Rise of the Legend

Rise of the Legend (黄飞鸿之英雄有梦, 2014) is a Hong Kong action drama directed by Roy Chow that you can watch online on iFILM — starring Eddie Peng, Sammo Hung, and Tony Leung Ka-fai. The film reimagines the early life of Wong Fei-hung, not the seasoned grandmaster familiar from Tsui Hark's series, but a young fighter still figuring out who he wants to be.

Set in 1868 Guangdong, with two criminal gangs dividing the port between them, the story follows Fei as he infiltrates the Black Tiger gang led by the formidable Lei Gong. On the surface he's a loyal recruit; in reality his father was killed by these same men, and everything he does inside the gang is a long play for revenge. Complicating matters, his childhood friend Huo leads a rival crew called the Orphans — and their paths will eventually collide.

The fight choreography is the main draw, and Chow keeps the pacing tight enough that the revenge plot doesn't drag. It works best as a genre piece with period atmosphere rather than a definitive portrait of the legend. Stream Rise of the Legend (2014) online on iFILM.