High Octane
Summary
The Unity of Heroes is an entertaining throwback to the kung fu movies of old with Vincent Zhao proving an engaging protagonist and the insane action will appeal to fans of wuxia cinema.
Plot: The Unity of Heroes tells the story of a generation of master Huang Feihong’s calm and sagacious characteristics, and in the double worries of the provocation of Beiquan and the invasion of foreigners.
Review: I watched this a while back and realized I forgot to review it… oops. Anyway, The Unity of Heroes once again brings Chinese hero Wong Fei Hung (Vincent Zhao) to the fore as he battles a rival school from the North as well as what can only be described as zombie like people who have been experimented on by a local deranged doctor.
Wong Fei Hung is far from a one note character and in this movie he really dislikes foreigners and the negative influence they have had in China especially bringing opium into the country and destroying many lives in the process. When the woman he likes called Aunt 13 (nice name) returns from the West she opens his mind to foreign medicine and tries to convince him that Western civilization isn’t all bad. Then we have Xiaohuan Wei who is working for the evil doctor but may not be entirely irredeemable.
There are no shortage of characters and the story flows well; some of the dialogue and humour don’t really work (or are just poorly translated) making for several lame interludes. There is also sadly a lot of wirework which as you all know I despise however, for once it actually didn’t bother me as much as it usually does. Yes, it took away from the energetic fight scenes but this film is pure fantasy so the otherworldly fights didn’t ruin the movie.
The Unity of Heroes wastes no time in getting going with fight scenes every few minutes and Vincent Zhao brings warmth and likability to the character of Wong Fei Hung. I love how he is a master martial artist but when it comes to affairs of the heart he is as awkward as the rest of us sometimes relying on his students for help… who tend to be equally as clueless.
Overall, The Unity of Heroes feels like an old fashioned kung fu flick with plenty of fantastical action scenes, a sympathetic protagonist and fun villains.