Rise of the Legend
2014; directed by Roy Chow

As of the time of the writing of this review (May 2016) internet nerds are up in arms about the impending reboot of the Ghostbusters franchise. The whole idea of remakes and reboots has been a staple of Hollywood producers and studios for a while now, but their eastern counterparts are also participating in the movement, as evidenced by the recent release of Rise of the Legend, which is a "modern" (read: grittier and more serious) take on the tale of Chinese folk hero Wong Fei-Hung.

This time out, Fei-Hung is played by Eddie Peng, whose experience in the martial arts film realm is somewhat limited (his biggest roles in the genre before this were in Tai Chi Zero and Tai Chi Hero) but manages to look good as the legend. Much of this can be put towards veteran action director Corey Yuen, who has been slipping a bit as of late, but seems to be closer to his old self here, delivering some hard-hitting and violent action that is thankfully free for the most part from computer-enhanced trickery and sleight of camera tricks.

The story, on the other hand, could have used a bit of work. Unabashedly inspired (or ripped off, depending on how you view matters) from the classic Kurosawa samurai film Yojimbo, Fei-Hung is playing various gangsters off of each other in the hopes of getting revenge for his father (essayed by Tony Leung Ka-Fai) by toppling the gang's leader, Lui, played by Sammo Hung, who also co-produced the film. Of course, given the lineage of the previous films (as well as the increasing jingoism in Chinese cinema) Lui is backed by some evil nasty gwailos. To be frank, there are simply too many characters involved and the story gets to be too convoluted for its own good -- even more so when combined with the dreaded mandatory romantic subplot, especially when the romantic interest is played by the flatlining Angelababy.

All in all, though, Rise of the Legend is a fine martial arts film, though not necessarily a great addition to the cinematic lineage of Wong Fei-Hung. Director Roy Chow has certainly improved since his debut, the hilariously awful thriller Murderer, and he shows a flair for visually exciting violence. Now, if he can tighten up things in the storytelling department, we may have a director to watch for in the future, which is sadly becoming a very rare thing in the modern-day Hong Kong film industry.

RATING: 7

Rise of the Legend has been released uncut and in the original Mandarin language mix (with an optional English track) in North America by Well Go USA. It is available on VOD, DVD and Blu-ray from Amazon. Extras on the disc-based versions include trailers and behind the scenes featurettes.