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Once Upon A Time In China 3
List Price: Unknown [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie:
Jet Li stars again in this 1993 picture, a second sequel that has him returning as Wong Fei-Hung, a legendary Chinese hero who is not only a doctor but skilled in the martial arts. In the third film, he is visiting his father in Bejing, and is accompanied by cousin Lilly Yee (Rosamund Kwan) and assistant Foon. Meanwhile, Empress Dowager organizes a martial arts competition for the colonists, but things don't go as planned and the local martial arts schools end up fighting one another instead. Fei-Hung finds himself defending his territory as Chiu attacks in an attempt to intimidate the local groups into fighting or being dishonored.
Meanwhile, Lilly Yee finds herself involved with a Russian named Tomansky, much to the jealousy of Wong. Unfortunately though, it's later found that Tomansky is part of a plot to assassinate President Li. It's up to Wong not only to defend the President, but to defend himself as rival gangs are looking to take him on. The plot of the picture would have worked better had it been somewhat streamlined without quite as many subplots, since it's generally about showcasing the exceptional martial arts sequences, anyways.
Director Tsui Hark does a remarkable job staging some impressively choreographed fight sequences as characters fly through the air or walk over crowds in order to get at their latest opponent. It certainly may not be some of the best examples of the kind of action that Li is capable of (I still believe that "Twin Warriors", where Li was paired up with Michelle Yeoh and director Yuen Woo Ping (who later went on to direct the fight sequences in "The Matrix" and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"). Still, the action here is suitably entertaining and well-choreographed. Li also remains an engaging performer, quite able to handle drama, comedy and action very well.
The DVD
VIDEO: As with "Once Upon A Time In China 1" and "Once 2", Columbia/Tristar presents two different transfers of the movie on this DVD. The original language version is presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen, but looks to be taken from the laserdisc or other limited source. The picture looks soft and artifacts are visible throughout the presentation as edge enhancement is often noticable, as are a couple of slight traces of pixelation.
On the other hand, there is also a new 2.35:1 anamorphic transfer of the English dubbed version. Unfortunately (besides the rather poor dubbing), the English version looks to be in hardly better shape itself, as print flaws are visible in the majority of the scenes. Yet, it does appear noticably more well-defined as sharpness and detail are more pleasing on this version. Colors also appear more natural and accurate on the English dubbed version, as do fleshtones. Either way, I'm suprised that all three of the pictures look as worn as they do - even this 1993 sequel still appears quite worn at times. Although the English dubbed version is prefered in terms of image quality, it still contains some definite problems.
SOUND: "Once Upon A Time In China 3" is presented either in Chinese Dolby Digital 5.1 or English Dubbed 2.0, depending on which version of the movie that you select to watch. As with the previous 5.1 editions on the earlier films, surround effects are agressive, but fake and thin sounding, occasionally becoming slightly irritating. Unfortunately, the dubbed version certainly doesn't provide a more enjoyable experience as the dubbing isn't particularly good and the actors providing vocals often overact like Jeremy Irons in "Dungeons and Dragons". Audio quality is listenable, but not dynamic or full-sounding in any way.
MENUS:: Basic, non-animated menus with film-themed images. The English dubbed version is accessable via the special features menu.
EXTRAS:: Trailers for "Once Upon A Time In China 2", "Once Upon A Time In China Trilogy", "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and "Jackie Chan's Miracles". Filmographies are also included.
Final Thoughts: "Once Upon A Time In China 3" may not be the best in the series, but I thought it provided an entertaining mix of drama and action. Unfortunately, Tristar again doesn't provide many satisfactory options - an original language version with very mediocre video quality or an awkward English dubbed version with better (if still not great) video quality and average dubbing. Considering the DVD quality, most will probably be satisfied by a rental.
Jet Li stars again in this 1993 picture, a second sequel that has him returning as Wong Fei-Hung, a legendary Chinese hero who is not only a doctor but skilled in the martial arts. In the third film, he is visiting his father in Bejing, and is accompanied by cousin Lilly Yee (Rosamund Kwan) and assistant Foon. Meanwhile, Empress Dowager organizes a martial arts competition for the colonists, but things don't go as planned and the local martial arts schools end up fighting one another instead. Fei-Hung finds himself defending his territory as Chiu attacks in an attempt to intimidate the local groups into fighting or being dishonored.
Meanwhile, Lilly Yee finds herself involved with a Russian named Tomansky, much to the jealousy of Wong. Unfortunately though, it's later found that Tomansky is part of a plot to assassinate President Li. It's up to Wong not only to defend the President, but to defend himself as rival gangs are looking to take him on. The plot of the picture would have worked better had it been somewhat streamlined without quite as many subplots, since it's generally about showcasing the exceptional martial arts sequences, anyways.
Director Tsui Hark does a remarkable job staging some impressively choreographed fight sequences as characters fly through the air or walk over crowds in order to get at their latest opponent. It certainly may not be some of the best examples of the kind of action that Li is capable of (I still believe that "Twin Warriors", where Li was paired up with Michelle Yeoh and director Yuen Woo Ping (who later went on to direct the fight sequences in "The Matrix" and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"). Still, the action here is suitably entertaining and well-choreographed. Li also remains an engaging performer, quite able to handle drama, comedy and action very well.
The DVD
VIDEO: As with "Once Upon A Time In China 1" and "Once 2", Columbia/Tristar presents two different transfers of the movie on this DVD. The original language version is presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen, but looks to be taken from the laserdisc or other limited source. The picture looks soft and artifacts are visible throughout the presentation as edge enhancement is often noticable, as are a couple of slight traces of pixelation.
On the other hand, there is also a new 2.35:1 anamorphic transfer of the English dubbed version. Unfortunately (besides the rather poor dubbing), the English version looks to be in hardly better shape itself, as print flaws are visible in the majority of the scenes. Yet, it does appear noticably more well-defined as sharpness and detail are more pleasing on this version. Colors also appear more natural and accurate on the English dubbed version, as do fleshtones. Either way, I'm suprised that all three of the pictures look as worn as they do - even this 1993 sequel still appears quite worn at times. Although the English dubbed version is prefered in terms of image quality, it still contains some definite problems.
SOUND: "Once Upon A Time In China 3" is presented either in Chinese Dolby Digital 5.1 or English Dubbed 2.0, depending on which version of the movie that you select to watch. As with the previous 5.1 editions on the earlier films, surround effects are agressive, but fake and thin sounding, occasionally becoming slightly irritating. Unfortunately, the dubbed version certainly doesn't provide a more enjoyable experience as the dubbing isn't particularly good and the actors providing vocals often overact like Jeremy Irons in "Dungeons and Dragons". Audio quality is listenable, but not dynamic or full-sounding in any way.
MENUS:: Basic, non-animated menus with film-themed images. The English dubbed version is accessable via the special features menu.
EXTRAS:: Trailers for "Once Upon A Time In China 2", "Once Upon A Time In China Trilogy", "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and "Jackie Chan's Miracles". Filmographies are also included.
Final Thoughts: "Once Upon A Time In China 3" may not be the best in the series, but I thought it provided an entertaining mix of drama and action. Unfortunately, Tristar again doesn't provide many satisfactory options - an original language version with very mediocre video quality or an awkward English dubbed version with better (if still not great) video quality and average dubbing. Considering the DVD quality, most will probably be satisfied by a rental.
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