Kung Fu Hustle (2005)

Absolutely Fantastic

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

There has been no movie like this, none. Period. Shoalin Soccer was brilliant,but this is something else.The character development is so rich that you will be wanting more, from the lecherous landlord, to the side kick of the bad guy and the side kick of the hero, from the mega villain to the local Juliet, from the land lady to the 2 vile playing the piano, even if they got a few scenes, everyone stole the limelight. In fact, Stephen Chow's character probably looked less interesting at times.The scene where his sidekick accidentally hits him with a knife followed by kissing a cobra is the ultimate funny sceneThee are so so so many good to better to brilliant scenes from all the characters that you would probably see it nth number of times.The slapstick is bang on, the over-the-top scenes are even more bang on, everyone is in top notch form.It is mostly over-the-top but what a balance Stephen Chow has maintained! NOT EVEN ONCE does it cross the line to become even remotely senseless. This is miles ahead of anything you have seen, in fact a different genre needs to be specially made just to fit this movie. This one, Shaolin Soccer and CJ7 are proof enough that Chow is a superior director, but i doubt he can top this. There is just no equal. It is like the Psycho of thrillers, The Enter the Dragon of Martial Arts, The Terminator 2 of Action movies, With this movie alone, Chow should be ranked as an all time great.

This film IS all over the place, but even if you are just a film buff with no interest in Kung Fu films, this is worth a watch. With tons of references and homages to other movies, from Fred and Ginger to Bruce Lee, and from The Shining to The Matrix, it's kind of fun just to look for them.It has both comedy and serious elements, but you have to look fast for them, because this movie is fairly relentless with the action. This has a huge budget for a Chinese Kung Fu film too, and you can see right where it goes because there is CGI mayhem aplenty. And that leads to the only group of filmgoers who will not enjoy Kung Fu Hustle at all; those who do not like action films. This is not a real talky film, and seems to let the action do most of the talking for it. You might not like it, but it never gives you much of a chance to get bored.

KUNG FU HUSTLE is Stephen Chow's comedic follow-up to SHAOLIN SOCCER and enjoyed a massive success around the world on first release. I'm sorry to say that I didn't enjoy it as much as SHAOLIN SOCCER; this is a slightly weaker film with an over-reliance on silly CGI effects and a sometimes boring, meandering plot line that refuses to give the viewer any character to really root for. This time around, Chow – who directed as well as acted – is an unappealing lowlife criminal for most of the plot, before turning into an obvious Neo impersonator for the climax, which heavily rips off THE MATRIX RELOADED.Unlike SHAOLIN SOCCER, there are no obvious good guys or bad guys, instead most of the characters are ruthless or selfish or get what they deserve. Chow is unlikeable, his fat buddy barely gets a look in, and while the kung fu-fighting landlady is supposed to be a character that viewers love and find hilarious, I'm afraid she didn't impress me for a second. Better is Yuen Wah, better known as the baddie in DRAGONS FOREVER, enjoying a fine new taste of cinematic success after languishing in the doldrums for a decade. Wah, who doesn't seem to have aged at all since his bad guy days, is a brilliant fighter and a good actor to boot and I wish he had more screen time.Elements of the film are obvious from SHAOLIN SOCCER – indeed, some of them haven't changed at all, like the tacked-on romance with the mute girl. There's also a ton of the special effects work we saw in the football flick, except it's not novel here anymore, and it's overused throughout. When most of the fight scenes rely on crazy effects, you know you're in trouble. Pretty much all the attempts at humour fall flat – watching characters race at impossible speeds through the countryside, like they're in a Disney cartoon, just doesn't work for me. The script is limited and the fact that there are too many different characters means it's impossible to focus your attention on any one bit. Instead this is a mish-mash of old jokes, new tricks and one too many MATRIX jokes which don't really seem to understand what parody means – simply repeating scenes we saw in the Hollywood blockbusters isn't funny.The other good thing in the film – aside from Yuen Wah – is the bad guy, The Beast, played by Siu-Lung Leung, better known as the '70s Bruce Lee impersonator, Bruce Liang, who appeared in the likes of MAGNIFICENT BODYGUARDS. Leung – who hasn't acted in twenty years – has a ball as the supreme bad guy and he's impossible to dislike. Elsewhere, while the plethora of fight scenes are always entertaining, making this a film to be enjoyed despite the myriad flaws.

Kung Fu Hustle (2004): Dir: Stephen Chow / Cast: Stephen Chow, Danny Chan, Yuen Wah, Yuen Qiu, Bruce Leung: Absolutely hilarious martial arts comedy written, directed and starring Stephen Chow. The Axe Gang is the most feared gang in the country and they take aim at the peaceful Pig Sty Alley but are surprised when their peaceful target is skilled in martial arts. Amusing setup travels from one fight scene to the next with a rather merciful conclusion. What really shines are the exquisite visual elements and the humour propelled by the cast. Chow plays Sing who wishes to join the Axe Gang but he is ordered to commit a murder to do so. He reflects upon younger days when standing up for a young girl resulted in his ass getting kicked. He is a wimp with a good heart and Chow plays him to perfect comic pitch. Other characters include the Beast who looks nothing like one. Danny Chan plays the ruthless Axe Gang leader who tests Chow and eventually misuses his control to dire consequences. A landlady, played by Yuen Qiu possesses the "lion's roar" and becomes a force to be reckoned with. Yuen Wah plays the landlady's drunken husband with powers of his own. Bruce Leung plays the Beast whose transformation is both nasty and funny. Great mix of martial arts and humour that takes jabs at martial arts films that destroys the law of gravity. Score: 9 / 10