Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		1.5
Overall		2.5

Once Upon a Time in China IV Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman November 27, 2021

Note: This version of this film is available as part of Once Upon a Time in China: The Complete Films.

The Once Upon a Time in China franchise is regularly cited as having kickstarted the weirdly dormant martial arts film genre in the Asian market, but it’s also arguable that the series helped to foster another element of “eastern” cinema that is not necessarily relegated only to China (Korean films also come to mind in this regard): a kind of “rah rah” jingoism that seeks to exploit national identity while also perhaps hinting, none too subliminally at times, that the “natives” (Chinese or otherwise) may be just a bit smarter than some of the interlopers. Once Upon a Time in China appeared in 1991, helping to catapult Jet Li to superstar status, and continuing an even by then decades long tradition of crafting entertainments around the adventures (typically “fictionalized” if not outright fiction) of real life Chinese martial arts master and folk medicine healer Wong Fei-hung. Wong lived from around 1847 to 1925, but it didn’t take long for a rather gargantuan mythos to be built up around the character, so much so that by the late forties, Wong was an immensely popular character in Hong Kong films. Kwan Tak-hing made a veritable career out of playing Wong, appearing in some 70 films about the character, and there are several rather well remembered films about Wong that came out as Kwan was winding down from playing Wong (incredibly, the actor continued the role from the 1940s to the 1980s, earning a place in the Guinness Book of World Records in the process). These include the Shaw Brothers’ Challenge of the Masters, Drunken Master with Jackie Chan, and the relatively recent Rise of the Legend. The Once Upon a Time in China films offer some typical martial arts frenzies, but the films are also quite notable for how they portray a nascent nation defending itself from outside influences, and creating its own identity in the process.

The first three films in the Once Upon a Time in China franchise had the probably inarguable benefit of a collaboration between star Jet Li and writer and director Tsui Hark. Fans of this series will know that this fourth entry, long considered by some to be the least effective of the main feature films, had only a co-writing credit for Hark (as in fact he shared in some of the previous films, just to be clear), but also (sorry for this) Jet- tisoned the former star of the series, with Vincent Zhao taking over the role of Wong Fei-hung. Also saliently in terms of casting, a "new, improved" (?) Aunt is introduced in the form of Jean Wang as May.

All of these changes obviously give Once Upon a Time in China IV some unavoidably obvious built in hurdles, even if in many ways this is a kind of "same old, same old" offering, both in terms of general storyline and even some of its ADHD presentational aspects, which certainly mimic Hark's peripatetic style as evidenced by the first three films. In turn of the (20th) century Beijing, the crumbling, corrupt but still seemingly opulent Qing Dynasty is in power, but another multinational force called the Eight Nation Alliance is calling the shots, albeit perhaps somewhat hilariously in terms of challenging China to a "very special episode" of So You Think You Can Dance (this is obviously said with tongue planted firmly in cheek, but a major plot element is a kind of choreographic "dance off" between nations, continuing this franchise's occasional (?) obsessions with "Lion Dances").

There evidently is some "real life" content stuffed into this tale, including a group of warrior women known as the Red Lantern Sect, but the "historical" side of things is whimsical at best, and may well zing right over the head of some Western viewers, as it did for me, until I did some background reading in preparation for writing this review, reminding myself of aspects of the Boxer Rebellion, including another arguably improbable film treatment of that time, 55 Days at Peking.

While the film has some fun set pieces, it just comes off as almost deliberately rote, as if the filmmakers knew that viewers might be resistant enough to the idea of someone other than Jet Li in the leading role and/or Tsui Hark manning the director's chair. There is almost the simultaneous feeling of the film trying too hard and not being ambitious enough, and despite offering a veritable glut of action scenes with only fitful bursts of energy as a potential saving grace.

Once Upon a Time in China IV Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Once Upon a Time in China IV is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of The Criterion Collection with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.40:1. As of the writing of this review, Criterion has sent only check discs and so I'm not privy to any information that may be included in the insert booklet (and unfortunately there's not a ton of information on their website). Somewhat ironically, at least for those who scrutinize data points like aspect ratios, while this particular film was not included in the Eureka! set I've cited in some of the reviews of this film's predecessors, this transfer is just a sliver wider than the film's reported original aspect ratio of 2.39:1, while some of the Criterion transfers of the films previously released on Blu-ray by Eureka! have been just a sliver narrower (i.e., 2.38:1 vs. 2.39:1, or 2.34:1 vs. 2.35:1). Kind of surprisingly, given the relatively more recent vintage of this film and its immediate successor, there's more age related wear and tear on display here (and in Once Upon a Time in China V) than in some of the previous films, including mild annoyance like nicks, but nothing that I'd term overly distracting. The palette's emphasis on yellows and oranges is rendered well, and while close-ups in particular can still offer commendable levels of fine detail, on the whole this is a somewhat less precise looking transfer. The IMDb is showing a 2K 2021 remaster, though without any of Criterion's supporting documentation, I can't state authoritatively whether or not this was based off of that. My score is 3.75.

Once Upon a Time in China IV Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

While Once Upon a Time in China IV doesn't offer a stereo track, this disc's LPCM Mono track (in Cantonese) is at least somewhat more robust sounding than some of the mono tracks on the other discs in this set. Dynamic range has a bit more fluidity, and while some may be wishing for a bit more "oomph" in some of the action scenes with regard to sound effects, overall things are rendered cleanly and clearly, and there are no problems with regard to damage. Dialogue, while seemingly post looped a lot of the time, is always easy to hear. Optional English subtitles are available. As with the video side of things, my score is 3.75.

Once Upon a Time in China IV Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Double Action (HD; 12:03) is an interesting 2021 interview with editor Marco Mak, who discusses his strategy of repeating just a few frames between edits to establish fluidity and continuity in the action sequences. I'm not sure what language Marco Mak is speaking, but this features optional English subtitles.


• Trailer (HD; 2:04)

Once Upon a Time in China IV Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I mentioned in our Once Upon a Time in China III Blu-ray review how that film didn't quite provide the same entertainment value as the first two films in the series, but if taken on its own less ambitious merits, it was a diverting enough enterprise. That sentiment may come in handy once again with regard to Once Upon a Time in China IV, though this film just doesn't work up much sustained interest, despite an emphasis on action. While displaying a bit more damage and not quite the same levels of clarity as some of the earlier films in this set, video is generally solid, and the mono audio suffices reasonably well, for those who may be considering making a purchase.