By 1995, Jet Li and Tsui Hark had gone their separate ways, and the ‘Once Upon a Time In China’ series had been handed over to a new star and director. Wong Fei Hung was a real person and not a copyrighted fictional character, so Jet Li produced this movie himself, employing the inconstant talents of Wong Jing as director. While very different in tone to Tsui Hark’s vision, ‘Last Hero In China’ can be considered an unofficial addition to the OUATIC series of movies which succeeds in being very entertaining, despite it’s dishonourable intentions.

In the OUATIC movies, Wong Fei Hung (as a metaphor for China itself) has to adapt to the strange, alien ways of foreigners. In ‘Last Hero In China’, Wong Fei Hung (as a metaphor for the director himself) has to adapt to the strange, alien ways of women. Wong Fei Hung is portrayed as quite misogynistic, spouting such classic quotes as ‘They dress so little and are look bitchy’. Even Aunt Yee is absent from this interpretation of the legend, leaving a largely male cast to slow the plot down and wallow in boob gags, anti-gay humour, cross dressing, and fart jokes. Despite it’s low brow, broad humour, it’s usually quite funny, and one fart gag in particular is so obvious that you wonder why you haven’t seen it before.

So far, you are probably wondering how this movie qualifies as a Wong Fei Hung film. Well, all the series staples are present and correct. The action revolves around Po Chi Lam, where our hero spends his time tutoring his students, including Buck Tooth So (but no Butcher Lam, for some reason). There are loads of kung fu fights, a few lion dances, suspicious Europeans plotting to exploit the locals, and the classic Wong Fei Hung theme. What really clenches it is the inclusion of Jet Li himself, and he is on top form, guided by action choreography of Yuen Wo Ping, as long as you don’t mind wirework and under-cranking. Li performs Fei Hung’s signature moves, including the ‘No Shadow Kick’, and for the finale, goes into a glorious bout of Drunken Boxing, just like Jackie Chan’s portrayal of the hero in ‘Drunken Master’ (same action choreographer, you see). Infamously, he also goes into battle dressed as a big red chicken. It makes sense in the film. Nearly.

Worth considerable note is the presence of former Shaw Brothers star Gordon Liu as the maniacal head of an evil cult. Oddly, he looks older and porkier than in this year’s ‘Kill Bill’, who has a decent fight or two, and spends a lot of time flying around in a lotus shaped lantern throwing an iron claw at people (a supernatural power never explained).

‘Last Hero In China’ shouldn’t work, but somehow this rapid fire fun gun of a film manages to hit the target.. It’s slightly reminiscent of Jackie Chan’s ‘City Hunter’ because, like Chan, Jet Li teamed up with Wong Jing to play an established character, and make an extremely sexist and silly film which splits opinion down the middle. You are either going to love or hate ‘Last Hero In China’, but this reviewer loved it, even with it’s chicken costume on.