ONCE UPON A TIME IN CHINA AND AMERICA (1997)

Starring: Jet Li, Rosamund Kwan, Hung Yan Yan, Lai Yiu Cheung, Richard Ng, Jeff Wolfe

After passing his Wong Fei Hung shoes to Vincent Chiu for parts 4 and 5, Jet Li returns to the role he made his own for part 6. After his allegedly break-up with Tsui Hark, it looked as if Jet would never don the robes of Wong again, but anything can happen in showbiz. Many actually ponder why Jet would return for this sixth instalment of the Once series, or why there was another sequel made after the disappointments of parts 4 and 5. The audience have obviously gotten bored of the series by now, and this new tale about Wong heading to the Wild West simply fails to impress.

Basically, Wong is in America to visit his student, Ah So, who has opened a Po Chi Lam shop. On his way, he meets gunslinger Billy (Jeff Wolfe) and they sort of become friends. But an attack by a gang of Red Indians on the travelling party causes Wong to fall into a river and gets separated from the others. He is rescued by a group of good Red Indians, but he has already lost his memory. Unable to remember who or what he is, he remains with the Indians, making friends with them and helping them beat their rivals.

Meanwhile, Peony, Clubfoot, and Ah So are on the lookout for Wong. When they do find him, they have to find ways to cure him of his memory loss. The last half of the film revolves around a plot in which a nasty group of locals try to frame the Chinese for theft. Wong comes in to save the day, but unfortunately, fails to save the film from being a tedious affair.

The idea of bringing Wong to America has its plus points, but really, it doesn't offer a lot for Wong to do. There aren't the astounding fight scenes we come to expect from a Once film, nor is there any of the grand sweeping historical background we have gotten used to. The Wild West is hardly wild by any means, and looks very dated, drab, and out of sync. Characters are the usual clichéd ones, and the dialogue is even worse. It's a pity that Wong didn't stay with the Indians, he probably would've had more fun.

Overall, Part 6 fails on many grounds. Everyone seemed tired of the series, and good ideas are hard to come by. The direction is deeply flawed, with the action uninventive and unoriginal; strange because it was orchestrated by fight maestro Sammo Hung. As the filmmakers tried to get Wong into the saddle yelling "Yee Haw" into the blazing sun, what they achieved was simply the firing of blanks.

RATING

6 / 10