Kung Fu Hustle

Whilst not everyone may be a fan or appreciate certain types of movies like war or kung fu movies, satire is something of a universal language that always translates well, especially in cinema. So even if you don’t technically understand the tropes or language of the genre, with a good satire, you can always pick up on the jokes and laugh at them regardless. Kung Fu Hustle is one such example of fabulous satire. 

Set in 1940s China where the major cities are ruled gangsters, Sing (Stephen Chow) aspires to be a member of the top gang: The Axe Gang. In an attempt to do so he poses as a member and tries to wreak havoc on a small community, only to flush some kung fu masters out of retirement who then declare war on the Axe Gang. Soon it’s deadly trouble on all fronts and Sing’s caught right in the middle. A simple ripple effect story where things go from bad to worse, the real brilliance of Kung Fu Hustle is in its balance. With a film like this, it’s very easy to overdo the ridiculousness and whilst the movie does have scenes that are kind of strange and cartoonish; including a highway chase reminiscent of Wiley Coyote and the Road Runner, there is enough seriousness and composure within other scenes to balance it out. 

Simultaneously, there is a deeper and kind of adorable story happening beneath all the kick-arse kung fu fighting, playing a lot with the theme of identity and the choices we make regarding it: embrace or suppress it. The protagonist is kind of an interesting one because he isn’t immediately pinpointed as the protagonist. He’s a little like the scheme that he bungles at the beginning; accidentally setting the story in motion by flushing out cool characters he then becomes something of a reluctant or inadvertent hero being placed on the track of the quest narrative and ‘hero’s journey’ with various trials and tests. Sometimes we forget that he’s more than a secondary character of comic relief in the mix as an aside story because the movie is, and rightly so, keen on the kung fu movie aesthetic with all the thrills of action and mesmerising fighting sequences. 

But, like I’ve already said, the film is wonderfully balanced between outrageous and awesome fight scenes and dramatic, meaningful, character-building scenes. 

It’s actually a bit of a hard one to coherently and really analyse because, at the end of the day, it’s just downright fun! The satire makes it funny, the silliness makes it fun, the fight scenes make it rollicking, and the sweeter scenes let our protagonist develop. 

It may not be the most intelligent bit of cinematic comedy or satire; it’s just a great film because it delivers such a fun movie experience. If you’re in the mood for a fun movie then I would highly recommend this one. 

Starring: Stephen Chow, Wah Yuen, Zhi Hua Dong, Kwok-Kwan Chan, Tze Chung Lam, Qiu Yuen, Siu-Lung Leung, Kai Man Tin, Kang Xi Jia, Hark-On Fung, Shengyi Huang, and Suet Lam 

Rating: M