Currently Hong Kong's hardest working actor, Donnie Yen's third starring role of 2010 has him reprising the role of Chen Zhen, a character first made famous by Bruce Lee in Fist of Fury, then with Jet Li in Fist of Legend, and finally with Yen himself in a Fist of Fury TV series. So to say that this release has had some hype behind it is a bit of an understatement. Legend of the Fist might not live up to everyone's lofty expectations, but it's still an entertaining martial arts picture.

Taking place after the events of the previous films and TV series, Legend of the Fist starts with Chen Zhen working as a laborer helping the French in World War I. After the war, Chen begins working as an undercover agent for the Chinese resistance, and is tasked with infiltrating a nightclub patronized by many Japanese officers. Taking matters further, Chen begins directly attacking the Japanese under the guise of the Kato-like superhero "Masked Warrior".

Director Andrew Lau could be paralleled with Michael Bay: Lau's movies are often great-looking and bombastic, but ultimately more than a bit hollow. Legend of the Fist fits in with this template. Outside of the action scenes, the movie often struggles to find its' way, losing itself in leaden and overblown melodramatics.

Things here are made even worse (at least for western audiences) with the same sort of obviously propagandistic Chinese nationalistic messages that have been permeating many major Hong Kong releases as of late. The jingoistic overtone is never more crystal-clear than at the end of the movie, when Chen Zhen literally stands alone, with both his villains and allies dead or dying, but "the people" rising up in great numbers to fight for their country.

Getting past those pitfalls, Legend of the Fist still manages to provide some exciting action sequences, and Donnie Yen again shows why he's the go-to guy for Hong Kong's current crop of martial arts movies. The action is a bit ridiculous at times: at the beginning, Chen Zhen is able to outrun speeding bullets, and by the finale, he's throwing down on dozens of Japanese without breaking a sweat. Even in the small times when Chen Zhen is hurt by his opponents, there's never really a sense that he's in danger. But, as a testament to Donnie's solid work both in front of and behind the camera as one of the action directors, it's still fun to watch.

RATING: 7