Once upon a Time in China & America (1997)

A very good final entry to the OUaTiC film series.

I was kinda surprised that no one bothered to write any reviews for this movie, cos I can never get tired of rewatching this movie over and over again.

Just as one thought there would be no more continuation to the OUaTiC series since the disaster of the fifth, we got another one, which is set in western America. And to make it better, Jet Li has returned to reprise his role as Wong Feihong alongside Rosamund Kwan and Hung Yanyan as Siu Kwan and Ah Chat. Ah So is also in this movie, which made sense... since he would be a reason why a new PCL branch could be placed in America anyway. Also, for once, Leung Foon was not included in the returning cast and I'm very glad about it. Because I felt that Leung Foon was only in the past movies just to act silly and be a perv, which may stem from the setting when Yuen Biao was playing him.

I could barely recall how happy I used to be as a child when I heard that Jet LI would be reprising his Wong Feihong role. It's always a pleasure to watch him on screen with Rosamund Kwan and I had fun watching this movie. So this time, Feihong, Siu Kwan and Ah Chat head to America to visit Ah So... and in the middle of it, they met with a cowboy named Billy. Somehow, afterwards, the convoy was attacked by a group of Red Indians and the trio ended up falling into the river before they got separated. Siu Kwan and Ah Chat were soon rescued by Chinese miners at the fort town nearby, but Feihong ended up losing his memory and was taken in by a different Indian tribe.

Got to say it was really fun watching this movie. It was really amusing to see Feihong trying to practice his English in what Jet Li would often refer to as his Limited English Conversation, and to see his interaction with the Indians and later the other Americans at the fort town. And it was a nice homage to the past movies as Ah Chat tried to trigger Feihong's memories by posing as two of Feihong's past enemies, though it was never explained how he knew about them.

Something that I like to point out here is how different Jet Li's portrayal of Wong Feihong was compared to Vincent Zhou's. And you can clearly see it from how Feihong was shown in this movie, where, while he was still amnesiac and living with the Indian tribe, a daughter of the tribal chief had taken a liking to him. And Feihong treated her as nicely and politely as he possibly could while remaining clueless about the latter's affection. He also behaved the same way to Siu Kwan and got angry when she suddenly took back Feihong's ring, not knowing its significance. Cos back then Siu Kwan was a stranger to him and the chief's daughter was his benefactor. But Feihong never act flirty to the daughter even while amnesiac, which was a stark difference with how Vincent's Feihong acts towards Lady Miao and 14th aunt.

Also, when he regained his memories, Feihong still had his awkward moments in trying to show his feelings towards Siu Kwan, but he still does try his best to care for his fiancée. This was something that was missing in Vincent's portrayal, and what was endearing about Feihong's and Siu Kwan's relationship. I also love the budding friendship Ah Chat had with Billy despite the language barrier. And I love the running jokes about Feihong's long speeches.

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