The work of international superstar Stephen Chow, Kung Fu Hustle is a humorous, special-effects-filled, action-packed martial arts epic set in early '40s China. A bumbling thief named Sing (Stephen Chow) desires to be the toughest member of the dreaded gangster hit squad known as The Axe Gang, but to completely join the gang he has to commit murder. When Sing attempts to rob a crowded run-down apartment complex known as Pig Sty Alley, the locals begin to defend themselves with some high-flying
kung fu skills, and a tiny war erupts between the local masters and the axe-wielding gang. After the gang busts the ancient kung fu king known as The Beast (Leung Siu Lung) out of jail, tensions reach a boiling point as Pig Sty Alley's landlady (Yuen Qiu) leads an all-out attack against the gang and Sing discovers his true heroic fate. Kung Fu Hustle, which set box-office records across Asia during its December 2004 release, also stars Yuen Wah and Xing Yu, and features fight choreography by legendary masters of martial arts cinema Yuen Woo Ping and Sammo Hung. ~ Jason Gibner, Rovi
Retrieving the martial arts movie from the gentrified middlebrow tastefulness of movies like House of Flying Daggers is only one item on Kung Fu Hustle's agenda.
With Hustle's release on 2,000 U.S. screens this week, Americans get to see what's so funny about Chow. The laugh's on them for not noticing him before.
The ever-shifting genre of martial arts films takes on yet another variation with writer/director/actor Stephen Chow's CGI spectacle infused comic Kung Fu adventure.
The laws of physics no longer apply, if they ever did; characters leap, run at neck-breaking speed, bash each other through several walls with one blow.
While those who can't stand long fight scenes might find it a bit tiresome, everyone else is going to consider this a sweet, light-hearted martial arts treat.
An inept would be gangster inadvertently causes a war between a tap dancing, axe wielding gang and a poor rural village which unwittingly acted as a retirement community for ex-martial arts masters. The follow up to Stephen Chow's amusing genre send up Shaolin Soccer, Kung Fu Hustle is more Loony Tunes than Crouching
Tiger. Its mix of slapstick comedy and cartoon violence feels like a breath of fresh air in such a po-faced genre, and anyone who enjoyed the mix of martial arts and comedy of Mr. Vampire or A Chinese ghost Story will surely enjoy this. It's a deconstruction of classic Asian cinema from the likes of the Shaw Brothers and introduces tongue in cheek, post modern comedy that almost reminded me of Terry Gilliam in places which makes for a warm homage to the genre with plenty of laughs at the expense of grandiose Asian mythology. As action packed as it is deeply silly, Kung Fu Hustle is huge fun from beginning to end.
November 4, 2006
xGary Xx
Super Reviewer
I seem to be the only one that did not enjoy this movie. I found the comedy to be way too elementary. I ended up not laughing too much. (It's been a while since I've watched this movie so bear with me)
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