Kung Fu Hustle (Gong Fu)
Reviewed by Lee Alon
Hard to reprise, 2001's Shaolin Soccer proved
a major success for Stephen Chow, bolstering his career for years to come.
After he reinvented himself as more of an international household name,
the likeable Mr. Chow continued to search for another runaway hit as a
follow-up to his pre-World Cup 2002 blockbuster. Alas, and as much as we
adored him in classics like Journey to the West, From Beijing With Love
and King of Comedy, Chow has misfired this time round, opting for a run-of-the-mill
action comedy with far too many similarities to its fan fared predecessor.
Overall, Kung Fu Hustle suffers at the hands of uninspired mercantilism,
quite obviously designed with rush-job prerogatives dictated by the board
of director's ideas on popular market demand.
Rather than seize the day and craft another satisfying
and revolutionary genre-bender, Chow and Co have simply rehashed old material
under new guises, but the hackneyed impulses unfortunately defeated whatever
innovative content they intended to add. Kung Fu Hustle (or simply Gong
Fu, "Kung Fu", in its native Chinese) showcases a bevy of protagonists
we've already seen in Chow flicks, most notable of which are 1930's tramp
Sing (Chow) and his sidekick (Lam Chi Chung, the overweight player from
Shaolin Soccer). Although principally the main characters, these two hoodlum
wannabes soon give way to the residents of a fringe slum tenement inhabited
by various losers who shed their underclass cover to reveal improbable
martial arts prowess in times of need. These uncanny abilities echo Shaolin
Soccer's team of underachiever left-behinds to a tee, abandoning originality
early on. Although nominally humorous, the superhero characters come across
as inept and half-baked, as evinced by Qiu Yuen's rather irritating landlady
caricature, among other uninspired personas.
Probably KFH's primary highlight belongs in the
prop and set design departments, with the movie nicely composing believable
gangster-era vibes by use of period fashion, paraphernalia and music (once
again composed by Raymond Wong). But this sheer atmosphere comes to a grinding
halt in the face of poor storytelling, with Sing, his reluctant friend,
and all the others making for meager interest retention. You'd be hard-pressed
to really care about their hapless journey to join the evil Axe Gang crime
organization, a feared cartel casting its shadow on the hedonistic city
and confronted solely by the virtuous citizens of run-down Pig Sty Alley.
As the two factions square off, Sing's morality and very essence fall under
scrutiny, albeit not in any meaningful way, so don't worry about expending
too much brain power. En route, cameos by Chow co-conspirators like Danny
Chan and other Shaolin Soccer veterans add some much-needed comical flavor,
but not a lot more.
Lots of frenetic action (supervised by Yuen Woo
Ping) and the occasional blood splatter bring KFH up to semi-acceptable
levels, as do spoofs of the two latter Matrix entries and Independence
Day. However, its knack for riding the Shaolin Soccer bandwagon grates
quickly, particularly in light of Severe CGI Syndrome, an issue with many
HK big-budget motion pictures. This one simply exaggerates the whole computer-generated
special effects deal, bombarding proceedings with over-stated clichés
and pseudo-creative moments we could do just fine without. Besides, it's
all so derivative of Chow's earlier footie classic, resulting in yawns
and jaded exclamations of "yeah right", even as Sing gets his ass kicked
so far out he meets Buddha in the heavens above.
Since the two films are so closely connected,
KFH experiences a total loss of face as merely a second-rate clone. While
Shaolin Soccer was refreshing and original in many ways, Kung Fu Hustle
stands as the sick man of 2004 HK cinematic output. It feels mysteriously
ambitious while mediocre, and brings to the table nothing beyond the scope
of a lacking story coupled with flat characters. Even Chow, who's supposed
to be the main draw here, receives insufficient time on screen, so we don't
really enjoy the intimate process of getting to know him. Flawed in most
aspects, this latest so-called smash hit deserves to be sent packing with
a swift kick to its collective behind.
Rating 5/10
Directed by Stephen Chow
Starring Stephen Chow, Lam Chi Chung, Qiu
Yuen, Danny Chan, Siu Lung, Yuen Wah
2004, Cantonese/Putinghua, 95 minutes