Today’s random advice: a good time

My brother has been rating movies on the Netflix site, so we occasionally watch films that get recommended to him there. For some time he has noticed that a movie called “Once Upon a time in China 2” keeps coming up. He was a bit put off by the “2”, but finally added it to our selections. It was worth it. Not that I seen so many, but this is certainly one of the best of the Hong Kong “kung-fu” movies I’ve watched. It either transcends or perfects (I’m not sure which) its B-movie genera by using a more-or-less real historical setting, keeping its comedy just this side of slapstick, using that comedy to steer clear of hammy melodrama, and limiting the number and duration of the fights so that the big set piece dance number, err fight scene, in the temple doesn’t lose any of its manic wow.

Among other good-natured barbs, the film has continuous easy-going jabs at all sorts of religion—a large cross gets used as a battle axe—but particularly at religious fanatics that structure their political violence on a set of stupid beliefs about what their gods will do for them.

Oh, and unlike some “kung-fu” movies, this DVD comes with its original Cantonese soundtrack. Could there be a more beautiful language?