…

Donnie Yen is officially over-exposed. While his latest venture in Chen Zhen will not diminish his popularity, but the for movie lovers, this is just yet another more of the same. The fact that Jet Li made far superior prequel in 1994 (namely Fist of Legend) adds to the disappointment. Mr. Gordon Chan serves as producer seems to have forgotten how to make a film more even, while director Andrew Lau Is once again lost incoherence when without his counterpart Mak Siu Fai. Still, Legend of Fist is by no means a bad film, in fact, I find it quite entertaining. However, one would expect more with the current status of Yen and everyone else involved.

One thing I cannot stop noticing is that Donnie Yen plays Chen Zhen like Ip Man. Not only did the final fight looks like Ip Man, but Yen acted with retrained in his character, a bit too much like the aforementioned icon. Just when he is required to do more overacting, Yen restrained to his stoned delivery. I remember watching Yen fights his way through to the big boss in Fist of Fury ATV series. His overacting created the atmosphere. While I am condoning overacting, as Yen is previously notorious for that, but I am disappointed that Yen cannot stray off his Ip Man image. I am also somewhat disappointed in the final fight scene with a class of students. In Jet Li's Fist of Legend, the scene was creatively filmed with overhead camera angles. Here, it is deadpan and the delivery is flat and how he cleaned up the room seems rather contrived and unclear. The final fight with the Japanese general is too routine and cliché to be anywhere near affecting.

Antony Wong is wasted in a role where he adds next to nothing. Perhaps filmed at the same time as his venture into the Laughing Gor's role, Wong tries hard, but the script fails him. To say the least, I might admit that the best thing may well be Shu Qi. Her role is complicated and somehow she is able to pull it off. I wouldn't say that she dazzled the screen, but she was most certainly the most watchable character in the movie. Another problem is the lack of chemistry between Yen and Qi, which may well adds up to the unaffecting finale.

All in all, Legend of the Fist is a decent entry into the martial arts arena, but it fails to have the same impact as Ip Man. The reason is simple, where Ip Man is a well directed film, Chen Zhen is not. At times the film feels too random, incoherent and at the end of the day rather uneven. Yen have physical presence and as well as musical talents, but his acting is still a long way from being accomplished. It seems as though that Yen is still riding on his waves of Ip Man's success. While it is not necessarily a bad thing, Chen Zhen is at the end of the day an iconic character made famous by both Bruce Lee, Jet Li and himself. To me, the donning of the mask (like Kato) should never have happened. Still, the Legend of the Fist is a decent film, some fine action scenes and more importantly people just can't get enough of Donnie Yen. Does it live up to expectations? Probably not. Does it brings the audience back to the cinemas? Yes. Maybe I am just a tad too demanding and after all, how can Donnie Yen do anything wrong...(Neo 2010)

I rate it 6/10

• www.thehkneo.com

First things first, the Martial Arts and action in this movie is quite impressive at times, though all in all you won't see anything you haven't seen before in some other MA movie. Dramaturgically, you get what you expect. Nothing fancy, completely predictable... and that is more or less fine by me, as this movie isn't supposed to be another Tiger&Dragon or some similar high quality movie coming out of China to stun the western audience.

However, the thing that really bugs me is the not even subtle propaganda depicted in this movie. I was used to the general degree of Chinese propaganda thanks to Ip Man 1&2 as well as Zero. But this beast puts things to a whole new level. Not only are dialogs kept very simple at most times and we get 'interesting' lines like "See, Chinese are much stronger than Japanese" or "Chinese are real man" and similar ridiculous stuff but generally, throughout the whole movie almost every scene that isn't related to actual fighting literally screams "F**k the Japanese, F**k the white man, China uber alles!" But even that, I could accept at some level.

However, what I can absolutely not accept is the falsification of historical truth we can see in the beginning of the movie. Chinese fighting on the western front in WW1? Are you serious? The Chinese did declare war against Germany, correct. But did they send any troops to any actual battlefield? No! No Chinese troops fought outside of Asia during WW1. Just as a short side note, I think the Chinese film makers mixed up WW1 and 2, given the fact that the supposedly German soldiers in the opening scene had the equipment of a Wehrmacht soldier in the late '30s and not that of a German soldier fighting in WW1. Just take a closer look at the helmets and uniforms they're wearing. But that's the historian inside of me speaking. Also the main protagonist claims two or three times that China is a victory power of WW1. That again, is an outright falsification of historical truth. As a historian I simply cannot accept such outrageous propagandistic behavior by the film makers. Legend of the fist is just way to much polemical propaganda and to few actual fighting.

conclusion: A little above average Martial Arts, dramaturgically slightly below average even for a Martial Arts movie, to this point unseen degree of political propaganda and falsification of history...

1 point out of ten.

The good points. Cinematography and set designs. Really evokes Shanghai of the period. Acting mixed but Donnie is good and though he is pacing out his fights these days the end fight is very good. The scipt is all over the place and has too many long stretches of dialogue and pointless sub plots. This is almost propoganda - the brave Chinese masses versus the corrupt west and hateful Japanese. Enjoyed the setting and the final fight but you have to plod through a lot of nonsense to get there.