Rise of the Legend is an upcoming Hong Kong-Chinese kung-fu action film directed by Roy Chow and written by To Chi-long.
Coming from a filmmaker’s perspective, folk game characters provide an endless source of amazing thematic material often lace-up with events that can be widened and slotted into substantial set pieces. Though they have been overshadowed by game characters of the super variety currently, folk heroes and their close to mythic exploits are like William shakespeare: there’s always room intended for reinterpretation and reinvention. Typically the righteous indignation and/or soon after heroism of Guy Fawkes, Davy Crockett, Ned Kelly, Spartacus, William Wallace along with dozens of others are well written about and make for great drama. Guangdong’s, legendary doctor, martial arts institution founder and master on the shadowless kick Wong Fei Hung has been brought to window screens countless times and in Climb of the Legend, Hong Kong representative Roy Chow Hin Yeung does it with a delicately modern-day edge for the first time in 2 decades and sets up a new franchise’s for a new generation. All parties involved should consider Rise Of The Legend a job well done, succeeding as both an entertaining and relevant action period piece, but more importantly as a robust primer on which to launch a new series of Wong Fei Hung adventures. Even though Chow and Taiwanese movie star Eddie Peng aren’t will make anyone forget Tsui Hark and Jet Li’s interpreting Once Upon a Time in China, as well as for that matter Jackie Chan’s prior spin on Wong with Drunken Master, they do a new frequently thrilling job along with a familiar story. This is certainly a new cooler, sexier Wong Fei Hung-one with oiled right up pecs and rippling abs-but Chow and screenwriter Christine To are careful having just how modern they find. Attractive though Peng is definitely, the focus is still on Wong’s cutting edge fight on behalf of the poor in addition to exploited. Domestic audiences probably make Rise a hit, along with the film does an impeccable employment of avoiding confrontational arguments while remaining thematically specific and should play well in Cina. Overseas distributors that acquired success with Hong Kong’s stronger marital epics lately, and even the more aimless Often the Grandmaster, are likely to show affinity for the Universal Pictures Foreign co-production. What is immediately apparent within moments of Rise Of The Legend, is that Chow and his production team are dedicated to resurrecting the Wong Fei Hung of Tsui Hark’s Once Upon A Time in China series. From the art direction to the fight choreography, everything is lovingly evoked in almost reverential fashion. To Chow’s credit, he manages to do this without simultaneously hobbling his own film. Christine To’s script manages to play as equal parts historical drama, martial arts actioner and undercover heist thriller, while never truly surprising its audience at any point. Despite the lack of innovation in the narrative, Chow has delivered a slick and polished production that holds the attention and satisfies far more convincingly than either of the writer and director’s previous collaborations, Murderer (2009) or Nightfall (2012). Source linkProduction company: Edko Films Limited, Irresistible Alpha, Universal PicturesDirector: Roy Chow Hin YeungScreenwriter: Christine ToProducer: Bill Kong, Ivy Ho, Sammo HungExecutive producer: Ryuhei Chiba, Hugh SimonDirector of photography: Ng Man ChingProduction designer: Pater WongCostume designer: Stephanie WongEditor: Cheung Ka Fai, Tang Man ToMusic: Shigeru UmebayashiAction director: Cory YuenWorld sales: Edko Films LimitedNo rating, 131 minutes
