Once Upon a Time in China II by Tsui Hark (1992)
The first Once Upon a Time in China was a massive box office hit in Hong Kong when it was released in 1991. Once Upon a Time in China II arrived in theaters less then a year later, and became an even bigger hit — a rarity in Hong Kong cinema at the time. The sequel finds Wong Fei-hung (Jet Li) and his fellow Chinese still struggling with the influx of Westerners and their influence. Some Chinese, however, have begun responding to the foreigners with ultra-nationalist fervor. Chief among them is the White Lotus Sect, a xenophobic cult that’s determined to root out all Western influence, even if that means killing every foreigner they see. But as Wong is dealing with the cult’s violence, he gets caught up in something more dangerous: a conspiracy to potentially overthrow the government. It’s easy to see why Once Upon a Time in China II did so well at the box office; it’s bigger and better than the first film in almost every way. (That said, Max Mok is a poor substitute for Yuen Biao as Wong’s hapless student Leung Foon.) The White Lotus Sect adds a bizarre, quasi-supernatural aspect to the movie while martial arts fans will love the pairing of Jet Li and Donnie Yen, with the latter playing a ruthless military officer determined to quash any rebellion. Yuen Woo-ping’s dazzling and riotous wire fu garnered him “Best Action Choreography” at the 1993 Hong Kong Film Awards, beating out the likes of Police Story 3: Supercop, New Dragon Gate Inn, and Swordsman II (which, interestingly enough, also starred Li).
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