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Review: Rise of the Legend (黃飛鴻之英雄有夢) (2014)
You know…this movie was surprisingly compelling. Unfortunately this era of Chinese martial arts movies hasn’t been very promising to me. However, this movie surprised me by having action direction and filming that was more exciting, as well as more interesting acting and character relationships.
Spoilers.
Story
The main character was Wong Fei-hung, a Chinese folk hero, but I don’t think this movie actually had anything to do with Wong Fei-hung, and was just a Qing Dynasty martial arts patriotism story.
Wong Fei-hung entered the criminal underworld serving under Lei Gong. However, he was actually working together with his childhood friend Che Huo, who worked on the above ground. They two wanted to take down those who had killed his father and burned their orphanage when he was young. Wong Fei-hung and Che Huo, with the help of Ma Chunyu and Xiaohua (another childhood friend), they would coordinate attacks on the other generals, “tigers,” serving under Lei Gong.
Eventually, Lei Gong captured Che Huo. Che Huo would not give up Wong Fei-hung as his mole and so he died. Later on, Xiaohua, who was working as a courtesan, tried to kill one of the generals herself but did not succeed and was killed. It was Ma Chunyu who helped finish the job.
Wong Fei-hung got the locals on his side and he confronted Lei Gong one last time, defeating him and ridding the town of his criminal gang. At the end of the movie, Wong Fei-hung wielded his father’s umbrella, signifying the beginning of his legacy as Wong Fei-hung.
What made this movie more compelling from a story standpoint was that the relationships between the characters was more interesting. Movies can get extremely lazy with telling rather than showing but I appreciated that we at least saw the process of our four ally characters working together. The romance subplots were kind of unnecessary but at least it didn’t take away from the teamwork of the characters.
Production
The action was more exciting than I’d expected. Sure, there was cutaways, and we know that Peng Yuyan is not a martial artist by trade and that some of his fighting would have been done by a stunt actor. But the way the fighting was filmed gave us both enough faraway shots to show us actual fighting and the dynamics of fighters interacting with each other, as well as impact. One thing that really struck me was that we would have sound effects or slightly shaking frames to show the impacts of punches or kicks. I also appreciated that there was some creative fighting, like with the fire fight at the end.
Characters
Wong Fei-hung
This movie is in Mandarin, so technically he is Wang Feihong, but since he was known in Cantonese culture more, I’ve gotten used to calling him Wong Fei-hung. He was a cool guy, not afraid of anything, and that was how he joined the ranks of Lei Gong’s gang.
Wong Fei-hung’s father ran an orphanage so he befriended other orphans as a child, including Che Huo and Xiao Hua. As children, Wong Fei-hung and Che Huo wanted to take revenge after the sacking of their orphanage. They were taken in by a monk who trained them. When they were old enough to leave, they each drew lots to determine who would work on the above ground and who would work in the underground. And that was how their lives were decided for them.
During the movie, Wong Fei-hung and Che Huo would send messages to each other through Ma Chunyu and Xiao Hua. Wong Fei-hung would visit Xiao Hua often, and Ma Chunyu and Che Huo ran an orphanage together. Ma Chunyu would pose as a seamstress and Xiao Hua, a courtesan, would ask her to repair her clothes, and they would hide messages in the seams.
When Che Huo was captured, Wong Fei-hung wanted to save him, but Che Huo told him that this was the only way. In the end, Che Huo had to die. That was kind of the inciting incident for Wong Fei-hung to come out clean. They’d always been able to gather public support, ever since they were able to free up gold from the control of the gang. Wong Fei-hung trained lots of locals in martial arts for self defence, and he finally approached Lei Gong for one last battle.
In the end, we saw Wong Fei-hung paying respects to his father, to Che Huo, and to Xiao Hua, three people very important to him. He then asked his father to borrow his umbrella (Wong Fei-hung’s signature weapon), signifying that he was becoming the Wong Fei-hung we know today.
Something about Peng Yuyan’s portrayal of Wong Fei-hung made him more human to me. We saw him as a rash kid and as he grew up he became a cool stubborn guy but he never lost that naivete and love for his family and friends that drove him for revenge. Or maybe I just like looking at Eddie Peng’s face. Who knows lol.
Che Huo
Che Huo was Wong Fei-hung’s best friend. As kids, Wong Fei-hung saved him out of a burning building, though unfortunately they could not save Wong Fei-hung’s father. The two wanted to take revenge but obviously they had no skills to do so. They were trained by a monk and when old enough they came back to society.
Che Huo ran an orphanage with A-chun. He liked her, though she did not return his feelings. That being said, they were agreeable on other things. They ran an orphanage caring for disadvantaged kids. They also carried out attacks on the gang as a bastion of the common people. As mentioned, they had managed to free up cash for folks so they did have the support of the common people.
Che Huo was captured but he had already resigned himself to death. I think the reason Wong Fei-hung was devastated was that he believed by drawing lots to work in the underworld, he could protect Che Huo by taking on the more dangerous position. But in the end it was Che Huo who died, asking Wong Fei-hung to continue on their dream.
Lu Xiaohua/Xinlan
Xiao Hua was a childhood friend of Wong Fei-hung and Che Huo. As a child, she was captured and the kids tried to save her but they were unsuccessful. As an adult, she was a courtesan living on a boat. Wong Fei-hung would visit her often but she knew that he had eyes for A-chun. I actually expected her to be his love interested with the childhood friends angle, but romance didn’t play too big a role in this movie anyway.
Xiao Hua and A-chun would work together to exchange messages for Che Huo and Wong Fei-hung. Towards the end of the movie, Xiao Hua wanted to help and she used her position as a courtesan to get close to one of the generals. She divulged secrets about Wong Fei-hung, hinting to us that maybe she did intend to betray Wong Fei-hung. However, it was just a ploy for her to get close to him. She did not succeed and was drowned, but A-chun, who knew of her plan, was there to finish the job.
Ma Chunyu
Ma Chunyu, called A-chun, worked with Che Huo at the orphanage. As mentioned, she did not return Che Huo’s feelings, but they did work together well. I forgot to mention that all four members of this allyship were very cool, so it was fun watching their plans play out because they thoroughly strategized.
There was one scene between A-chun and Wong Fei-hung where Wong Fei-hung said that he would come clean to Che Huo about their relationship. That was the one interaction showing their love. The only other interaction was indirect, and was when Xiao Hua noted the tension between A-chun and Wong Fei-hung. It was extremely indirect though. That conversation between Che Huo and Wong Fei-hung never happened because he was captured. Before his death, he told Wong Fei-hung that he loved A-chun a lot. I think he knew that A-chun wasn’t going to love him, but that didn’t negate his feelings.
Xiao Hua had only told A-chun of her plan to kill the general and A-chun was worried but Xiao Hua said that only she could do it, because she was in a unique position of being a courtesan/prostitute. A-chun was worried and that was why she lurked, and in the end she had to get revenge for Xiao Hua’s death.
Ma Chunyu joined Wong Fei-hung when they mobilized the masses to stand against the gangs. They did end up together in the end, but by virtue of their loved ones being gone ☹
Lei Gong
Lei Gong was the big bad of this movie. He was a tough boss, but Wong Fei-hung was unflinching and fearless, and that was how he joined Lei Gong’s ranks soon. As the generals were taken down, Lei Gong of course investigated. He did grow suspicious of Wong Fei-hung, but having the public’s support helped Wong Fei-hung. In the end, Lei Gong died, and remained proud and defiant to Wong Fei-hung as he fell to his death in the inferno.
Themes
I think the theme was just protection of the masses, which is always what Wong Fei-hung and other Qing Dynasty folk heroes have been about. China was bullied a lot in this time period so that’s why so many folk heroes came about.
Overall
Not as bad as I expected. Still don’t expect a cinematic masterpiece. There was some dragging. But it was better than other action movies from this era of Chinese cinema.
Spoilers.
Story
The main character was Wong Fei-hung, a Chinese folk hero, but I don’t think this movie actually had anything to do with Wong Fei-hung, and was just a Qing Dynasty martial arts patriotism story.
Wong Fei-hung entered the criminal underworld serving under Lei Gong. However, he was actually working together with his childhood friend Che Huo, who worked on the above ground. They two wanted to take down those who had killed his father and burned their orphanage when he was young. Wong Fei-hung and Che Huo, with the help of Ma Chunyu and Xiaohua (another childhood friend), they would coordinate attacks on the other generals, “tigers,” serving under Lei Gong.
Eventually, Lei Gong captured Che Huo. Che Huo would not give up Wong Fei-hung as his mole and so he died. Later on, Xiaohua, who was working as a courtesan, tried to kill one of the generals herself but did not succeed and was killed. It was Ma Chunyu who helped finish the job.
Wong Fei-hung got the locals on his side and he confronted Lei Gong one last time, defeating him and ridding the town of his criminal gang. At the end of the movie, Wong Fei-hung wielded his father’s umbrella, signifying the beginning of his legacy as Wong Fei-hung.
What made this movie more compelling from a story standpoint was that the relationships between the characters was more interesting. Movies can get extremely lazy with telling rather than showing but I appreciated that we at least saw the process of our four ally characters working together. The romance subplots were kind of unnecessary but at least it didn’t take away from the teamwork of the characters.
Production
The action was more exciting than I’d expected. Sure, there was cutaways, and we know that Peng Yuyan is not a martial artist by trade and that some of his fighting would have been done by a stunt actor. But the way the fighting was filmed gave us both enough faraway shots to show us actual fighting and the dynamics of fighters interacting with each other, as well as impact. One thing that really struck me was that we would have sound effects or slightly shaking frames to show the impacts of punches or kicks. I also appreciated that there was some creative fighting, like with the fire fight at the end.
Characters
Wong Fei-hung
This movie is in Mandarin, so technically he is Wang Feihong, but since he was known in Cantonese culture more, I’ve gotten used to calling him Wong Fei-hung. He was a cool guy, not afraid of anything, and that was how he joined the ranks of Lei Gong’s gang.
Wong Fei-hung’s father ran an orphanage so he befriended other orphans as a child, including Che Huo and Xiao Hua. As children, Wong Fei-hung and Che Huo wanted to take revenge after the sacking of their orphanage. They were taken in by a monk who trained them. When they were old enough to leave, they each drew lots to determine who would work on the above ground and who would work in the underground. And that was how their lives were decided for them.
During the movie, Wong Fei-hung and Che Huo would send messages to each other through Ma Chunyu and Xiao Hua. Wong Fei-hung would visit Xiao Hua often, and Ma Chunyu and Che Huo ran an orphanage together. Ma Chunyu would pose as a seamstress and Xiao Hua, a courtesan, would ask her to repair her clothes, and they would hide messages in the seams.
When Che Huo was captured, Wong Fei-hung wanted to save him, but Che Huo told him that this was the only way. In the end, Che Huo had to die. That was kind of the inciting incident for Wong Fei-hung to come out clean. They’d always been able to gather public support, ever since they were able to free up gold from the control of the gang. Wong Fei-hung trained lots of locals in martial arts for self defence, and he finally approached Lei Gong for one last battle.
In the end, we saw Wong Fei-hung paying respects to his father, to Che Huo, and to Xiao Hua, three people very important to him. He then asked his father to borrow his umbrella (Wong Fei-hung’s signature weapon), signifying that he was becoming the Wong Fei-hung we know today.
Something about Peng Yuyan’s portrayal of Wong Fei-hung made him more human to me. We saw him as a rash kid and as he grew up he became a cool stubborn guy but he never lost that naivete and love for his family and friends that drove him for revenge. Or maybe I just like looking at Eddie Peng’s face. Who knows lol.
Che Huo
Che Huo was Wong Fei-hung’s best friend. As kids, Wong Fei-hung saved him out of a burning building, though unfortunately they could not save Wong Fei-hung’s father. The two wanted to take revenge but obviously they had no skills to do so. They were trained by a monk and when old enough they came back to society.
Che Huo ran an orphanage with A-chun. He liked her, though she did not return his feelings. That being said, they were agreeable on other things. They ran an orphanage caring for disadvantaged kids. They also carried out attacks on the gang as a bastion of the common people. As mentioned, they had managed to free up cash for folks so they did have the support of the common people.
Che Huo was captured but he had already resigned himself to death. I think the reason Wong Fei-hung was devastated was that he believed by drawing lots to work in the underworld, he could protect Che Huo by taking on the more dangerous position. But in the end it was Che Huo who died, asking Wong Fei-hung to continue on their dream.
Lu Xiaohua/Xinlan
Xiao Hua was a childhood friend of Wong Fei-hung and Che Huo. As a child, she was captured and the kids tried to save her but they were unsuccessful. As an adult, she was a courtesan living on a boat. Wong Fei-hung would visit her often but she knew that he had eyes for A-chun. I actually expected her to be his love interested with the childhood friends angle, but romance didn’t play too big a role in this movie anyway.
Xiao Hua and A-chun would work together to exchange messages for Che Huo and Wong Fei-hung. Towards the end of the movie, Xiao Hua wanted to help and she used her position as a courtesan to get close to one of the generals. She divulged secrets about Wong Fei-hung, hinting to us that maybe she did intend to betray Wong Fei-hung. However, it was just a ploy for her to get close to him. She did not succeed and was drowned, but A-chun, who knew of her plan, was there to finish the job.
Ma Chunyu
Ma Chunyu, called A-chun, worked with Che Huo at the orphanage. As mentioned, she did not return Che Huo’s feelings, but they did work together well. I forgot to mention that all four members of this allyship were very cool, so it was fun watching their plans play out because they thoroughly strategized.
There was one scene between A-chun and Wong Fei-hung where Wong Fei-hung said that he would come clean to Che Huo about their relationship. That was the one interaction showing their love. The only other interaction was indirect, and was when Xiao Hua noted the tension between A-chun and Wong Fei-hung. It was extremely indirect though. That conversation between Che Huo and Wong Fei-hung never happened because he was captured. Before his death, he told Wong Fei-hung that he loved A-chun a lot. I think he knew that A-chun wasn’t going to love him, but that didn’t negate his feelings.
Xiao Hua had only told A-chun of her plan to kill the general and A-chun was worried but Xiao Hua said that only she could do it, because she was in a unique position of being a courtesan/prostitute. A-chun was worried and that was why she lurked, and in the end she had to get revenge for Xiao Hua’s death.
Ma Chunyu joined Wong Fei-hung when they mobilized the masses to stand against the gangs. They did end up together in the end, but by virtue of their loved ones being gone ☹
Lei Gong
Lei Gong was the big bad of this movie. He was a tough boss, but Wong Fei-hung was unflinching and fearless, and that was how he joined Lei Gong’s ranks soon. As the generals were taken down, Lei Gong of course investigated. He did grow suspicious of Wong Fei-hung, but having the public’s support helped Wong Fei-hung. In the end, Lei Gong died, and remained proud and defiant to Wong Fei-hung as he fell to his death in the inferno.
Themes
I think the theme was just protection of the masses, which is always what Wong Fei-hung and other Qing Dynasty folk heroes have been about. China was bullied a lot in this time period so that’s why so many folk heroes came about.
Overall
Not as bad as I expected. Still don’t expect a cinematic masterpiece. There was some dragging. But it was better than other action movies from this era of Chinese cinema.