Legend Of The Fist

How would Huo Yuanjia feel about this?
Donnie Yen returns as Chen Zhen in what could be deemed a sequel to Bruce Lee's "Fist of Fury" aka "Chinese Connection" (1972), Jet Li's "Fist of Legend" (1994), or Yen's own "Fist of Fury" Chinese television series, from 1995. Or perhaps even the 3rd film following Yuen Woo Ping's "Legend of a Fighter" (1982) or Jet Li's "Fearless" (2006). Luckily the movie's much easier to sort out than my explanation of the work that sequentially preceded it! ALL are great films but none are necessary to view prior to this.

The film starts out in France at the end of WW1. I don't recall how much time elapses between then and when Chen Zhen returns home but I didn't think that Japan entered China until 1931, though the gap was probably explained and I missed it. He joins a group of rebels and, under the pseudonym of a deceased comrade, becomes part owner of a large night club run by Chinese fat-cats who plan to profit from war, civil or otherwise. In preventing an attack on a Chinese...

Wow!!!!!!!!!! Donnie Yen at his best!
If you like Ip Man, like I did, you will like this movie. Period. I didn't realize it at the time, but this is a sort-of remake of Bruce Lee's FIST OF FURY which Jet Li already remade as "FIST OF LEGEND". No surprise, I liked all three of these movies, all done by true martial arts masters. This DVD is fantastic. Excellent picture quality, clear, accurate subtitles, and special features. You can't go wrong with this purchase. I hear this will be released in USA theaters in 2011, and that it might be cut. This DVD is apparently uncut as I compared the running time with the running time in IMDB.

Donnie Yen Has Finally Made It
With recent heaters like The Ip Man Series, Kill Zone, Dragon Tiger Gate, Flashpoint, Seven Swords, and 14 Blades on his resume, Donnie Yen has finally made it. This sequel to Bruce Lee's classic Fist Of Fury (The Chinese Connection) or Donnie's Fist Of Fury films (depending on how you look at it) is brilliant. It's a classic Kung Fu movie, a super hero flick, a love story, and a war epic all rolled up in one with a great cast including Shu Qi, Shawn Yue, The Great Anthony Wong, and Yasuaki Kurata. Seven years after his alleged death, Chen Zhen returns to champion his fellow Chinese in 1920's Shanghai during The Japanese Oppression. He conveniently finds a Kato uniform that fits him perfectly and becomes a one man wrecking crew....again. After seeing Donnie in the Kato suit and remembering Jet Li in Black Mask, I'm not all that excited about Jay Chou in the upcoming Green Hornet film. I'll see it and return with an honest review but I'm not expecting much. As long as Hong Kong...

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