Rating: C+
Dir: Wong Jing
Star: Jet Li, Cheung Man, Dicky Cheung, Nat Chan
Li seems to churn out Wong Fei-Hung pics under a wide range of titles, but looking at the two laserdiscs which make up the film here, what strikes you as odd is how one looks like a comedy, while the other is typical Jet Li heroics. But that turns out to be an accurate representation of the film: it starts off as Carry On Wong Fei-Hung, before switching to the sort of thing you expect i.e. near-bald bloke kicking arse. Plot thread for the former is Wong moving his school next door to a brothel; fortunately, Li sticks to deadpan, which is his strong point.
Meanwhile, he upsets the Boxer Association, and uncovers a white-slave business operating out of a local Buddhist temple, which drives the inevitable, but always welcome, one-on-one finale. While there’s not much new here, and the humour is pretty basic, it’s well enough done, and since Li could do this sort of thing in his sleep, you know you’re in for an entertaining time.