Kung Fu Hustle (DVD)

Stephen Chow isn’t a name I’d come across before, but after this film, expect to be seeing a lot more of him in years to come. As a comedy actor, he’s been amusing Hong Kong audiences for years, but it’s his last two films, Shaolin Soccer, and this, Kung Fu Hustle, which have earned him worldwide fame. Although at 42 he’s a bit old to be called the next Jackie Chan, the resemblances are there, with his films being a mix of comedy, martial arts and action. And like Jackie Chan, as well as acting and doing all his own stunts, he also writes, produces and edits his own films! In Kung Fu Hustle, set in 1940s China, a city is being terrorised by the Axe ...

It is 1930s Hong Kong. When street criminal wannabe Sing and his fat best friend find themselves on their uppers, they decide to try their luck in one of the city's many run down blocks. In Pig Sty Alley they happen upon a barber, where they try to blag free hair cuts by pretending to be members of the infamous Black Axe gang. It is a decision the pair could soon live to regret. Inadvertantly setting off a turf war between the Black Axe gang members and the inhabitants of Pig Sty Alley, the duo can only sit back and watch as, one by one, the inhabitants of Pig Sty Alley reveal their many and varied secrets…. Stephen Chow's big-budget, effects-laden Kung-fu ...

Stephen Chow, the man behind Shaolin Soccer and God of Cookery amongst others, returned to British cinema screens in 2005, or made his first appearance considering the lack of screens Shaolin soccer was showed on, with his latest comedy martial arts extravaganza. Kung Fu Hustle is set in 1930’s China and is more akin to a cowboy movie with martial arts than anything else. It reminds me a lot of those old Hollywood westerns where the stranger comes to town and helps the locals fight of the evil gang of bandits. While this is a very simplified description of the film this is where you can see it going right from the very start. So you sit back in ...