Kung Fu Hustle

Dir: Stephen Chow

2005

*****

Stephen Chow’s 2001 Kung Fu sporting comedy Shaolin Soccer was a global success. Star Overseas were pleased with its international appeal and threw a great deal of money at Chow to create a film in the same vein, with the hopes they could replicate the same popularity. Chow already had an idea (co-written with Huo Xin, Chan Man-keung and Tsang Kan-cheung) and recruited many retired actors famous for 1970s Hong Kong action cinema. The result was something that got many new viewers interested into the genre, as well as something hard core Kung Fu fans adored. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, House of Flying Daggers and Hero had all made martial arts films popular again but it was Shaolin Soccer and Kung Fu Hustle that made them fun. Set in Shanghai during the 1930s, we find Sing (played by Chow) and his friend Bone attempting to join the Deadly Axe Gang, which ruthlessly controls the city under the leadership of Brother Sum. Sing seeks to restore his confidence after being humiliated as a young boy while trying to protect a mute girl from bullies, due to the ineffectiveness of the Buddhist Palm moves he had learned from a pamphlet he bought from a beggar. He is convinced that he must be a tough, uncaring gangster in order to survive. Sing and Bone attempt to intimidate the residents of a housing complex called Pig Sty Alley by claiming to be Axe Gang members, but are chased off by its Landlady and the inhabitants. The idea behind Pig Sty Alley came from Chow’s childhood and the design is based on the crowded apartment complexes of Hong Kong where he had lived, as well as the 1973 Shaw Brothers Studio film, The House of 72 Tenants. Hearing of their actions, Sum orders the capture of Sing and Bone, while sending the Gang to reassert its authority in the wake of the humiliation. Three of the tenants, Coolie, Tailor, and Donut, reveal themselves to be martial arts masters, defeating more than fifty of the Gang. Fearing retribution, the Landlady evicts the three, but they encounter a pair of hired assassins who fight by launching invisible qi blades using a Guzheng. Coolie is beheaded, and Tailor and Donut are mortally wounded before the Landlady (played by the brilliant Yuen Qiu who was cast due to the way she ‘sarcastically’ smoked her cigarettes) and her husband the Landlord (played by Yuen Wah, a former student of the China Drama Academy Peking Opera School who appeared in over a hundred Hong Kong films and was a stunt double for Bruce Lee) reveal that they too are legendary martial arts masters, having gone into self-exile after the death of their son. The two defeat the assassins but Tailor and Donut die from their injuries. The Landlords temporarily evacuate the other tenants for their safety. Meanwhile, Sing engineers his and Bones escape from confinement, and Sum is impressed, offering them membership in the Gang if they can kill a person. Sing and Bone attempt to kill the Landlady, but their plan backfires, and Sing barely escapes from the Landlady's wrath. Seeking safety in a traffic pulpit, Sing is surprised as his body rapidly heals from the injuries sustained in the escape, the pain causing him to strike the sides of the pulpit with extreme force, covering the surface in indentations. Later, he attempts to mug an ice cream vendor, who turns out to be the mute girl; she offers him a lollipop, but he knocks it away, ashamed of himself and how far he has fallen. After sending Bone away, whom he blames for misfortunes, Sing is brought before Sum and suddenly given membership. Sum wants Sing to use his escape skills to free a legendary fighter known as ‘the Beast’ (played by Bruce Leung, Stephen Chow's childhood martial arts hero who was a famous action film director and actor in the 1970s and 1980s, known as the "Third Dragon" after Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan) from a mental asylum to use against Pig Sty Alley, offering Sing membership in the Gang for doing so. Upon being released, the Beast appears to be a middle-aged, slovenly, and flippant man, but is quickly shown to be a formidable and ruthless fighter. When the Landlords arrive at the Axe Gang casino to settle the score, Sum sends the Beast to fight them. Feigning defeat, he stabs both with hidden blades, weakening but not defeating them. Sum orders Sing to strike the Landlord to break the stalemate, but Sing has a change of heart and strikes Sum and the Beast instead. The Beast turns and brutally pummels Sing until he is rescued by the Landlords and taken back to Pig Sty Alley. The Beast kills Sum for disrupting his fight, takes over the Axe Gang, and orders an all-out assault on Pig Sty Alley. Back at the Alley, Sing undergoes a transformation brought on by the Beast's attack, fully healing himself, accessing his inner powers, and becoming a kung-fu master instantaneously. He sees to the well-being of the Landlords as the Gang arrives. Sing easily defeats the Gang and faces the Beast alone. The Beast uses his Toad style maneuvers to launch Sing high into the air. While aloft, Sing comes to peace with Buddha, and is able to use the Buddhist Palm method from his supposedly-fake childhood pamphlet to subdue the Beast. The Beast accepts defeat and calls Sing his master. Sometime later, Sing and Bone have opened a candy store; when Sing sees the ice cream vendor outside, he invites her in to share their childhood memories. Others like the Landlords enjoy the city without fear of the Axe Gang. The same beggar that had sold the pamphlet to Sing as a child is then shown attempting to sell another one to a young boy. Although the film is a gangster comedy, the fighting makes up two-thirds of the run time. Early scenes were choreographed by Sammo Hung, who quit after two months due to illness, tough outdoor conditions, interest in another project and arguments with the production crew. He was clearly fed up but his leaving was of benefit to the film as he was replaced by Yuen Woo-ping, an action choreographer with experience ranging from 1960s Hong Kong action cinema to more recent films like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and The Matrix. Yuen made the decision to draw inspiration from seemingly outdated wuxia fighting styles like the Deadly Melody and Buddhist Palm, which had a huge impact on the finished feature. There are plenty fantastic special effects and wire work as you’d expect but there is a wonderful cartoon-like feel to the action, with many Wile E. Coyote and The Road Runner-style moments to enjoy. It’s basically everything you could want from a Kung Fu movie and more.