Kung fu (2004) aka Kung Fu Szal Also Known As: Gong fu (Hong Kong: Mandarin title) Kung Fu Hustle (International: English title)
Genre: Action / Comedy / Crime / Fantasy
Tagline: A new comedy unlike anything you have seen before Plot Outline: In Shanghai, China in the 1940s, a wannabe gangster aspires to join the notorious "Axe Gang" while residents of a housing complex exhibit extraordinary powers in defending their turf.
User Comments: Visually Stunning & Just Plain Funny!
Cast overview, first billed only:
Stephen Chow .... Sing Xiaogang Feng .... Crocodile Gang Boss (as Feng Xiao Gang) Wah Yuen .... Landlord Zhi Hua Dong .... Donut Kwok-Kwan Chan .... Brother Sum (as Danny Chan) Chi Chung Lam .... Bone (Sing's Sidekick) (as Lam Tze Chung) Siu-Lung Leung .... The Beast Qiu Yuen .... Landlady Kai Man Tin .... Axe Gang Advisor Kang Xi Jia .... Harpist #1 Hak On Fung .... Harpist #2 Shengyi Huang .... Fong Suet Lam .... Axe Gang Vice General Cheung-Yan Yuen .... Beggar (as Cheng Yan Yuen) Chi Ling Chiu .... Tailor
Kung Fu Hustle was one of the most visually imaginative and unique movies I have seen in quite some time. Upon first viewing the trailer, I thought we would have another Kung Pow: Enter The Fist on our hands but, boy, was I wrong. Unlike Kung Pow, the jokes did not grow tired on me and the special effects were definitely top notch. The scene with the two assassins playing that stringed instrument (don't know the name of it) in such a way that it kills was incredible.
Although there was not much to the story, it was not non-existent, either. There was a simple story happening which made sense for what we were watching. Even the jokes with the subtitles came across as funny, and from my experience, humor does not translate as easily as this movie would have you believe. It borrowed or spoofed a bit from Spider-Man and The Matrix as well, which was a bit unexpected for this film, initially. At least for me.
To be honest, I could enjoy this movie without sound or subtitles, too. It was that appealing to the eye. It would be a good background movie for a party or poker game which could catch your eye at any moment and still hold your attention. It could also be great if you feel like a good comedy. I was entertained throughout and even though I was dead tired when I saw it in the theater, it held my interest all the way to the end. 9/10
avi info:
display preferences: w:640pix h:256pix
audio preferences: lengh: 1:39:25 bit rate: 129kb/s encoder: MPEG Layer-3
video preferences: 23cps transfer rate: 120kb/s sample rate: 12 bit video coder: Xvid codec