Director Wong Ching-Po‘s latest return to Shaw territory in the form of the ten-million dollar-budgeted Once Upon A Time In Shanghai has been a long-awaited theatrical spectacle since the film’s announcement in 2011. The unveiling of the concept trailer a year later with lead actor Philip Ng ultimately gave the film tons of press and expectations from fans eager to see Ng in a larger-scale role after films such as Star Runner, Dragon Squad, New Police Story, Invisible Target and Undercover Hidden Dragon to name a few.
In the 1900’s, MA YONG ZHEN joined many hopeful laborers to seek work in Shanghai. Remaining honest and refusing to join a gang, he became friends with gangster LONG QI. Japanese spy HASHIMOTO, furious that Long turned down his proposal, tries to kill both of them. Ma luckily survives, and is now determined to help his people by decimating the bad elements in Shanghai.