No matter what anyone says, this is utterly fantastic. A historical drama based on the founding of the Republic of China when nationalist forces led by Sun Yat-sen overthrew the Qing Dynasty. The metaphors in this movie are so abundant. It holds the attention but demands complete suspension of logic.From an artistic standpoint, there were some plot elements and character developments I didn't think were totally needed. They do however drive the story, which seemed to be their purpose, so I can accept them. By the end, we feel that we have learned a great deal about the characters and the community that produced them. What a concept that is. I give this one a final rating of 7 out of 10, and it deserves it.

This film could be so much more emotional and touching if the Chinese communist party is not still ruling the mainland China. The ccp's censors ruined the film. After watching this film, the audiences (especially the young mainland students) will hardly be motivated to pursue for the Three Principles of the People for a better China.For one thing, this is about the founding of Republic of China, (the first democratic republic in the entire Asia), however, the name of "Republic of China" or the Three Principles of the People were hardly ever mentioned, they were probably mentioned for less than ten times throughout the film.In one scene, the subtitle in Chinese and English was "Republic of China", but the dialogue was talking about "revolution". So did the censor ask the filmmakers to change the name of ROC to revolution? No one will know until after the ccp is to be destroyed for good in the future.Jackie chan's voice was dubbed by someone else. That was a good choice, because it made his character more believable. Even though his face looks familiar, but the character he portrayed looked brand new. He wasn't a bad actor in this film even though it is not his regular comedy, action film role.overall, i enjoyed watching it. It could be a much bigger epic film if they didn't have to worry about the CCP's censors. Just like the rest of the mainland Chinese films, they can't make great films, because everything they make must first be approved by the evil CCP censors! Until the day when CCP is overthrown by its people, mainland Chinese filmmakers can never make a great touching film at all. They have all the money, human power, they just don't have the creation freedom.

This is a very intense historical drama of the 1911 revolution in China. I'm pretty sure that the reference to this being Jackie Chan's 'centennial film' refers to this being released in the year of the centennial anniversary of the revolution, and not that it's the 100th film that he's been in. By many accounts Jackie Chan has made considerably more than 100 films - I've seen counts at 150 and 200 on some websites.This was really my first exposure to the 1911 revolution at all, so now I'm inspired to read more about it. This movie definitely proves that Jackie Chan can certainly act without physical action - though he does get in one quick hand to hand rumble. He's confirmed that he'll no longer do the level of stunts that risk his life and health anymore, but that he will still do action and also wants to do more drama. This film displays his acting talent very well.The film is beautifully shot and is very moving. My only complaint is that the scenes jump with so much frequency. I felt as if I was just about absorbing one scene when it went on to another. I felt like I wanted to spend more time in certain places but it felt as if every scene lasted barely 2 or 3 minutes long. For me that was a little unsettling. Nevertheless, I was able to keep up with the thread of the story.Definitely one not to miss.

A story about the 1911 Chinese Revolution headed by Sun Yat Sen, which overthrew the Qing Dynasty, tries to cover too much ground for those unfamiliar with its details. It races over three continents with a cast of thousands, concentrating on several key figures, with some of the smallest titles on screen to tell you where and when you are in 1911/1912. It is quite confusing and, on DVD very difficult to follow the names of revolutionary heroes and changes of place and time - it is not told sequentially! However, one gets the gist of a powerful movement led by a small group trying to overthrow hundreds of years of history and a mighty (if decaying inwardly) imperial apparatus. Jackie Chan as part director and star (as the General who led the Revolutionary forces) is very good in a character role, but some of the others look a little po-faced as they play national heroes. The main strength of the film is the revolutionary rhetoric and the powerful battle scenes - leading the way towards the Great War (why did not the West look at how this war was fought before killing hundreds of thousands to learn lessons?!)- which grip and horrify in equal measure, and even manage to show some cowardice! A pity a much longer film or TV series was not attempted so that we Westerners could understand things a little better!