Kung Fu Hustle



I have to admit I had pretty low expectation for Stephen Chow's Kung Fu Hustle. I liked Chow's previous film, Shaolin Soccer (2001), but only for the soccer. The rest of the movie, which was horribly overdone comedic scenes and a limp romantic subplot for Chow's character and a woman with some sort of skin condition, was a chore to sit through. The ratio of good stuff to bad was about 1:5. Kung Fu Hustle has largely the same flaws, including a romantic subplot between Chow's character and a mute woman that could easily be cut from the film and effect nothing, but the ratio of good stuff to bad is reversed. This movie stays focused on the main plot to such an extent that viewers not familiar with who Stephen Chow is may wonder why his largely peripheral character gets so much screen time and a romantic interest.


So that's the "Axe Effect"?

China in the 1930's. Sing (Chao) is a unsuccessful con man who pretends to be a member of the feared Axe Gang. When one of his cons accidently calls the real Axe Gang's fury down on a slum known as Pig Sty Alley, three retired martial arts masters who live there must reveal themselves to defend the residents. The Axe Gang doesn't take this lightly and hires the #2 killers in the world to kill the masters, which they do handily. But in the process two more retired martial arts masters are revealed to be living in the Alley, forcing the Axe gang to break the #1 killer out of the insane asylum where he's imprisoned to destroy the Alley once and for all.


"My name isn't 'Mr. Anderson'!"

And that's about it. This plot is an excuse for an escalating series of absolutely exhilarating super-powered kung fu fights, broken up by goofy comedy and the occasional movie parody. (Not surprisingly The Matrix series is referenced often, including Sing turning out to be "The One.") It's all overdone and silly, but the fights are the best over-the-top kung fu ever committed to film bar none, thanks to the talents of choreographers Yuen Wo Ping and Sammo Hung and visual effects supervisor Frankie Chan.

Posted: Sun - May 1, 2005 at      

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