Synopsis:.

Wong Fei-Hung is a folk hero in all of China. Originally introduced in "Once upon a Time In China" his story is continued in this very well done martial arts film. Wong is an herbalist and martial arts teacher. When the rent on his current location is raised beyond his ability to pay, he sends out two of his assistants to procure new lodging for the school. Within a day or so they return and with grand news! They not only found a spacious and relatively new location but, the owner will make the rent 70% less than what it should be if Master Wong will take him on as a student in the Martial Arts. After agreeing to the terms, Wong moves his students into the new location and with the blessing of the local businessmen they begin to get back to normal. Right next door to the school is a building that's apparently filled with a "mother" and her house full of "daughters". It's not long before the true purpose of the house is known and Master Wong is furious at the prospect of his school being right next to a brothel! The girls however are the least of his problems. The local Boxer association (police force) is kidnapping young girls and selling them into prostitution by using a local monk and his temple as a front for their illicit business, and the children in the local area are all deaf due to a poisonous element found in a "drug" imported from the "West" that's supposed to cure the children's sickness and not render them deaf in the process. With all the corruption around him, Wong truly appears to be the Last Hero in China. Unable to stand by and watch as his school and those all around are corrupted and abused, Wong takes matters into his own hands and sets out to make things right. This will of course lead to extremely well choreographed fighting sequences and a great deal of blood shed not to mention, broken bones and dismemberments! The Last hero in China is a great action/comedy that will have you both in awe of the skills of Jet Li and the other Martial Artists as well as cracking up at the comedic elements of the film as well!

Audio/Video:

The audio for the film is presented in DD2.0. The dialogue is in Mandarin and subtitles are burned into the screen. There are no surround effects and what aural special effects are employed are propelled from the fronts and center. All the dialogue was easily understood (as I do not speak Mandarin, Understood is a loose application!). The subtitles however could have been better produced. They are white and when placed on a white or fairly light background are rather hard to decipher. The video appears to have been transferred directly from a second generation VHS version of the film. The colors are a bit off and there appears to be something of a "bronze hue" in about the whole video presentation. There are a lot of scratches and speckles of white throughout the entire film as well.

Extras:

The only extra is the film's trailer presented in widescreen and in Mandarin w/out subtitles.

Overall:

The Last Hero In China is a truly great Martial Arts film. It features a well executed storyline as well as incredible fight sequences and a heavy dose of comic relief! The action was choreographed by Yuen Woo-Ping (The Matrix, Crouching Tiger hidden Dragon) and bears his signature wire work throughout. Jet Li is simply incredible in his acting and Martial Arts Skills and like most of his films, this one is sure to please! Highly Recommended