Cast Member: Jet Li

This action comedy is undoubtedly at its best when Jet Li is given centre stage and allowed to show off his smooth physical moves.

Jet lacks the screen presence to hold our attention and ultimately makes the long wait between the action set pieces just too long.

Equal parts goofy, exciting and tedious, the flick works best when Li and his band of pint sized pugilists are kicking butt and performing amazing feats of acrobatics.

A lad’s with lager film, but one that doesn’t fail in it’s objective: Jet Li kicks ass…violently…and lots of it.

The pairing of Jet Li and Sammo should have spawned a masterpiece, but instead the audience is left with this disheartening effort.

It just appears that Wong Jing wanted to please everyone by cramming the storyline with action, crazed innuendo and sudden plot twists.

Jet Li excels in this third lead role with another flawless display of kung-fu alongside his dramatic abilities.

While proceedings do get a little dry and flat on occasion, for the most part this version of ‘Mulan’ is a well-made and entertaining epic that never resorts to heavy-handed storytelling.

‘My Father Is A Hero’ provides some adrenalin pumping set-pieces, notably a classic scene where Li takes on a dozen of the villain’s lackies with a pair of tonfa.

Hark combines a well-paced and beautifully photographed narrative with strong characters and exciting fight action.

Fans of the first two will be sorely disappointed by ‘Once Upon A Time In China And America’ and will no doubt feel somewhat short-changed.

In my opinion, this film does not have the same numerous levels within its story which made the first such an all round classic, however, much of the action is just as impressive.