The Good: Funny, Well-Conceived, Awesome villains, Interesting heroes, Effects
The Bad: All characters are "types," Terribly predictable plot
The Basics: Funny, well choreographed, and ultimately entertaining, Kung Fu Hustle is worthy of a viewing.
In the opening moments of Kung Fu Hustle, it appears that the movie will be a bloodbath with little to redeem it. However, that changes after the first scene - which ironically ends in a parody of Michael Madsden's dancing from Reservoir Dogs. What follows, then, is an entertaining piece that is conceptually as cool as The Matrix (reviewed here!), physically comedic as a cartoon, and contains some of the most stylized action sequences ever put on film.
In the poorest slums of China, there lives a nagging landlady and her frail husband. When their poor complex, which has heretofore been of no interest to the Axe Gang or other gangsters, gets bullied by a member of the Axe Gang, trouble ensues. The slum discovers that some of the neighbors living in it are actually kung fu masters and their lives are now threatened by the power they represent. But the hoodlum that started the trouble, Sing, is not actually a member of the Axe Gang and his attempt to get into the gang enrages the Gang. Sing attempts to appease them while the Axe Gang attempts to crush the residents of the slum, which causes everything to escalate with action and hilarity.
Kung Fu Hustle is a weird movie in terms of its tempo. It starts out menacing and slick, with the implication that this will be a dark, disturbing movie. Then, after an extended fight sequence that puts the sequels to The Matrix to shame, it becomes a cartoon, almost literally. The characters move like the coyote and the roadrunner and the movie becomes an exercise in silly and extraordinary. The latter third of the movie is dead serious, life or death, good versus evil, all out brawl. The surprising thing about it is that it all works. The movie comes together quite nicely, infusing a mockery of cliches with cutting edge villains and balancing the brutal fight sequences with silliness.
The only real drawback to Kung Fu Hustle is its plot. There is nothing new in this story. This is a coming of age, redemption-type story and there are no surprises in how it resolves itself. Similarly, many of the characters are simply archetypes, without genuine character. The one gay character is labeled as a "fairy" and prances, the fat character is slow and somewhat dimwitted, the women are bossy and overbearing. They are all pretty much horrible stereotypes.
But they are played well and with a great deal of enthusiasm. And there is an intriguing mix of incredible villains. The musical brothers who assault the slum are awesome and formidable. Sing is an interesting character and while he progresses in a predictable way throughout the movie, he is nonetheless intriguing and maintains the interest of the viewer.
Part of the credit for that must go to Stephen Chow, who plays Sing and directed Kung Fu Hustle. As director, he keeps the movement of the film flowing exceptionally well through long stretches that Sing is absent from and as an actor, he plays with a magnetism that makes Sing the focal point of the scenes he is present in.
Chow assembled a cool cast that looks good and works well together. Wah Yuen and Qiu Yuen are perfectly cast as the landlord and landlady and their humble beginnings in the film transform wonderfully into their evolution as the movie progresses. Similarly, Kwok Kuen Chan earns his money for the scenes he is in as the gangster Brother Sum.
The truth is, there is no American movie like this. If The Matrix had humor, that might come close. And the intellectuals must disengage before viewing Kung Fu Hustle; it's not a dumb American action flick where you can call all of the lines a mile away or that the best parts are in the preview, but it is entertainment, not highbrow social commentary.
But it works. And it succeeds at being thoroughly entertaining. And for that, it deserves to be seen and recognized.
For other foreign language films, please check out my reviews of:
The Triplets Of Belleville
Sin Nombre
Volver
6.5/10
For other movie reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!
© 2012, 2005 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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