Kung Fu Hustle (2005)

Kung Fu Hustle is a comedic triumph, the high point of actor-director Stephen Chow's career over the decades. Before the international hit, he spent years refining his trade as the wacky, roughly-hewn rascal with just the right amount of gold in his heart. Chow plays the bad guy well enough; a bit of stubble, ragged sleeves rolled up, and just a hint of manic crazy in those eyes when he brandishes his little pocket knife that suggests he'll do anything to make it big in this uncaring world. His goal is to ascend to the top of the criminal underworld and join the ranks of the legendary Axe Gang - and Chow's opening scene is a testament to the sort of style and status that he admires. The word here is cool; the top hats, the black suits, the jazz backing, the sashay of Brother Sum as he approaches another victim. Think the goofy KKK clansmen in the Coen's O Brother Where Art Thou, only without the uncomfortable historical baggage. Chow blends touches of class (the slow pull out from within the police headquarters, the inhabitants frozen in fear), realistic grit (black and white newspaper headlines documenting their reign of terror in 1930s China) and pure chopsocky fun (the operatic ridiculousness in the slow motion axe taking off a leg) effortlessly. But while the cities are under constant fear, the slums of Pig Sty Alley live so sloppily they are practically immune from all the outside whizbang. The setting is built up like an old style Hollywood set on the studio backlot, a towering structure with a life of its own, reminiscent of that in Irma la Douce or Rear Window. We find the beating heart of a community that becomes a character in itself - here money is immaterial, luxury is a foreign language, and its petty squabbles are only surface conflict. Chow riffs off traditional wuxia stories by plucking legendary heroes out of the ordinary village fabric, martial arts masters for one day and then back to their modest living. Even with the Buddhist-steeped redemption arc of his own character Sing, it's clear that Chow is attempting to undo some of the mythos surrounding these action figures. They fight out of sheer necessity to protect those who can't, but in the meantime they're tailors and cooks and labourers. The story is the proof that Sing needs to see; that good guys can come from any walk of life, whereas ambition without restraint can often lead one down darker paths.Chow's always had a penchant for goofy, unrestricted action, with liberal use of wire-work that doubles as slapstick comedy (Flirting Scholar comes to mind). He would hit his creative peak with Kung Fu Hustle, in which a quaint village becomes the arena for an increasingly zany series of martial arts battles. The set design is there to be a battered and collapsible playground; walls crack with relish, and stone banisters go flying in bits so regularly it's surprising there are any stairs left by the end of the film. Chow enlisted the best to choreograph his fighting sequences, among them kung fu royalty in Yuen Woo-ping, who brings the same rapid, weightless intensity that the Wachowskis asked for in The Matrix. His sequences verge on the edge of realism, as if real life had merged with a cartoon. Elsewhere there's more of the same slapstick in the way that CGI and sound design lift the live action motion, with puffs of dust trails, legs whipping up into a blur, and Axe Gang cronies dropping like flies from up above and splattering onto the ground. Hear Sing rack up hits like an arcade game in the climatic melee, and the machine gun rattle of the toes broken by his fast feet. And listen to how the traditional Chinese instrumentation like Erhu and the Guzheng build to thrilling crescendos, and in one scene become the actual weapon in a stylised martial arts showdown. It's not every movie that has slapstick and pathos all rolled into one, and leaves us satisfied by the end that the protagonist has come of age, and finally realised his place in the world. This is broad stuff, but Chow has always excelled at the scruffy everyman, the rascal, and although I mention he plays the bad guy well enough, he's not good enough for a pure villain. He doesn't have that snarl, or the complete mean streak. There has always been good in him. There's nothing in those cheap manuals worth a damn, but it's what inside that counts, and in the final scene where the camera swings around and takes us back into the past, we once again glimpse the little boy who believed he could save the world.

This action comedy from Hong Kong is set in the thirties and gangs, particularly the Axe Gang dominate. Usually such gangs ignore the poor as they have nothing worth stealing and no money to extort. That changes when two wannabe gangsters, Sing and his friend Bone, start trying to intimidate the poor inhabitants of Pig Sty Alley while claiming to be members of the Axe Gang. It is immediately obvious that they have picked on the wrong neighbourhood and they are chased off. Soon the real Axe Gang turn up hoping repair damage to their reputation; they don't know there are many old martial arts masters living there and they too are beaten. After that they bring in assassins; including The Beast; reportedly the most dangerous man in the world! By now Sing is with the gang but will he remain with them or will he become the protector of the helpless he dreamt of being as a child?If you like your kung fu action to feel at least a little bit realistic you might be disappointed but if you want a good laugh and really over-the-top action then this film is a delight. The action is a mix of standard, 'slightly exaggerated' martial arts, kung fu that is more like a superpower and a ridiculously sped up chase. The characters are a lot of fun; most notably the landlady and her husband, Sing and The Beast. The cast does a solid job; the situations may be comic and the characters over the top but they are played straighter than one might expect. Most of the comedy worked for me, although I must admit the speeded up chase was a little too silly for my taste. There are also quite a few references to other films such as 'The Shining' and 'The Matrix'. Overall I'd certainly recommend this to anybody who likes good slapstick comedy combined with exciting martial arts action.

Kung Fu Hustle is a movie about Kung Fu masters facing one another, protecting one another, and battling the Axe Gang. I have never heard of this movie and I was told to watch it for my final for my Perspectives class and I truly did not have high hopes for this movie, but I was wrong! This movie was absolutely great and I enjoyed watching it so much. It was such a good mix of feelings for the viewer as well. You felt sad at some points, you felt happy in others, and the rest of it was just plain exciting. I can not tell you how much I laughed during this movie and I was watching it with my mother as well, she thought it was weird but she laughed multiple times. The movie also has an interesting mixture of time periods and mixing of different cultures. It was sort of like a western film, mixed with roaring 20's, mixed with old school gangs and mafias like in "The Godfather", mixed with a goofy Stephen Chow movie. I thought the story line was goofy, yet exciting and I would totally recommend this to anyone who wants to watch a goofy Chinese Kung Fu movie. I honestly wish there was a remake of this movie!

Good: Almost everything. I love it all, from the crazy slapstick humor, to the wild kung-fu fantasy fighting, to the insane villains and incredible heroes. Stephen Chow is not a man who does things by halves. When he does things, he does it all the way. Kung Fu Hustle is physical evidence of this. Kung Fu Hustle is not a film for the meek. Everything about it is completely over the top from the beginning (where a man's leg is sliced clean in two by an axe) to the end (a kung-fu style called the Toad, which emulates the croaking and hopping of it's namesake). Another amazing aspect is the soundtrack. Inspired by classic Shaolin music, it's incredibly fitting to the scenes in this movie. I actually went out of my way to find the soundtrack to listen by itself. The special effects are a bit too much, but that's just part of it's charm and humor. This is my favorite movie of all time in terms of sheer entertainment. I've watched it 4 times already.Bad: Character development. The protagonist, Sing, isn't a hero until 3/4ths of the movie is through. And for no apparent reason or explanation other than the lollipop. The Landlady and Landlord are also cowards until the movie is halfway through, also for no apparent reason.Verdict: I highly recommend watching this movie at least once. Or twice. Or thrice. Or four times like I did.