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Since the Hong Kong release of
Shaolin Soccer
in July 2001, Asian film fans have long been waiting for Stephen Chow’s
follow-up project.
After the critically lauded film hit big over Asia (it broke Hong Kong box-office
records), the rumours started circulating that his next film would naturally
be the sequel. These rumours were duly scotched, however others rose in their
place that Chow's next film would actually be a sequel to an earlier film of
his called God of Cookery. Neither of these turned out to be true as he chose
to make his next film a completely original story!
Kung Fu Hustle has long been in production and the process (if
you believe the rumours) was far from smooth, with admissions of script problems,
casting problems and punishingly hot filming conditions. Added to which, (alleged)
on-set tensions between the reportedly perfectionist Chow and fight choreographer
Sammo Hung (Eastern Condors, Pedicab Driver) led to Hung leaving the film
nigh on two months into production. Fortunately though, in somewhat of a coup
for the film, they subsequently managed to secure the services of genius
choreographer (and fellow perfectionist) Yuen Wo-Ping to pick up where Hung
left off. The results of a such troubled shoots usually fall into one of two
categories, so this was either going to be a brilliant realisation of
Co-Writer/Producer/Director/Star Chow's singular vision, or, a mightily muddled
mess (alliteration not intentional).
Set in the 1940's the movie details the story of Sing (Stephen Chow, King of
Comedy), a small-time scoundrel who has visions of joining the ‘Axe Gang,’ a
murderous Organized Crime mob who have taken over an un-named city in China
(most probably representing Canton, Shanghai). One of the only places that
they have yet to take over in the city is the down at heel apartment complex
called Pig-Sty Alley.
Sing and his partner-in-crime, pretending to be members of the Axe Gang, try
to extort money from the inhabitants and in doing so, bring the actual Axe Gang
into conflict with them. The inhabitants, however, aren't as helpless as they
first appear, some of them just happen to be kung fu masters, and when they
fight back they set into motion a chain of escalating conflict. In the midst
of all this Sing finds that he must pick a side in the conflict, does he
continue with his dream of joining the Axe Gang or does he side with the
underdog Inhabitants of Pig-Sty Alley.
Thus, yet another factory went boom!
It never ceases to amaze me, how I can write a story synopsis for a comedy
movie and make it sound about as funny as death. Trust me though, this film IS
funny and also unique to boot. It's very easy to believe that 'Kung Fu Hustle'
is the product of an auteur, rather than movie making by committee. After a
surprisingly violent opening scene it segues into a montage that contrasts
the Axe Gang's rise to power with a synchronised dance scene, containing the
gang, that leaves you grinning from ear to ear (I'm sure Chow included this as
a similar scene was left out of the Hong Kong theatrical cut of Shaolin Soccer.).
From there the film just exudes its own crazy energy and bounces wildly back
and forth from Kung-Fu fights to comedy skits to film references and then to a
chase scene that is probably as close to a live action road-runner cartoon as
you're ever likely to get (until such a beast hits the screen). This breathless
energy and sense of fun are probably the things that stop me from making the
(not exactly invalid) criticism that Kung Fu Hustle is somewhat scattershot
and unfocussed.
Director Chow and cinematographer Poon Hang-sang turn in an absolutely beautiful
movie that really does benefit from a larger than normal budget for an Asian
production (from what I gather it stands at just upwards of US$30m).
Chow’s use of the camera and eye for shot composition both seem to be
improving from film to film and he turns in here his best looking movie to
date, making great use of the 2:40:1 aspect ratio. The camera work is smooth
and elegant, and the two main sets are beautifully realised, contrasting nicely
the opulence of the big city with the poverty of Pig-Sty Alley.
I think that one of the major selling points in the West, where Stephen Chow
is not so well known, will be Yuen Wo-ping’s fight choreography which is, once
again, breath-taking. In this film, however, he adds more of a slapstick feel
to some of the scenes that might come as somewhat of a shock to those that
only know his more straight-faced work from
Kill Bill
and the
Matrix
movies.
As an example of this, in Chow’s big fight scene one of his signature moves is
that he stamps on the feet of his opponents and squashes them flat, I mean
really flat, like a Tom & Jerry cartoon. This contrasts oddly with the very
real looking screams of pain on the faces of the afflicted henchmen, but then
again, Asian movies (especially some of Chow’s) can be somewhat tonally uneven.
The violence in this movie, whilst occasionally very brutal, is for the most
part bloodless and comical.
Much like the Matrix movies, the fantastical elements to the story means that
the fight scenes are based heavily around wirework, CGI, and people defying the
laws of gravity, this sometimes comes at the expense of more intricate moves.
However the fights are for the most part inventive and each has their own
particular style, my favourite would most likely be the first fight in Pig Sty
Alley which is the one that is most grounded (in every sense of the word) and
based in reality.
As with Shaolin Soccer, whilst the movie is undeniably fun it is not by any
means perfect. Whilst Chow appears to be stylistically making progress with
each film, script wise this does seem to be somewhat of a step backwards.
Whilst it is more serious in tone than Soccer, that film actually seemed like
a proper movie, this sometimes seems like the more serious moments are there
to join the comedy skits, and some of these skits seem somewhat out of place
and merely there to bump up the running time.
To take two examples from the film, there is a nice sketch close to the
beginning of the movie where Sing tries to come off as a gangster, in front of
the villagers, by offering to fight weak looking people. Through a series of
clever sight gags these people turn out to be rather more opposing foes than
they at first appear. Now this sketch works both by being genuinely funny and
also establishing to the viewer that Sing is, in fact, a coward. A second skit,
later in the movie, involves an extended scene in which a character has their
hair accidentally set on fire whilst their companion struggles vainly to put
it out. This scene, in comparison to the other, goes on for far too long and
is completely redundant plot wise.
Also somewhat redundant is a slight romance between Sing and an ice-cream
vendor (played by newcomer Huang Sheng-yi) that, whilst sweet, feels rather
forced and shoe horned in out of convention.
On a technical level it would also be fair to say that whilst the CGI is of a
generally strong level some of it is a bit on the ropey side, but no more so
than The Matrix Reloaded's ‘Burley Brawl.’ In common with that movie,
in-fight CGI is quite often used to present moves that would be impossible to
pull off practically, but they just don’t quite have the physics nor the fluidity
of human movement (or budget) down yet, and some such moments just come off
as looking weightless and obviously fake.
Once again, Chow plays the affable underdog who comes good by the end of the
movie. Whilst Sing does have a slight bit more of an edge than usual he's not
significantly different to the type of character that Chow usually plays. Truth
be told, as well as he does here it would be nice to see Chow try something
different sometime. Whilst it's fair to say that Chow probably gets the biggest
share of the screen time, in this movie, much like in Shaolin Soccer before it,
he lets the supporting cast have their moment in the sun. Unfortunately, this
leads to another one of the movie’s problems.
As the central character, Sing is almost completely passive in the furthering
of Kung Fu Hustle’s story. Whilst his actions actually do upset the status quo
in the film’s world, and therefore brings about the conflict, the escalations
it then takes mostly come about without any further input from him. Sing essentially
takes a reactive backseat until the third act. What’s even worse is that the
unleashing of his latent Kung Fu abilities is brought about through pure happenstance,
thereby even robbing Sing of the chance to earn this turnaround in fortune.
Ultimately we come to root for the guy not because he’s really earned a happy
ending but because we know that he’s really just a good-hearted chap.
The strong supporting cast contains a fair few familiar faces from Shaolin Soccer
and some of Chow's other previous movies. Amongst these we have Lam Ji-chung,
Chan Gwok-kwen, Tin Kai-man and also a nice cameo from Fung Min-hun. All of them
do well here and really look as if they’re enjoying themselves greatly. Also
worthy of note are Xing Yu, Dong Zi-hua and Chiu Chi-ling who play three of
the Alley’s kung fu masters. One of the biggest surprises of the cast, however,
is not so much who's present but actually who's notable by their absence.
Kung Fu Hustle marks the first Stephen Chow directed movie, of recent memory,
without Ng Man-Tat in it. The man has virtually been Chow's (movie) shadow for
the last decade or so and his non-appearance in this is a bit of a mystery.
I feel I have to make a special mention here of Yuen Qui who, as Pig Sty Alley's
remarkably loud-mouthed Landlady, almost steals the movie from under Chow's nose.
Her metamorphosis from abusive, chain-smoking harridan into one of the defenders
of Pig-Sty Alley is remarkable, and her impromptu nod to Bruce Lee (circa Way
of the Dragon) is one of the movie's best moments and biggest laughs. Also
of note is Yuen Wah who, as her husband, also goes through the same character
arc, and the pair work very well together as a nice comic duo.
All in all, whilst Kung Fu Hustle is far from perfect, it is still a wildly
enjoyable affair that manages to deflect many valid criticisms by sheer virtue
of its energy, pace, good nature and the fact that it’s very, very funny in
places. The movie features strong visuals, solid production values and is well
played by a decent cast. Highly recommended.
"No, seriously, how could you tell Fred West built this place?"
Whilst distributed by a company called ERA, it is, in truth, a Columbia/Tristar
DVD, with all the technical expertise that pertains to that fact. As such it
contains an excellent picture that it presented at the 2:40:1 aspect ratio and
is 16x9 enhanced. I can really find little to fault, there is a satisfying
level of detail on display, faithful skin tones, vibrant colours and deep, rich
blacks. There was no print damage and nary an example of intrusive edge-enhancement
to be found. If I had to be overly critical I would perhaps point out a minor
amount of aliassing and that the picture is, perhaps, a tad soft for my tastes.
Really though, it is a solid video transfer and I doubt the eventual R1 release
will look any better (My betting is that they’ll use this same transfer).
There are 3 soundtracks on the disc, you get the original Cantonese track in
both Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS and you also get a Mandarin dub in Dolby Digital
5.1. For the purposes of this review I primarily listened to the DTS track and
am pleased to report that it’s a corker. It’s a loud and enveloping mix that
makes aggressive use of the subwoofer and the surrounds at every available
opportunity. The effects placement and panning are absolutely superb, hearing
the fights and the landlady’s shrill cries echo around the room really draws
you into the movie. I also briefly checked out the Cantonese Dolby 5.1 track
and, whilst it was still pretty good, it seemed positively subdued by comparison,
with greatly reduced bass. If you have the choice, go DTS for this one and crank
it up loud, your neighbours will probably hate you for it but you’ll have a
great time.
The English subtitles provided are good and without any noticeable spelling
or grammatical errors. In a move that will likely annoy some purists, however,
the translation has been westernised to some degree for this release (and this
translation will probably serve as that for the eventual North America/European
release). As an example, there are references to Paris and Helen of Troy and
also “The One” (Matrix), which the literal translation, of the spoken lines,
does not contain. They are actually references to historical Chinese characters
that would likely be lost on the majority of Western audiences (myself included).
Whilst the westernisation does not bother me so much, I can see the purists’
point of view, and given that DVD technology gives the option of multiple
subtitle tracks it seems a shame that the producers couldn’t have supplied
both the westernised track and also a literal track.
Extras on the disc are limited to mere trailers for other movies (oddly there
is not one included for Kung Fu Hustle itself). There are trailers for the
Julianne Moore spooker The Forgotten (2:29), the sequel that nobody
asked for, Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid (1:17), Ben Kingsley’s
latest folly Suspect Zero (1:39), the rather excellent
Hellboy
(2:31), Brittany Murphy chick-flick Little Black Book (2:30), Hong Kong
actioner So Close (1:31) and the sequel that only Tom Berenger asked
for Sniper 3 (1:14). All are presented in Anamorphic Widescreen at
approximately 1:78:1 except for So Close (Non-Anamorphic 1:78:1) and Sniper 3
(Full screen).
The movie I can recommend without hesitation, it is a great way to spend 100
minutes. Recommending this disc, however, is a little more problematic.
Whilst its A/V transfer is undeniably top-notch, the fact is that it’s a
barebones release rushed out, due to demand, to undermine Asia’s rampant film
piracy problem. It’s been all but confirmed that there is a Special Edition on
the way, rumours of such are even more credible when you consider that Sony
(Masters of the Double-Dip) are the distributors here. Unless you’re really
not bothered about extras, you might be wise in holding off to see what else
comes your way from other regions. However if you choose this route you might be
waiting a while, as the movie is only receiving its US theatrical release in
late April, and a UK release is not expected until June at the earliest. If
you’re going to go for it now, all I can recommend is to shop around and
get it as cheap as you possibly can. Caveat Emptor!
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Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
