| Product: |
Kung Fu Hustle (DVD) |
| Date: |
01/03/07 (132 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Hilarious story, great action & crazy characters
Disadvantages: None particularly
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 your seat, feeling happy that you have spotted the plot, and just enjoy the superb mix of comedy and martial arts that are bound to fill the screen.
You certainly can enjoy the comedic talents of Chow and his cast but you will also soon discover that there is many a twist and turn to this story that you will have expected at first, everything is not quite as straight forward as you may have thought.
Kung Fu Hustle is in the style of a Jackie Chan comedy action adventure, but relies a lot more on CGI tricks to amuse and excite than a Chan film does. This is not to say that the cast don’t do those astounding kung fu kicks, jumps etc we come to expect from martial arts based films, just that Chow has aimed at doing something a little different, something a bit more original.
It must be, after all, very difficult to do comedy action and not fall under the shadow of Jackie Chan. So to counter this Chow makes his stories rely on the magics of CGI to show some of the more fantastical elements that occur, and here there are a lot of Chinese ‘superpowers’ on show.
The story behind Kung Fu Hustle is that of the axe gang, a group of criminals who terrorise the local area and pretty much rule the roost after wiping out the other gang’s leaders in a visually stunning opening sequence. A sequence that involves a musical number where the Axe gang dance, interspersed with B&W photos of their killings sounds crazy but it works extremely well. It is a novel approach to showing the gangs rise to power and manages to make it not only fast, bringing you to the main part of the story rapidly, but also very arresting.
Pig Sty Alley though is left alone, a place too poor to attract the attention of the Axe gang and their criminal enterprises. The residents there are ruled over by their landlady, a battleaxe of a woman who is permanently in curlers and with a cigarette in mouth. They fear her and she rules those who live and work there with an iron rod.
Suddenly two strangers appear in the alley, they say they are members of the Axe gang… but are they?
Their appearance though brings this little community to the attention of the Axe gang, a walkover the gang thinks but there are a few surprises hidden up the sleeves of the shop owners and inhabitants of the alley.
Will they manage to keep their homes and shops or will the gang, and their hired assassins, win the day?
And come to that where do the two strangers come into things?
Kung Fu Hustle is a blast, it isn’t as good as Shaolin Soccer but is certainly more accessible, mainly due to being a more traditional martial arts spoof while Shaolin Soccer adds in the sports motif that would turn a number of viewers of straight away. If you like the comedy side of Jackie Chan films you should enjoy this just as much, it is different but in the same mould.
Kung Fu Hustle is full of very classy touches, it overuses the CGI but for once it doesn’t matter, the CGI is there to show the fantastic, the sort of thing that could never be shown any other way.
The storm cloud that appears as the Axe gang approach, a Fantastic Four like sky rocket calling sign used by the Axe gang and the musician assassins are all uses of CGI that complement the film as opposed to detract from the look.
The CGI usage may become more and more over the top as the film continues but it doesn’t become too much until very late on and even then it isn’t inappropriate, it fits in with the overall tone of the film.
Kung Fu Hustle is a hugely enjoyable film and should certainly be seen by all Jackie Chan and martial arts fans, but if you think you would like to try something a bit different you should also give it a go, it just about saddles the line between mainstream and non mainstream enough to be enjoyed by everyone.
Summary: Martial arts for the masses
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