Fist of Legend

Rating:
Summary: Martial Arts Masterpiece
Review: Fist of Legend is easily one of the best martial arts films ever made. The fight sequences and set pieces are amazing. This is an excellent introduction to the talents of Jet Li. Its a far better film than either Romeo Must Die or Black Mask. This is a rather serious martial arts film. Its a tribute to Bruce Lee and is based in part upon Lee's film The Chinese Connection (aka Fist of Fury). Its a story of revenge and honor that also incorporates a Romeo and Juliet type subplot involving Li and his Japanese girlfriend. However the story takes a back seat to the amazing action sequences which are among the best ever filmed. The only major problem with this version is the english dubbing. I wish that they would give you the option of the original language track on the dvd.

Rating:
Summary: This is what real kongfu movies should be!
Review: This is a truely great kongfu movie, one of very few that can be rated five stars. Besides the incredible choreography and graceful stunts (Yuan Woo Ping plus Jet Li, you can certainly expect the best of the best), it makes people feel the upright spirit. The story took place during the Japanese invation in 1930's. The movement of saving the nation was to burst. Chen Zhen (Jet Li), a patriot with deep thoughts had to face the constrast between national conflict and personal love. The movie successed in not only for the fighting scenes, but also the portray of Chen Zhen's character in such a complex historical content.

I have watched both the original version and the dubbed DVD version of the movie and favoured the original one. I believe that dubbing and editting lets the film lose too much of its essence and even makes it a little strange. Believe me, go and watch the VHS edition. It can't be wrong, as a native Chinese, I would also prefer to watch a subtitled original English movie rather than dubbed version.

Rating:
Summary: Jet li at his best !!!!
Review: Enough with kajiu films now its time for review on some martila arts films.Jet li remake of bruce lee Fist of Fury aka.Chinese Connection U.S. title is far epic and most high speed martial arts movies out there.Really the story is the same as Fist of Fury but Jet li fighting ability and acrobatic are awesome in this movie.This is a must have dvd or vhs.The fighting scenes will blow you away.

Note:Suggest you get the original one with subtitle for the language and msuic score.

Rating:
Summary: ONE OF JET'S AND KUNG FU MOVIEDOM'S ALL TIME BEST!
Review: This is one of Jet Li's finest showcases to date.

Jet Li plays a Chinese student studying abroad in Japan during the time of the Japanese occupation of China. While there he falls in love with a Japanese girl who follows him back to China when he hears his sifu has been killed in a martial arts match against a Japanese karate exponent. His worst fears come to fruition as he learns upon exhuming his master's grave that his teacher died not from blows caused during the grudge match as originally reported but by a slow working poison.

Jet Li seeks retribution, but not before encountering many obstacles along the way. For starters some of his classmates feel that Jet Li's character, much to his chagrin, rightfully deserves the position vacated by their late master. This causes a one-sided jealous rivalry between he and the newly appointed head of the school. There's also plenty of prejudice directed his way by both Chinese and Japanese alike over his choice of a Japanese girlfriend. To top it off he must do battle with top Japanese martial artists as he tries to piece together the murder of his master, all of this in a country taken over by Japanese military law.

This one has everything, an emotionally involving story, two dimensional characters, and some of the fastest, all out powerful fights to hit the screen. Memorable moments include Jet Li taking on a schoolful of Japanese college students at the beginning of the film using chin na (joint locking) techniques, an emotional fight involving "the saving of face" between Jet and his former classmate who's the new head of his school, a beautifully realized and lesson-filled match set to windy sand gusts between Jet and an older Japanese sensei (played by the wonderful Yasuaki Kurata of so many old school kung fu flicks fame), and a knock down drag em out slugfest against a mean spirited general played to evil perfection by high kicking superstar Billy Chow.

This story was the perfect vehicle for Bruce Lee in FIST OF FURY (aka CHINESE CONNECTION) and the update proves a perfect vehicle for Jet Li. HIGHLY recommend (though if you don't mind subtitles I would recommend the original, widescreen, uncut and unaltered Cantonese version even more which is translated a little better than the English dub).

For another great take on Japanese versus Chinese martial arts see SHAOLIN CHALLENGES NINJA (aka HEROES OF THE EAST) starring MASTER KILLER himself, Gordon Lau (aka Lau Kar Fei, Liu Chia Hoi). For those curious to see more of Jet Li at his best in vehicles that are worthy of him see HERO, FONG SAI YUK (aka THE LEGEND), and ONCE UPON A TIME IN CHINA I and II.

Rating:
Summary: Jet Li is the sole reason to buy this DVD
Review: This is, by far, one of my favorite Jet Li movies. It has all the simple pleasures of a martial arts movie coupled with some great martial arts on the part of Jet Li who is amazing in these incredibly well choreographed fight scenes.

Still, the lack of many basic or extra features on this DVD really hurts it in the end. I mean, there isn't even an option to hear the movie in the original Cantonese/Mandarin languages in which it was filmed. Once Upon a Time in China sports a DVD package that all such movies should be graced with (the original language version, the English dubbed version, decent remixed 5.1 sound, and a commentary by someone who has something to say about the movie and the genre). The picture on this DVD is clear, but not outstanding, the sound is a 5.1 mix, but if you have the equipment to hear all the channels, you'll often find the rear channels lacking, and there are no commentaries or featurettes or language options. This is a very basic DVD and worth owning solely on the virtues of Jet Li's fantastic moves and the solid film which was produced.

Rating:
Summary: Jet Li has done it again.
Review: FIST OF LEGEND is not a mere remake of the Bruce Lee film FIST OF FURY (called THE CHINESE CONNECTION in the U.S.) I don't there was one Bruce Lee movie I didn't like EXCEPT for FIST OF FURY. It was simply a long, boring, poorly made kung fu flick that disgraced Bruc Lee and everything he stood for.

And in truth, FIST OF LEGEND doesn't have much to do with FIST OF FURY, other than than the basic plot (a martial artist avenging his master's murder) and the Chinese vs Japanese element, so no, I don't consider this a remake of FIST OF FURY, but even if you do, I promise you FIST OF LEGEND is by far the better film.

The movie begins in 1937, during the Japanese occupation of Shanghai. Chen Zhen (Jet Li) is attending college in Japan when he learns that his master, or as Chinese call them, Sifu, was killed in a match with the Sensei of Shanghai's Japanese school. Though Chen Zhen does not hate the Japanese (his girlfriend Mitsuko, played by the lovely Nakayama Shinobu, is Japanese), he returns to Shanghai, and challenges the Sensei who beat his Sifu to a match. Chen Zhen easily wins, and therefore deduces that since he won, his Sifu should have as well. Chen Zhen has an autopsy performed which reveals that shortly before the match, his Sifu was poisoned.

The poisoning is the work of the evil Japanese Genral Fujita, who wants to lead Japan into conquering China. Fujita had the Sifu poisoned because he was the leader of a Chinese resistance movement against the Japanese occupation of Shanghai. Now Chen Zhen is out for one thing: revenge.

Yes, vengence is a typical, almost traditional element of kung fu movies, but FIST OF LEGEND also focuses on the romance between Chen Zhen and Mitsuko, such as the disapproval of Chen Zhen's fellow Chinese towards him romancing a Japanese. When she arrives in Shanghai, she is immediately cast out as being an evil, almost less than human, person simply for her nationality. But Chean Zhen comes to her defense.The message appears to be racial tolerance must always prevail, even in times where one race mistreats another.

But martial arts action is still what audiences are looking for here, and those not wanting wire-fu will be pleased. Two drawn-out confrontations stand out in this film. One is a match between Chen Zhen and Funokoshi Fumio, Mitsuko's uncle. The other is the final battle between Chen Zhen and Fujita, in which you can almost literally feel it as both men punch and kick the hell out of each other.

So the next time your in the mood for a real action-packed kung fu film, FIST OF LEGEND should come to mind.

Rating:
Summary: The Ultimate Martial Arts Film
Review: This film has everything anyone would want in a Martial Arts film, and more. Jet Li is awesome in his best role outside of the 'Once Upon a Time in China' series. The direction, cinematography, dialogue, music, editing and performances are all up high-standard, and the thing which makes this film truly shine is that it is one of the only films to be better than the film which it is remaking or tributing (Bruce Lee's "Chinese Connection/Fists of Fury".) To outline the pros and cons of the two films; the Bruce Lee version was a milestone breakthrough in HK cinema with its then-awe-inspiring fight sequences, villains and memorable ending, but the script, acting and plot was a bit dodgy at times. The Jet Li version had equal power in almost every aspect of the film, with some fantastic - but not breakthrough- Martial Arts sequences, but the ending was a bit silly and I think the introduction to Jet Li's fighting skills was too quick. It should have been delayed for half an hour like Bruce Lee's 'The Big Boss' which left us gasping when he first started fighting. Overall, 'Fist of Legend' is probably one of the 3 or 4 best fu-flicks of alltime. Drunken Master 1 & 2 are among them.

Rating:
Summary: My favorite Martial Art movie ever.
Review: After seeing Leathal Weapon 4 I wanted to see more of Jet Li. So I visited numerous Jet Li sites on the Web to decide on what movie I should see. Nearly all the sites I visited ranked Fist of a Legend amoung the best Jet Li movies (Quite often it was the highest rated). So I purchased it, here, from Amazon.

Now, after watching it I can say it deserves all the praise it gets. Since then I've seen several Jet Li films, and this is far and away the best.

It is a remake of the classic Bruce Lee film The Chinese Conection. It takes it a step further though, improving on the plot and, yes, even the martial arts. The action choreographer is definitely one of the best in the business also being the fight choreographer behind the great Jackie Chan movie Drunken Master, and more resently he even made Keanu Reeves look good in The Matrix.

Most modern Kung Fu movies (besides Jakie Chan movies) seem to use a lot of wires. What this means is that people seem to fly through the air during fight scenes. To me the effect all too often looks cheesy. Well, this movie seems to use fewer wires, and the wires they do use look alright.

Jet shows his amazing abilies throughout the movie, and he is defitily one of the best I've seen. I'd put him right up there with Bruce Lee and Jakie Chan.

In conclusion... See this movie.

Rating:
Summary: Inspiring
Review: This is my favorite Jet Li movie of all time. Jet put Bruce to shame with this remake of the 1970s classic. I really enjoyed the way he blended his traditional northern shaolin style with that of Bruce's Wing Chun inspired style.

The fight scenes were excellent, and of course the story was too.

Rating:
Summary: there's no way i'm gonna rate this less than 5 stars, but...
Review: ok, awesome kung fu film, required viewing for any even casual fan of the genre, jet li exhibits amazing speed and skill, little wire work, good costumes, great blindfolded fight, amazing final fight scene, good humor, easy to follow story, excellent fight coreography by the legendary yuen wo ping.

but.

let's face it. american distributors simply have to stop editing these foreign films, dubbing them into english, and assuming it won't make a difference. it makes a HUGE difference, and this is glaringly obvious through this DVD release of fist of legend. while the english dubbing in this film isn't as awful as it could have been, it still takes away immensely from the film. the mood is totally thrown off by the english dubbing, and it's almost hard to take the movie seriously as a result of this. do yourself a favor and hunt down the taiwanese uncut fist of legend DVD with the original language tracks and english subtitles!