Kung Fu Hustle: Axe-Kickin' Edition
8/06/2007 Posted by Admin
(Originally published 2005)
When people die in Stephen Chow’s outrageous, often hilarious action-comedy “Kung Fu Hustle,” it usually is after making a rather intimate acquaintance with a hatchet, though not always.
Sometimes, the kiss of death arrives on the business end of a knife, a gunfight, a suckerpunch, a screaming match, a flying kick to the throat, a clutch of knuckles to the heart, a hail of swords to the torso.
Mostly, though, death comes via the aforementioned hatchet, and really, there’s good reason for that. The movie’s villains are all members of the Axe Gang, a teeming gaggle of toughs who pack hatchets like heat and who descend upon the impoverished residents of Pig Sty Alley ready to rumble.
Why the rumble? In this broad story of revenge and hysteria set in 1930s Shanghai, the short answer is that Sing (Chow) and his chubby friend, Sidekick (Lam Tze Chung), have drawn attention to themselves and to the otherwise overlooked Pig Sty Alley by posing as members of the Axe Gang. They have no idea how to fight--these two hustlers couldn’t sock a dandelion and win--but they nevertheless believe they can pass for members of the gang and thus get the respect they have always craved.
Naturally, none of this sits well with the real gang, which comes to Pig Sty Alley eager to fight but unaware that all here isn’t what it seems. Indeed, it’s in this tenement dump, run by the tough, chain-smoking Landlady (Yuen Qiu) and her philandering wreck of a husband, Landlord (Yuen Wah)--that many aging kung fu masters have come to retire.
And, my, can they ever fight.
As written by Chow, Tasang Kan Cheong, Lola Huo and Chan Man Keung, “Kung Fu Hustle” isn’t as morbid as it sounds nor is it as bloody. Instead, it’s alive with more wit and mischief than any movie to hit theaters so far this year, which is saying plenty since this month also saw the release of “Sin City,” another movie that pilfered liberally from the trough of pop culture and eschewed borders for possibilities.
It’s that absolute sense of freedom that allows Chow to turn his movie into anything he wants it to be. In this case, that means cartoon moviemaking made with real people who feel as if they sprung from the loins of Warner Bros. powerhouse, Chuck Jones. Digging deep into the chopsockey genre, Chow joins Quentin Tarantino (“Kill Bill,” “Kill Bill 2”) in challenging its conventions and pressing its humor against its raw edges.
It works. As choreographed by that other master, Yuen Wo-Ping (“The Matrix” and “Kill Bill” series), “Kung Fu Hustle” is filled with inside jokes and surprises, veering in directions you don’t anticipate because the movie has no rules. Well, no rules other than to stand apart and to entertain.
Grade: A
When people die in Stephen Chow’s outrageous, often hilarious action-comedy “Kung Fu Hustle,” it usually is after making a rather intimate acquaintance with a hatchet, though not always.
Sometimes, the kiss of death arrives on the business end of a knife, a gunfight, a suckerpunch, a screaming match, a flying kick to the throat, a clutch of knuckles to the heart, a hail of swords to the torso.
Mostly, though, death comes via the aforementioned hatchet, and really, there’s good reason for that. The movie’s villains are all members of the Axe Gang, a teeming gaggle of toughs who pack hatchets like heat and who descend upon the impoverished residents of Pig Sty Alley ready to rumble.
Why the rumble? In this broad story of revenge and hysteria set in 1930s Shanghai, the short answer is that Sing (Chow) and his chubby friend, Sidekick (Lam Tze Chung), have drawn attention to themselves and to the otherwise overlooked Pig Sty Alley by posing as members of the Axe Gang. They have no idea how to fight--these two hustlers couldn’t sock a dandelion and win--but they nevertheless believe they can pass for members of the gang and thus get the respect they have always craved.
Naturally, none of this sits well with the real gang, which comes to Pig Sty Alley eager to fight but unaware that all here isn’t what it seems. Indeed, it’s in this tenement dump, run by the tough, chain-smoking Landlady (Yuen Qiu) and her philandering wreck of a husband, Landlord (Yuen Wah)--that many aging kung fu masters have come to retire.
And, my, can they ever fight.
As written by Chow, Tasang Kan Cheong, Lola Huo and Chan Man Keung, “Kung Fu Hustle” isn’t as morbid as it sounds nor is it as bloody. Instead, it’s alive with more wit and mischief than any movie to hit theaters so far this year, which is saying plenty since this month also saw the release of “Sin City,” another movie that pilfered liberally from the trough of pop culture and eschewed borders for possibilities.
It’s that absolute sense of freedom that allows Chow to turn his movie into anything he wants it to be. In this case, that means cartoon moviemaking made with real people who feel as if they sprung from the loins of Warner Bros. powerhouse, Chuck Jones. Digging deep into the chopsockey genre, Chow joins Quentin Tarantino (“Kill Bill,” “Kill Bill 2”) in challenging its conventions and pressing its humor against its raw edges.
It works. As choreographed by that other master, Yuen Wo-Ping (“The Matrix” and “Kill Bill” series), “Kung Fu Hustle” is filled with inside jokes and surprises, veering in directions you don’t anticipate because the movie has no rules. Well, no rules other than to stand apart and to entertain.
Grade: A
October 13, 2008 at 12:21 AM
i really like this move too, its very funny!
February 27, 2010 at 2:04 PM
I am a big fan of kung fu movies, everything from the old poorly dubbed movies to the modern greats like "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon". Love the comedy of Jackie Chan, and the awesome displays of Jet Li. But this movie is my all time favorite. It has it all, lots of off the wall mythical kung fu action, and comedy, OMG, I laughed so hard I cried. Watch it in chinese with english subtitles. The true actors voices and tones really can't be done justice with dubbing.