Review of Last Hero In China, The

Introduction

Jet Li returns in the role of Wong Fei Hung, who he played so brilliantly in the classic Once Upon a Time in China series. However, this is a lot different to the OUATIC films, as here the plot is more for laughs instead of about the legend of China’s most famous hero.

Video

The picture is adequate, as opposed to spectacular. Whilst the picture is clean and fairly sharp, the colours are muted and there are some instances of grain. Considering this is a recent film (made in 1995) the picture could have been a lot better. Still, this is a lot better than the picture quality of the trailer included, which has enough flecks to look like a snowstorm!

Audio

Only a 2.0 track included here, but fortunately it is in it’s original Mandarin, with subtitles included of course.

Features

This is practically a bare-bones disc, as there are few ‘extras’ and none of any real value. Just some cast biographies, and a terrible trailer that - like most Hong Kong trailers - is very long and shows you all the action whilst saying nothing of the plot. Oh, and those great ‘special features’, interactive menus and scene access. Aren’t we lucky…

Conclusion

There is no doubt that Last Hero in China is a very silly movie, and is one of those stereotypical – almost to the point of spoof – kung fu movies. The dialogue - or rather the subtitles - is terrible. The English translation seems to have been done by someone with very little grasp of the subject. You will see what I mean when you watch it! The dialogue makes little sense, but instead is actually very funny to read.

The plot is also complete nonsense, but then again this is not really the point. The kung fu is really fun to watch, although purists will definitely complain about the overuse of wires by Yuen Wo Ping. I am sure that all fans of the genre would enjoy watching this film however, if only to see Jet Li’s drunken style, or his hilarious finale dressed as a chicken! Alternatively, if you have your mates round for a few beers, this is the ideal blokes’ film – OTT kung fu, plotless and surprisingly funny.