The Legend

Rating:
Summary: Do not buy this... dubbed and cut garbage.
Review: This is a great movie starring Jet Li (or Li Lian-Jie in his native Mandarin) and Josephine Siao (Siao Fong-Fong) but this ... version of the movie has been poorly dubbed losing some great acting and comedy and some actual fighting has even been cut from it. Why I have no idea. Please do yourself a favor and seek out the original version called "Fong Sai Yuk". Even if you do not understand Chinese you will understand the story well enough from the subtitles and you will enjoy it much better. Trust me on this. Do not encourage [the film industry]in their butchering of quality movies. The original version of this movie is a wonderful mix of action and comedy which I would rate 5 stars.

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Rating:
Summary: Entertaining Fun!
Review: This is one of my favourite martial arts movie of all time! It's a nice balance of humor and action. Jet Li is an amazing martial artist, you won't believe your eyes at the things he does. If you would like to know how to get Fong Sai Yuk 2, or the first one at a more affordable price, contact me at [e-mail] for more information.

Rating:
Summary: Jet Li Classic
Review: This is one of the most succesfull movie Jet Li has ever starred. It mingles comedy and action together, and it turned out brilliant. It's a story about friendship and trust, Jet Li plays Fong Sai Yuk, a martial arts kid who dosen't follow his dad's rules very well; Always fooling around with his mother and his friends. The storyline and plot is very nicely done, not the same old you-killed-my-father-and-I-want-to-get-revenge-type. It's based on 19th century China. It involves a little bit around the Manchus and The Red Flower Society which Jet Li's dad is secretly in. In the opening scene, it shows the skills of the main villain(He's not really a bad guy, he's the Govenor of Canton and he wants a list which Jet Li's dad has). In a fight, he rips the skin off of one opponent's face(Not as nasty as it sounds). Then he captures an incoming punch, twisted and pushed it back so bad the guy's bone sticked out(Not as nasty as it sounds either). After that part, it was pure comedy and action. There were a lot of fights that lasted for quite a long time. My favorite was the fight on top of the heads(you'll get what I'm talking when you watch it) and the one against the govenor. Another part where this movie shined was that jet Li didn't win any one-on-one fights. One of them he intentionally lost, the other one he escaped, and the finale he kind of lost. Yet he still was the hero in the end. This movie is definitely worth out checking(And don't forget to check out Fong Sai Yuk 2, it's pretty damn good for a sequel that was made 3 months after this one. I have seen sequels made 3 YEARS later and they were excrable).

Rating:
Summary: Josephine Siao shines like the waters of two rivers....
Review: This is the only Jet Li movie that I have watched with the exception of The Black Mask. He is quite engaging with his million dollar smile and lightning quick kicks and punches. This film is loaded with memorable characters besides Fong Sai Yuk (Jet Li). The father of the earstwhile bride has one of the most expressive faces in Hong Kong films. I wish I could tell you his name, but it escapes me at the moment. What really got my attention was the surprise (for me) of finding one of my favorite martial arts movie stars, Josephine Siao (Fangfang Xiao). Ms. Siao is absolutely one of the finest and most familiar of the Kung Fu fighters of 60's during the heyday of this genre. She is just as beautiful and deadly as ever and her comic timing is impeccable. She and her son get into much trouble throughout the movie, acting as best buddies rather than mother and son. In one sequence, Ms. Saoi fights, in the obligatory Kung Fu tournament, disquised as her son and older brother to Fong Sai Yuk. The winner of the contest will be awarded the hand of the daughter of the local rich tyrant. To our surprise (not) she/he wins the tournement and the heart of the wife (played by Sibelle Hu) of the tyrant. This sub-plot made the movie for me.

All in all a great period film with colorful costumes, wonderful sets and shooting locations, and outstanding gymnastics and fighting. While there are some pretty outlandish action that makes suspension of disbelief a little difficult at times, the fighting scenes were really great.

I highly recommend this film to fans of Jet Li and martial arts movies. For others who are unfamiliar with this genre, this is a great starting point to move forward with Jet Li and Jackie Chan or backward to the Hong Kong films of the sixties.

(C) Copyright 2001 Shannon Clyde Available on Amazon.com with permission of the author. All rights reserved.

Rating:
Summary: Funny and impressive at times.
Review: This movie is a funny one. It feels like Drunken Master II in tone (and story). (Note: Drunken Master II is better tough.) Some of the fight scenes are original and impressive. The humor is present throughout almost all the movie.

But I wish I had seen the original version instead of that one. The voice acting is at times goofy and I'm not sure the dubbing reflects what was originally said. A Cantonnese version with English subtitles would have been welcomed. Alas it is not an option offered on Dimension DVDs (Twin Warriors, Twin Dragons, Fist of Legend,...).

In fact, there are never supplements on Hong Kong movies offered by that company. Not even the original theatrical trailers. At least, the picture and sound are quite good. But is it worth such a high price?

All in all, The Legend DVD is a great watch, but it could have been better...

Rating:
Summary: One of the absolute worst dvd releases i've encountered.
Review: This movie is awesome.

Now that i've gotten that out of the way, the reason for such a low rating (if only there were negative stars) is the ... quality of the DVD release. Dimension Home Video, even after paying the license for this movie, senselessly doesn't include the original soundtracks (cantonnese or mandarin), opting for a POS english dub whose translation sounds more like something from an afternoon cartoon than a very very good movie. Although the video quality is fine, it completely baffles me why they didn't include the original languages.

PS. I could swear some scenes are missing from the original version.

Rating:
Summary: One of the absolute worst dvd releases i've encountered.
Review: This movie is awesome.

Now that i've gotten that out of the way, the reason for such a low rating (if only there were negative stars) is the ... quality of the DVD release. Dimension Home Video, even after paying the license for this movie, senselessly doesn't include the original soundtracks (cantonnese or mandarin), opting for a POS english dub whose translation sounds more like something from an afternoon cartoon than a very very good movie. Although the video quality is fine, it completely baffles me why they didn't include the original languages.

PS. I could swear some scenes are missing from the original version.

Rating:
Summary: Fong Sai Yuk: A True Masterpiece
Review: This movie is definetly one of the best that I've ever seen. The thing that makes it so great is the clever screenplay and the combination of action, comedy, romance, drama, and historical content. Jet Li's amazing wu-shu martial arts skills are truly worth seeing. The only way for this movie to be better for the American is if you know the Chinese Language, and believe me, this movie is worth learning a language for. Fong Shi Yu, (As Fong Sai Yuk is known to Mandarin Speakers), is definetly one of Jet Li's best movies filmed during his prime. I also recommend "Once upon a Time in China" I, II, and III, and Fong Sai Yuk 2.

Rating:
Summary: Extravaganza kung-fu movie
Review: This movie is one of the better of Jet. There are a lot of spectaculary action's scenes. One of the best Kung-fu movie since a long time.

Rating:
Summary: Amazing.
Review: This movie is so stunning. With the most charming men and women personalities, this movie with Jet Li and Josephine Siao is one of the best martial arts flicks I've ever seen. And one of the most progressive. See Jet Li tear it up in utterly badass fighting scenes. See his mom whip some tail. See Sibelle Hu chase a woman she thinks is a guy. This is HK comedy at its very best! If I could only recommend 2 movies to women and martial arts fans...they would be Twin Warriors (Tai Chi Master) and this one - The Legend! You'll feel refreshed and ready to enroll in a martial arts course by the end!