Fist of Legend

Fist of Legend (Chinese: 《精武英雄》; pinyin: Jīng Wǔ Yīngxióng; literally "Hero of Jing Wu") is a 1994 Hong Kong martial arts film starring the martial artist Jet Li. It is directed by Gordon Chan and features action choreography by Yuen Woo-ping. It is a remake of Bruce Lee's 1972 film Fist of Fury. The film takes place in Shanghai in 1937 during the Second Sino-Japanese War as the city is occupied by Japanese forces. It is regarded as one of the best martial arts films of all time, and almost universally viewed as Jet Li's best.

The film follows Chen Zhen (Chinese: 陈真) (Jet Li), in his quest to bring the killers of his master, Huo Yuanjia (Chinese: 霍元甲) , to justice.

Plot

The movie begins with Chen Zhen, played by Jet Li, attending college in Japan. Chen and other students are busy in class when suddenly the schoolroom is flooded by some racist Japanese martial arts students, who try to force Chen to leave. When Mitsuko, a female classmate, and the teacher defend his right to be there, the thugs assault the professor and threaten the girl. Chen engages the Japanese fighters, defeating them with a variety of painful but controlling locks and throws. Mitsuko's uncle, the legendary Funakochi Fumio, played by Yasuaki Kurata, arrives soon afterward and apologizes for the behavior of his students, reminding them that violence is never the answer.

Fumio, extremely impressed by Chen's skills, engages him in conversation, and Chen learns his master, Huo Yuanjia, has been killed by a Japanese fighter in a challenge match. Chen, immediately distraught, leaves on a boat for Shanghai. At the harbor, Mitsuko tells Chen she will wait for him.

Chen arrives in a different place than the one he left: his old school, Jin Woo, formerly of master Huo Yuanjia's, is now a laughingstock, with the master dead. His childhood friend, Huo Ting-An, played by Siu-hou Chin, is now the new master, and as Chen enters the training grounds, he witnesses Ting-An defending the school's honor by defeating a rival martial arts master. Chen is welcomed back with honors, and taken into the school.

The next day, Chen travels to Akutagawa Ryoichi's dojo, played by Jackson Liu, the Japanese master that defeated Huo Yuanjia. Chen demands to see the Japanese master, and when the school's students try to force him out of the dojo, he defeats them all in short order. The fight is brought to an end when Akutagawa enters, and honorably accepts Chen's challenge. The two have a short fight and Chen realizes there is no way Akutagawa could have defeated Huo, as the Japanese martial arts master is simply not that capable.

Chen realizes that the only way Huo could have lost to Akutagawa was if Huo was not fighting at full power, and suspecting foul play, has his teacher's corpse exhumed for an autopsy. Although the other Jin Woo members criticize his decision, they are further dismayed when it is quickly shown that Huo was indeed poisoned. Further analysis shows that the poison exacerbated Huo's asthma, attacking his lungs and making them susceptible to easy damage. This is why Huo was unable to generate power and withstand blows during his match and died vomiting blood.



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