Once Upon A Time in China 2 has some of the greatest martial arts stunts ever committed to screen and is overall far superior to its unbearably-bad predecessor. I also wish the whole series was based on something other than the Chinese's conflict with Western influence, especially because Caucasians in are extremely underdevloped and given shitty performances worse than Keanu Reeve's worst.
Interesting that things actually get better with the 3rd in the Once Upon A Time In China series which is much better fun and therefore feels much shorter than the previous two. The romance between the protagonist and his relative (such awesome beauty) is touching and sweet; the comic touches are a real delight but the dragon fights are boring and too complex; martial arts choreography is lesser than the 2nd movie even though none of the characters of the previous movies quite matches the attractiveness of Clubfoot, whose kick can paralyse even masters.
I can't tell if the 4th in the series sucks worse than the 1st but it lost Jet Li and the humor and is damn cheap while offering jack that's new. But the 5th at least is a revival of the series' former glory, and the movie must have provided some inspiration for Pirates of the Caribbean, most especially the age-old pirate who nearly is a Davey Jones. I didn't even miss Jet Li, and the large-eyed student has his best moment when his dream of being praised comes true.
My previous dislike for the 6th and last in the series, which must be at least a decade ago, leaves me surprised since I enjoyed it so much this time around, and another plus is that the Caucasians aren't sticks no more, and even with decent acting in places (the town's mayor and its sheriff). Oh, and it takes place in the Wild West, albeit with an uninteresting wolf-killer villain. There's one praiseworthy moment - the touching and heroic efforts of Clubfoot when attempting to bring back his master's memory, touching when mentioning the commendable acts of the master, heroic when battling the far superior master as self-sacrifice.