THE LAST HERO IN CHINA (1993)

Starring: Jet Li, Dicky Cheung, Leung Kar Yan, Anita Yuen, Nat Chan, Cheung Man, Lau Kar Fai

After parting company with Tsui Hark after Once Upon a Time in China 3, Jet Li revisits his Wong Fei Hung character in this Wong Jing comedy The Last Hero of China. Anyone familiar with Wong Jing will be aware of his excessive use of comedy, sexual connotations, and bizzare situations that only Wong Jing finds funny.

The plot (or what plot?) is about a group of monks led by the always watchable Lau Kar Fai, kidnapping innocent girls for either sexual gratification or selling them off to brothels (or both). In the midst of all this is Lui Yat Siu, an official whose loyalties lies with the Boxer Rebellion - a particular nasty group of so-called patriotic men whose goal is to rid China of Westerners.

Wong Fei Hung (Jet Li) and his band of students, including Ah So (Dicky Cheung) and Leung Foon (Leung Kar Yan), finds themselves having to move from their current location (because the rent is too high) to a place owned by a brothel owner, Mass Tar Wong (Nat Chan). Mass Tar Wong is a big fan of Master Wong, and hopes that Master Wong would accept Mass Tar Wong as his student. Geddit? Well, this is as funny as it gets, and you can expect a lot more of that. Wong later uses all his skills to stop Officer Lui from plotting to kill a Western official, including acting as a chicken, and using his drunken kung fu.

Jet Li reprises the role that made him famous, and he doesn't put a foot wong (ha ha) here, although the film really is a million miles apart from the serious Once films. He is as serious, righteous, and moral as he could be, part of the charm that made him so great in his portrayal of the noble Wong Fei Hung. Contrast this with his students, who literally ham it up throughout the film with silly gags. And that is what the film suffers from - too much Wong Jing.

There are some very good fight scenes, especially the one between Jet Li and Lau Kar Fai, and the final fight. Also, there is an imaginative scene involving the dance of a lion and the cunningness of a centipede. Wong Fei Hung loses to the centipede, but comes up with an idea of becoming a cock to beat it later on. Yes, it really is as silly as it sounds. It is inventive, but the centipede looks so stupid.

Fans of Jet Li would want to see this, but serious fans of the Once films are advised to stay away. There is nothing here that can't be found in other Wong Jing films. The only saving grace is Jet Li, who literally shines throughout the film with his stunning presence.

RATING

6 / 10