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KUNG FU HUSTLE ****1/2 out of *****
Genres
2004 Directed by Stephen Chow Written by Stephen Chow Tsang Kan Cheong Xin Huo Chan Man Keung Cast Stephen Chow .... Sing Wah Yuen .... Landlord Qiu Yuen .... Landlady Kwok Kuen Chan .... Brother Sum Siu Lung Leung .... The Beast Dong Zhi Hua .... Donut Chiu Chi Ling .... Tailor Xing Yu .... Coolie Chi Chung Lam .... Sing's Sidekick Kai Man Tin .... Axe Gang Advisor Kang Xi Jia .... Harpist No. 1 Hak On Fung .... Harpist No. 2 Xiaogang Feng .... Crocodile Gang Boss Shengyi Huang .... Fong Suet Lam .... Axe Gang Vice General Hsiao Liang .... Axe Gang Leader
I honestly think that Stephen Chow is the funniest man making movies in Hong Kong today…there I said it! His previous two films The King of Comedy (1999) and Shaolin Soccer (2001) were not only huge successes but provided some of Asian cinema's finest comedic moments committed to film. And Chow has been shaping up as one of Hong Kong's premiere filmmakers, with Shaolin Soccer scoring huge numbers to become the highest grossing Hong Kong-made film in Hong Kong, a record only to be surpassed by himself in 2004 with Kung Fu Hustle, a film that had spent the better part of four years in production.
 | Another relic of Britain's colonial past smashed
by reckless Kung Fu fighters. | Kung Fu Hustle tells the story of a pair of gangster wannabes, Sing (Stephen Chow) and his overweight sidekick (Chi Chung Lam). The time is 1940s China and the vicious Axe Gang has taken over the streets from the Crocodile Gang. Sing has aspirations of joining the gang, it's been a dream of his to be a bad guy ever since he was a kid. One day in the town of Pig Sty he and his sidekick decide to impersonate gang members in order to extort a local barber. But things turn sour for the duo when the real Axe Gang show up only to be beaten by three of the locals, the noodle maker Donut (Dong Zhi Hua), the tailor (Chiu Chi Ling), and a coolie (Xing Yu), who just happen to be Kung Fu Masters.
This doesn't sit well with the Axe Gang leader Brother Sum (Kwok Kuen Chan). The bad guys are supposed to do the beating, not get beaten. Sing and his sidekick are blamed for the shameful event but are given a chance to prove themselves to Brother Sum, if they kill someone they can join the gang. That proves a little harder than expected when it turns out that the Landlady (Qiu Yuen) and her husband the Landlord (Wah Yuen) of Pig Sty exhibit extraordinary powers and are retired Kung Fu Masters that vowed never to fight again. The Axe Gang is out for blood and send The Harpists (Kang Xi Jia and Hak On Fung) to take out Donut, the tailor, and the coolie. The Landlady realises that in order to protect the people and defend their turf they have to face the Axe Gang and the number one fighter, The Beast (Siu Lung Leung). The battle of these titans is so furious but when Sing is swept into it, his terrific beating unlocks a true Kung Fu Master, one that can perform the Buddha Palm move.
 | Chinese weight loss secret: If he gets any
fatter the axes will chop his nipples off. | Kung Fu Hustle plays out as a kind of cross between Abbot and Costello comedic sensibilities and Hong Kong action. While the action is nothing short of exciting it's the characters that play a memorable part and add to the overall charm of this film. Each character has their own unique over-the-top style that not only helps craft the performance but makes the ride all the more enjoyable.
The film features a series of very funny sight gags such as the scene with the knives and snakes and parodies most notably the burly brawl scene near the end that lampoons The Matrix Reloaded. And there are a lot of cartoon-like gravity and physics defying moments, the most memorable belonging to the Landlady. In order to accomplish these cartoon-like character traits such as super-speed running, mega jumps and also to enhance the fight scenes CGI techniques were employed. I found that generally the standard of the effects was very high, especially for a Hong Kong production that doesn't have nearly the budget of a big Hollywood feature, but not all the effects were convincing enough. Sing's swollen lip after the snake bites is one that immediately comes to mind. Was this deliberately made to look fake? For some reason it didn't seem to work. But really that's the only quibble I have with this film. Yuen Woo-Ping's action choreography is spectacular, each fight is bigger and better than the last and never lets up. This is complimented with Hang-Sang Poon's cinematography, each angle and shot set up is perfectly capturing the action that almost makes you feel you are right there in Pig Sty watching it all go down.
 | "At least clean your shoes before kicking me
in the face." | The movie is funny, over the top, exciting and also a little bit violent at times, which is all part of Chow's dark sense of humour that works really well here. It's probably the most fun you'll have in a movie this year, I've seen Kung Fu Hustle three time already and manage to find something new about it every time, it definitely deserves repeat viewing. But for those that haven't yet seen it, give this one a spin and you won't regret it.
Finger_Of_DOOM's reviews also appear on DVD Compare, where they include details of the DVD release. For this review click here.
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