Am I the only one who finds this far superior to the original?

Sorry, but I thought the first one was way better than the second. The characters and fight scenes to me were far more memorable in the first, and the overall plot much more original.

Not to say that the second was bad, which by no means it wasn't, just compared with as great a movie as the first its a little disapointing. But I guess most sequels are.

Following his violent revolution, Gandhi was devoured by his followers.
-Chuck Noblet

Personally I preferred it to the first one if only because I found the characters here much more enjoyable and charismatic - Donnie Yen in particular provides an excellent counterpoint to the almost one dimensional but no less threatening Master Kung. Plus I enjoyed the inclusion Roman a clef of Sun Yat Sen and the historical Brother Luke.

Tom516

"It is not enough to like a film. You must like it for the right reasons."
- Pierre Rissient

I agree.

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I thought this was easily the best in the series myself. I could never love the first one. It does have some cool sets and poignant commentary on China's foreign relations at the time period but I didn't go for any of the fights (for reference I find almost all wire fu or physics fu fights to be dorky cop-outs) and the plot itself came off to me as fairly unfocused. Maybe it just needs to grow on me over time.

2 though was fantastic. Story was darker and fights were better by far, imo.

I like both but I also prefer the second one. To me the story seemed a bit easier to get into.

Re-watching this right now and despite its reputation, I honestly don't think it's anywhere as good as the first film. This film starts the trend of Jet Li's Wong Fei Hung looking like a hypocritical, insecure, self-absorbed git. In the first film, Wong Fei Hung comes across as a strict, disciplined, dignified yet humble man. Here though, the way he barks orders at Leung Foon constantly and gets so easily jealous of Aunt 13 being in his student's arm, makes him come across as an asshole at times. Leung Foon too, is far too exaggerated and comical here, with his infatuation on Aunt 13 coming off more like an unhealthy crush than anything (there almost seems to be a recurring theme of sexual frustration in the film).

The film also looks noticeably cheaper than the original, with the color palette being largely dominated by greys and piss brown. The sets too, lack much of the scale as seen in the first film. The story too, doesn't come across as well-developed as the original.

It has its moments, but the first film is easily superior.