As a show of force and pride, the Empress establishes a Lion King contest where a multitude of martial arts schools face each other in organized combat and competition. The movie continually shows Chinese warrior dragons and may enlighten any viewers who are totally unfamiliar with Chinese culture. For instance, several warriors typically command each dragon and the tail must never touch the ground while another fighter must maintain control of the head at all times.
The primary plot involves assassination and a seemingly innocent foreigner who has more sinister plans than any of the Chinese officials suspect. Jet Li plays the primary protagonist and legendary martial artist Wong Fei-Hung, who returns to his father’s medical shop to announce his interest in marrying “Aunt 13,” as he always calls her.
Although Once Upon A Time in China III has impressive visual appeal and great attention to detail, it comes nowhere near the quality of its predecessors. The first two films in the series are the best two Hong Kong action films ever made, but the third is merely a shadow of their greatness. It is still an enjoyable movie that far exceeds the average Hong Kong action movie, especially any of Jackie Chan’s earliest efforts. Still, it lacks the impressive action of the second film and the engaging plot of the first, although both previous films had quality plots and excellent action.
There are still a few stunning sequences in Once Upon A Time in China III that make it well worth seeing, however. For instance, the leader of a rival martial arts guild attempts to poison Fei-Hung through apparently acidic wine and also arranges a trap that forces him into fighting twenty to thirty people. Each of the rival martial artists wears spiked shoes so that the oil they throw on the floor only affects Fei-Hung, forcing him to improvise his fighting style and escape certain death.
Although some reviewers have criticized all of the films for Fei-Hung’s apparent invincibility, he is a legendary fighter who, by most accounts, could escape any trap and defeat any opponent. As with any legend, however, his greatness is probably exaggerated in the decades since his death. Even so, too many filmmakers create movies with a weak hero that only defeats his opponent through an accident or through a stunning coincidence. A true hero overcomes his opponent through superior tactics and skills, not through luck or chance. Wong Fei-Hung is a legend and one of the best characters in any Hong Kong action film, but the two prior Once Upon A Time in China films raised expectations to a level that the third simply could not reach.
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