History YMMV / OnceUponATimeInChina

** First Film:
*** [[BigBad Jackson]], an American dignitary in the first film, is a corrupt sociopath who runs a side business selling the Chinese as slaves, especially selling attractive women as prostitutes. Using the Shaho Gang as his personal army of thugs, Jackson orders an attack on the province's governor and hero Wong Fei-hung at an opera, having his men fire into the crowd of civilians. When confronted by Fei-hung at the end, Jackson attempts to use the Governor as a hostage while trying to kill Fei-hung and his friends.
*** Jackson's corrupt partner, [[BigBad Tong]] of the Shaho Gang, participates in the massacre at the opera house and abducts innocents to be sold in Jackson's slave trade. Terrorizing the province and murdering at will, Tong also kidnaps Wong Fei-hung's LoveInterest, Aunt 13, and makes clear his intention to rape her. When she fights back, he attempts to drag her to a boiler to burn her face off.
** The second film's High Priest Kau-Kung, master of the White Lotus sect, [[AbsoluteXenophobe leads a crusade against anything even vaguely Western]]. Having his followers burn every Western item they can find, Kau-Kung even has [[BadPeopleAbuseAnimals Western dogs burnt alive]] before sending his men into the streets to attack and murder those with Western items, technology or clothing. Kau-Kung has his followers attack multiple institutions, [[WouldHurtAChild including a school for children]] to learn foreign languages, with Fei-hung barely saving the lives of the children. He then has the foreign embassies besieged, intending to have every Westerner within massacred along with any Chinese citizen seen as a "collaborator".

** [[BigBad Jackson]], an American dignitary in the first film, is a corrupt sociopath who runs a side business selling the Chinese as slaves, especially selling attractive women as prostitutes. Using the Shaho Gang as his personal army of thugs, Jackson orders an attack on the province's governor and hero Wong Fei-hung at an opera, having his men fire into the crowd of civilians. When confronted by Fei-hung at the end, Jackson attempts to use the Governor as a hostage while trying to kill Fei-hung and his friends.
** Jackson's corrupt partner, [[BigBad Tong]] of the Shaho Gang, participates in the massacre at the opera house and abducts innocents to be sold in Jackson's slave trade. Terrorizing the province and murdering at will, Tong also kidnaps Wong Fei-hung's LoveInterest, Aunt 13, and makes clear his intention to rape her. When she fights back, he attempts to drag her to a boiler to burn her face off.

*** Jackson's corrupt partner, [[BigBad Tong]] of the Shaho Gang, participates in the massacre at the opera house and abducts innocents to be sold in Jackson's slave trade. Terrorizing the province and murdering at will, Tong also kidnaps Wong Fei-hung's LoveInterest, Aunt 13, and makes clear his intention to rape her. When she fights back, he attempts to drag her to a boiler to burn her face off.

*** Jackson's corrupt partner, the [[NoNameGiven unnamed leader]] of the Shaho Gang, participates in the massacre at the opera house and abducts innocents to be sold in Jackson's slave trade. Terrorizing the province and murdering at will, the Shaho Leader also kidnaps Wong Fei-hung's LoveInterest, Aunt 13, and makes clear his intention to rape her. When she fights back, he attempts to drag her to a boiler to burn her face off.

* EvenBetterSequel: Many fans consider the second movie to be just as good as the first, if not better, largely due to the presence of ''Creator/DonnieYen'' as the main villain and delivery of the message that not all Westerners are bad. While the first movie did display some moral nuance by having the European priest try to help Wong Fei-hung and showing how not all Chinese were good through the actions of the Shaho Leader and his gang, the second film is still seen as doing a much better job of delivering a message of universal reconciliation.

* EvenBetterSequel: Many fans consider the second movie to be just as good as the first, if not better, largely due to the presence of ''Creator/DonnieYen'' as the main villain and delivery of the message that not all Westerner are bad. While the first movie did display some moral nuance by having the European priest try to help Wong Fei-hung and showing how not all Chinese were good through the actions of the Shaho Leader and his gang, the second film is still seen as doing a much better job of delivering a message of universal reconciliation.

* MagnificentBastard: ''Once Upon a Time in China II'': Narlan is a military officer hunting down members of a revolutionary sect that seek to replace the Qing dynasty with a republic. Gaining a respect for Wong Fei-hung in a sparring match, Nap-lan later fakes an attack by the fanatic White Lotus cultists to give himself an excuse to search the British consulate for rebels, murdering the consul when he sees through the ruse. Infiltrating the White Lotus to engage Fei-hung, Narlan even succeeds in eliminating his friend before attempting to steal a book of revolutionary names to clandestinely eliminate them.

* RetroactiveRecognition: Marvelous as Creator/DonnieYen's performance as AntiVillain General Narlan Yuenshu was in the second film (in which he actually won the ''Best Supporting Actor Trophy'' of the Hong Kong Oscars in 1993), nobody expected him to rise to the success of portraying another famous martial artist, Wing-Chun master in the ''Film/IpMan'' series almost 15 years later.....

* HilariousInHindsight: The third movie had a joke about Aunt 13's modern camera toppling sideways and still running anyway, resulting in a lot of sideways footage. Not only has modern technology rendered this a non-issue, but ''vertical video'' would become derided to a greater degree.

* SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped: The central theme of the series shows the European stranglehold over the lives of the Chinese people during the twilight of Qing Dynasty, and the futility of romanticized Chinese ideals. While the evils of Western imperialism is a major topic, the films also take a more nuanced approach in arguing that Western people are also capable of good, and Western knowledge can also be used to aid the Chinese people, as shown by the positive portrayal of the Jesuit priest in the first film and medical practitioners in the second film. Furthermore, the second film depicts the White Lotus sect's anti-Western ideals as a dark mirror to the Europeans' imperialism and racism; showing that CulturalPosturing by either Chinese or Westerners can be negative to both the practitioners and the victims.

* HilariousInHindsight: The first movie had a joke about Aunt 13's modern camera toppling sideways and still running anyway, resulting in a lot of sideways footage. Not only has modern technology rendered this a non-issue, but ''vertical video'' would become derided to a greater degree.

* EvenBetterSequel: Many fans consider the second movie to be just as good as the first, if not better, largely due to the presence of ''Creator/DonnieYen'' as the main villain and delivery of the message that not all Westerner are bad.

* MagnificentBastard: ''Once Upon a Time in China II'': Nap-lan is a military officer hunting down members of a revolutionary sect that seek to replace the dynasty with a republic. Gaining a respect for Wong Fei-hung in a sparring match, Nap-lan later fakes an attack by the fanatic White Lotus cultists to give himself an excuse to search the British consulate for rebels, murdering the consul when he sees through the ruse. Infiltrating the White Lotus to engage Fei-hung, Nap-lan even succeeds in eliminating his friend before attempting to steal a book of revolutionary names to clandestinely eliminate them.

** Aunt 13's motif, a combination of Chinese and Western instruments and musical styles, pretty much sums up the series.

* MagnificentBastard:
** In the second film, Narlan is a military officer hunting down members of a revolutionary group that seek to replace the dynasty with a republic. Gaining a respect for Wong Fei-hung in a sparring match, Narlan later fakes an attack by the fanatic White Lotus cultists to give himself an excuse to search the British consulate for rebels, and murders the consul when he sees through the ruse. Infiltrating the White Lotus to engage Fei-hung, Narlan even succeeds in eliminating his friend Luke before attempting to steal a book of names of revolutionaries to clandestinely eliminate them.
** Pirate king Cheung Po Tsai in the fifth film also counts. In real life Cheung rose from a fisherman's son abducted by pirates into becoming a pirate captain himself, built himself a pirate kingdom in southern China and fought both the Qing and Portuguese, before accepting Qing amnesty and hunted down other pirates. Cheung was allowed to retire off his riches plundered from piracy, and by the time he fought Wong Fei-hung, is over 120 years old.

** [[BigBad Jackson]], an American dignitary in the first film, is a corrupt sociopath who runs a side business selling the Chinese as slaves, especially selling attractive women as prostitutes. Using the Shaho Gang as his personal army of thugs, Jackson orders an attack on the province's governor and hero Wong Fei-hong at an opera, having his men fire into the crowd of civilians. When confronted by Fei-hong at the end, Jackson attempts to use the Governor as a hostage while trying to kill Fei-hong and his friends.
*** Jackson's corrupt partner, the [[NoNameGiven unnamed leader]] of the Shaho Gang, participates in the massacre at the opera house and abducts innocents to be sold in Jackson's slave trade. Terrorizing the province and murdering at will, the Shaho Leader also kidnaps Wong Fei-hong's LoveInterest, Aunt 13, and makes clear his intention to rape her. When she fights back, he attempts to drag her to a boiler to burn her face off.
** The second film's High Priest Kau-Kung, master of the White Lotus sect, [[AbsoluteXenophobe leads a crusade against anything even vaguely Western]]. Having his followers burn every Western item they can find, Kau-Kung even has [[BadPeopleAbuseAnimals Western dogs burnt alive]] before sending his men into the streets to attack and murder those with Western items, technology or clothing. Kau-Kung has his followers attack multiple institutions, [[WouldHurtAChild including a school for children]] to learn foreign languages, with Fei-hong barely saving the lives of the children. He then has the foreign embassies besieged, intending to have every Westerner within massacred along with any Chinese citizen seen as a "collaborator".
* ContestedSequel: The Vincent Zhao films are not as well as received as the Jet Li ones, although they do have their fair share of fans. However, ''Once Upon a Hero in China'', a mockbuster made by another director, is largely considered to be the worst movie bearing the Wong Fei-hong name, despite also starring Jet Li.

** In the second film, Narlan is a military officer hunting down members of a revolutionary group that seek to replace the dynasty with a republic. Gaining a respect for Wong Fei-hong in a sparring match, Narlan later fakes an attack by the fanatic White Lotus cultists to give himself an excuse to search the British consulate for rebels, and murders the consul when he sees through the ruse. Infiltrating the White Lotus to engage Fei-hong, Narlan even succeeds in eliminating his friend Luke before attempting to steal a book of names of revolutionaries to clandestinely eliminate them.
** Pirate king Cheung Po Tsai in the fifth film also counts. In real life Cheung rose from a fisherman's son abducted by pirates into becoming a pirate captain himself, built himself a pirate kingdom in southern China and fought both the Qing and Portuguese, before accepting Qing amnesty and hunted down other pirates. Cheung was allowed to retire off his riches plundered from piracy, and by the time he fought Wong Fei-hong, is over 120 years old.

** Creator/VincentZhao's turn as Wong Fei-hong in the fourth and fifth was not well received by audiences, despite giving a decent performance. Jet Li was brought back in the sixth and final film as a result.

** For those who liked Vincent Zhao's performance as Wong Fei-hong, the fifth film is arguably better than the fourth due to the return of Rosamund Kwan as Aunt 13 and Tsui Hark in the director's chair.

** [[BigBad Jackson]], an American dignitary in the first film, is a corrupt sociopath who runs a side business selling the Chinese as slaves, especially selling attractive women as prostitutes. Using the Shaho Gang as his personal army of thugs, Jackson orders an attack on the province's governor and hero Wong Fei-Hung at an opera, having his men fire into the crowd of civilians. When confronted by Fei-hong at the end, Jackson attempts to use the Governor as a hostage while trying to kill Fei-hong and his friends.

** [[BigBad Jackson]], an American dignitary in the first film, is a corrupt sociopath who runs a side business selling the Chinese as slaves, especially selling attractive women as prostitutes. Using the Shaho Gang as his personal army of thugs, Jackson orders an attack on the province's governor and hero Wong Fei-Hung at an opera, having his men fire into the crowd of civilians. When confronted by Fei-Hung at the end, Jackson attempts to use the Governor as a hostage while trying to kill Fei-Hung and his friends.
*** Jackson's corrupt partner, the [[NoNameGiven unnamed leader]] of the Shaho Gang, participates in the massacre at the opera house and abducts innocents to be sold in Jackson's slave trade. Terrorizing the province and murdering at will, the Shaho Leader also kidnaps Wong Fei-Hung's LoveInterest, Aunt 13, and makes clear his intention to rape her. When she fights back, he attempts to drag her to a boiler to burn her face off.
** The second film's High Priest Kau-Kung, master of the White Lotus sect, [[AbsoluteXenophobe leads a crusade against anything even vaguely Western]]. Having his followers burn every Western item they can find, Kau-Kung even has [[BadPeopleAbuseAnimals Western dogs burnt alive]] before sending his men into the streets to attack and murder those with Western items, technology or clothing. Kau-Kung has his followers attack multiple institutions, [[WouldHurtAChild including a school for children]] to learn foreign languages, with Fei-Hung barely saving the lives of the children. He then has the foreign embassies besieged, intending to have every Westerner within massacred along with any Chinese citizen seen as a "collaborator".

* EvenBetterSequel: Many fans consider the second movie to be just as good as the first, if not better, largely due to the presence of ''Creator/DonnieYen'' as the main villain and delivers the message that not all Westerner are bad.

** In the second film, Narlan is a military officer hunting down members of a revolutionary group that seek to replace the dynasty with a republic. Gaining a respect for Wong Fei-hung in a sparring match, Narlan later fakes an attack by the fanatic White Lotus cultists to give himself an excuse to search the British consulate for rebels, and murders the consul when he sees through the ruse. Infiltrating the White Lotus to engage Fei-hung, Narlan even succeeds in eliminating his friend Luke before attempting to steal a book of names of revolutionaries to clandestinely eliminate them.
** Pirate king Cheung Po Tsai in the fifth film also counts. In real life Cheung rose from a fisherman's son abducted by pirates into becoming a pirate captain himself, built himself a pirate kingdom in southern China and fought both the Qing and Portuguese, before accepting Qing amnesty and hunted down other pirates. Cheung was allowed to retire off his riches plundered from piracy, and by the time he fought Wong Fei-hung, is over 120 years old.

** Creator/VincentZhao's turn as Wong Fei-hong in the fourth and fifth was not well received by audiences, despite giving decent performance. Jet Li was brought back in the sixth and final film as a result.

** For those who liked Vincent Zhao's performance as Wong Fei-hung, the fifth film is arguably better than the fourth due to the return of Rosamund Kwan as Aunt 13 and Tsui Hark in the director's chair.

** The second film's High Priest Kau-Kung, master of the White Lotus sect, [[AbsoluteXenophobe leads a crusade against anything even vaguely Western]]. Having his followers burn every Western item they can find, Kau-Kung even has [[BadPeopleAbuseAnimals Western dogs burnt alive]] before sending his men into the streets to attack and murder those with Western items, technology or clothing. Kau-Kung has his followers attack multiple institutions, [[WouldHurtAChild including a school for children]] to learn foreign languages, with Fei-Hung barely saving the lives of the children. He then has the foreign embassies besieged, intending to have every Westerner within massacred along with any Chinese citizen seen as a "collaborator."

** Pirate king Cheung Po Tsai in the fifth film also counts. In real life Cheung rose from a fisherman's son abducted by pirates into becoming a pirate captain himself, building himself a pirate kingdom in southern China and fought both the Qing and Portuguese, before accepting Qing amnesty and hunted down other pirates. He was allowed to retire off his riches plundered from piracy, and by the time he fought Wong Fei-hung, he is over 120 years old.

** First film:
*** [[BigBad Jackson]], an American dignitary in the first film, is a corrupt sociopath who runs a side business selling the Chinese as slaves, especially selling attractive women as prostitutes. Using the Shaho Gang as his personal army of thugs, Jackson orders an attack on the province's governor and hero Wong Fei-Hung at an opera, having his men fire into the crowd of civilians. When confronted by Fei-Hung at the end, Jackson attempts to use the Governor as a hostage while trying to kill Fei-Hung and his friends.

** ''Once Upon a Time in China II'': High Priest Kau-Kung, master of the White Lotus sect, [[AbsoluteXenophobe leads a crusade against anything even vaguely Western]]. Having his followers burn every Western item they can find, Kau-Kung even has [[BadPeopleAbuseAnimals Western dogs burnt alive]] before sending his men into the streets to attack and murder those with Western items, technology or clothing. Kau-Kung has his followers attack multiple institutions, [[WouldHurtAChild including a school for children]] to learn foreign languages, with Fei-Hung barely saving the lives of the children. He then has the foreign embassies besieged, intending to have every Westerner within massacred along with any Chinese citizen seen as a "collaborator."

** Pirate king Cheung Po Tsai in the fifth film.

** The first film's BigBad, Jackson, is an American dignitary who is also corrupt sociopath and runs a side business selling the Chinese as slaves to America, especially selling attractive women as prostitutes. Using the Shaho Gang as his personal army of thugs, Jackson orders an attack on the province's governor and hero Wong Fei-hung at an opera, having his men fire into the crowd of civilians. When confronted by Fei-hung at the end, Jackson attempts to use the governor as a hostage while trying to kill Fei-hung and his friends.
** Jackson's corrupt partner, the [[NoNameGiven unnamed leader]] of the Shaho Gang [[note]]Jackson calls him Hung in one scene, but it is very brief and near the end of the movie[[/note]], participates in the massacre at the opera house and abducts innocents to be sold in Jackson's slave trade. Terrorizing the province and murdering at will, the Shaho leader also kidnaps Wong Fei-hung's LoveInterest, Aunt 13, and makes clear his intention to rape her. When she fights back, he attempts to drag her to a boiler to burn her face off.
** In the second film, High Priest Kau-hung, master of the White Lotus Society, [[AbsoluteXenophobe leads a crusade against anything even vaguely Western]]. Having his followers burn every Western item they can find, Kau-hung even has [[BadPeopleAbuseAnimals Western dogs burnt alive]] before sending his men into the streets to attack and murder those with Western items, technology or clothing. Kau-hung has his followers attack multiple institutions, [[WouldHurtAChild including a school for children]] to learn foreign languages, with Fei-hung barely saving the lives of the children. He then has the foreign embassies besieged, intending to have every Westerner within massacred along with any Chinese citizen seen as a "collaborator".
** In the third film, Chiu Tin-bak, a local gangster who is a DirtyCoward and tries everything to win the upcoming lion dance tournament, picks fights with Wong's family and friends, and casts out his henchman Clubfoot Qi into the streets after he injures his leg, in spite of his loyal service.

** [[BigBad Jackson]], an American dignitary in the first film, is a corrupt sociopath who runs a side business selling the Chinese as slaves, especially selling attractive women as prostitutes. Using the Shaho Gang as his personal army of thugs, Jackson orders an attack on the province's governor and hero Wong Fei-hung at an opera, having his men fire into the crowd of civilians. When confronted by Fei-hung at the end, Jackson attempts to use the Governor as a hostage while trying to kill Fei-hung and his friends.