If you are a fan of Hong Kong martial arts films, you probably already know who Jet Li is. The iconic action star has plenty of great titles in his filmography but the work that shot him to continent-wide stardom was Once Upon a Time in China, and for good reason. His competitive background in wushu lent to fast yet fluid action sequences, and it’s all paired with intuitive cuts, intricate sets, flowy costume designs, and camera work that made him shine. But what made the action stand out is that it’s all in service of retelling a real life Cantonese folk hero’s story, infused with the understanding of the nineteenth-century foreign occupation of China and the then-upcoming concerns over globalization. It made for a thrilling action-comedy-melodrama that eventually garnered a reputation as a wuxia staple.