Kung Fu Hustle | Teen Ink

Kung Fu Hustle

May 7, 2014
By AndrewDiner SILVER, Phoenix, Arizona
AndrewDiner SILVER, Phoenix, Arizona
6 articles 0 photos 0 comments

Kung Fu hustle is one of my favorite films. It was directed and produced by Stephen Chow. It made me laugh from its humor, and was filled with action. It is an interesting movie that is similar to one of my mother’s favorite movies, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The movie is about Kung Fu fighters who are being killed by the Ax Gang, and how the protagonist develops and finds himself. The movie has action for the adults, comedy for the children and some romance for the people who like that sort of thing.

The movie starts out with retired Kung Fu fighters fighting off the Ax Gang. The main character and his husky friend aspire to join the clan of villains, but they lack the skills. The gang agrees to accept them into the clan, only if he helps the most evil fighter escape from the prison. He assists the man, but the retired fighters come to stop him. When the fight begins, the main character is put into a position where he could either hit the villain or the good guys, and decides to hit the villain because he ended up being a lunatic. The villain then nearly kills the protagonist, and the good guys escape with the motionless body of the main character. They help him heal as much as they can, but the villain finds them shortly after, but the main character has healed and hatched from his cocoon. There is then a battle between the main character with his new uncovered powers, and the villain who morphed into his frog form. The movie ends with the main character defeating the villain, and rejoining his friend.

The movie is funny in a way that is hard to describe. It is somewhat of a cartoony humor to keep the kids interested, but funny enough for everyone to enjoy. The movie keeps it realistic about the danger of gangs, but funny and light by having the good guys win. Since I dislike romances and dramas, this movie appealed to me by focusing on the comedy of the movie and the action that the movie brings. The movie begins with the main character wanting to be a villain, and pushing himself into becoming one, to actually end up becoming the main hero and saving multiple people. He change his morals from trying to do wrong, into doing the right thing, no matter if the person is a villain or a good, normal person.

This movie appealed to me greatly by not focusing on the romance, even though it ended in a relationship being formed. The characters are likeable because it’s a comedy, and no one would find the movie funny if they just despised every character on screen. As the movie goes on though, it focuses more on the action rather than the comedy, because it needs to be an action movie, not just a comedy show. Since it can meet this equilibrium of comedy and action, I found it to be most appealing to my senses.

I feel like this movie is allowed to reach its full potential with the help of its cast, all being people of Asian descent. Not to be racist, but it is a Kung Fu movie, not a Twilight film, so there should not have been many Americans in the film. This just allowed me to watch the movie without thinking it’s completely fake, and actually could have happened in a far city hidden in China. The characters were all played by mediocrely famous actors in indie films, and some were in some pretty big movies. The expertise of the actors allowed them to portray the correct emotions and responses to make the movie seem more relatable even though there are not many people who could relate to the main character. I felt that the movie could really be an experience rather than being someone’s portrayal of a Kung Fu film.

For its time the CGI wasn’t as good as some of the high end movies in today’s theatres, but it didn’t need the fancy technology we have now. They made amazing fight scenes and cartoony chase scenes, which helped make the atmosphere of the movie. Most of the fight scenes had the abilities of the fighters shown, and not just another fight scene like in other movies.

I would definitely recommend this movie to anyone who enjoys Kung Fu movies or a good laugh. Since it is neither a romance nor a drama, people can watch it any time of the day, without falling asleep due to a lack of plot or excitement. I would also recommend the director’s other movie Shaolin Soccer while at it, because they share similar genres, except it is more sport focused rather than Kung Fu.


The author's comments:
My review on the great movie Kung Fu Hustle

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