Fong Sai Yuk

Dir.: Corey Yuen

Cast: Jet Li, Josephine Siao, Michelle Reis, Sibelle Hu, Chan Chung Yung, Chin Man Cheuk (Zhao Wen-Zhao), Paul Chu, Adam Cheng

Year: 1993


After the success of the OUATIC series, Jet Li returned to the screen to play Fong Sai Yuk, another Chinese folk hero. However, Fong Sai Yuk and Wong Fei Hong are completely different characters. Unlike the wise and stoic Wong Fei Hong, Fong Sai Yuk is a young, goofy, playful, momma's boy who also happens to be a martial arts master. When former bandit Tiger Lu (Chan Chung Yung) goes straight, he decides to win over the people by hosting a kung-fu competition with his daughter Ting Ting (Michelle Reis) as the prize. The rules are simple: whoever can knock his wife Siu Lee Wan (Sibelle Hu) off a wooden tower wins. Sai Yuk enters the competition, and the fight extends to the heads of the audience! However, when he gets a glimpse of Ting Ting's homely maid impersonating her, he throws the competition. This forces his mom (Josephine Siao) to masquerade as Sai Yuk's older brother and enter the competition to restore the family name. She defeats Lee Wan, who then falls in love with her, while Tiger Lu demands she marry Ting Ting. As if this wasn't enough, the emperor's agent is in town looking for members of the revolutionary Red Flower Society, a group of which Sai Yuk's dad is a member. To which if you caught the story of any of this all hell breaks loose.

Fong Sai Yuk is an light-hearted adventure that mixes humor and martial arts and turns out an enjoyable film. Fans familiar with the usually stoic Li will be thrown off by his completely opposite characterization in this picture. If you ever thought Li to be an evil asshole then this film will set you straight in showing you just how humourous and friendly he really is. However, it's Josephine Siao who really steals the show as Sai Yuk's hillarious martial arts mom. About two-thirds into the film the mood suddenly shifts from comedic to melodramatic, which may be disconcerting to some viewers. Nonetheless, Fong Sai Yuk is a fun and exciting film with excellent performances. One of Jet Li's best films behind Fist of Legend. This was also the very first Jet Li film I ad ever witnessed so it holds a sentimital value. I rated this a 10 out of 10 stars.

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