Kung Fu Hustle [Premium Limited Edition]

Kung Fu Hustle [Premium Limited Edition] Contains:
Kung Fu Hustle Stylish Watch (only available here)
Kung Fu Hustle 2005 Hanging Calendar (only available here)
Kung Fu Hustle Paper Shopping Bag (only available here)
- Limited to 5000 sets
- Leather Fabric Case
- Movie Photo Book
- Stephen Chow's Hand Print
- Kung Fu Manual
- Certificate of Authencity.

*DVD Special Features to be confirmed.

Click Here for more Movie Info: About The Movie, Movie Posters and Stills.

Move over Stephen Chow the comedian and enter the martial artist. Kung Fu Hustle appears to be his paean to the mythos of Hong Kong martial arts movies and lore - more the fist fighting, Kung Fu sort associated with his idol Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan rather than the wu xia swordplay genre that has been mined by Ang Lee ('Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon ') and Zhang Yi Mou ('Hero' and 'House Of Flying Daggers') in tribute to the Shaw Brothers and King Hu, although tongue in cheek references to these are aplenty. In this spaghetti Kung Fu film, Chow has also taken a leaf from Quentin Tarantino's 'Kill Bill' book quoting and taking the mickey out of classic martial arts characters, deadly fighting techniques, movies, Bruce, Jackie and even himself - all in an irreverent good fun way that is typically him. Diehard martial arts movie fans will nod knowingly with glee at the insider jokes and signifiers. Wong Kar Wai did the same in the atmospherically deconstructionist 'Ashes Of Time' to moody effect.

The plot is simple -Sing (Chow), an underdog with a good heart, cheated and humiliated in youth resolves to be a baddie and grows up to become a two-bit hustler desperate to join the leading triad Axe Gang in the Shanghai underworld (ala 'The Bund', 'Shanghai Grand', 'Hero' ). However, he is inept at crime, stumbling into shenanigans, which give the first half of the movie its laugh a minute, over the top gags especially involving the colourful characters of Pig Sty Alley - a tenement slum in the spirit of Shaw Brothers' 'House Of 72 Tenants' - that he tries to rip off. Trademark gross out humour in tow - think the Farelly brothers with a HK vibe, he wrings laughs from depictions of the most motley crew of every day losers you have ever seen - a cast of his usual unknowns with distinctive features and some insider cameos thrown into the mix. There is a bland faced barber boy with embarrassingly low rise pants revealing the yuckiest butt crack and cleavage onscreen; the local harlot who is, to say the least, downright ugly but does not seem to know it; the bossy landlady permanently in pyjamas and foul mouthed as hell and the lecherous landlord. But as Sing discovers when he tries to pick a fight - all is not as it seems - spoilers ahead. A shorty in a crowd is actually a lanky giant and both wizened man and bespectacled kiddy heads in a crowd emerge with buff bulging muscular bodies to the gleeful audience. As the Axe Gang attack in a turf war, Pig Sty Alley is revealed to be a veritable trove of hidden dragons - reticent Kung Fu masters hiding from their violent past lives (redolent of 'Peace Hotel' , 'Swordsman And Enchantress '). The effeminate tailor is a Hung fist descendant ('Executioners Of Shaolin' and 'Heroes Two') replete with metal arm rings - you'll recognize him from early Jackie Chan films, the noodle vendor an 'Eight Diagram Pole fighter' and the coolie, a master kick fighter of the Tam leg technique. The Axe Gang hires professional assassins, blind lute playing minstrels (a nod to 'The Deadful Melody') who are able to unleash a whirlwind of deadly weapons and spirits ('Lord Of The Rings' influenced and courtesy of CGI) but are defeated by - surprise - the landlord and landlady who are actually incarnations of the Condor Heroes and masters of The Lion's Roar (from 'Heaven Sword And Dragon Sabre') and the Tai Chi Fist. Things get messy as the Axe Gang enlist the help of the top assassin, Fire Demon (Bruce Leung) - the legendary character from 'Buddha's Palm' , who having found no worthy opponent has confined himself to a mental asylum. Defeating the Condor Heroes, he also beats the living shit out of Sing but in doing so unwittingly unblocks the pulses and nerves in his body (a favourite plot turn of martial arts novella) which enable him to attain his full martial arts potential - yes, surprise again, Sing is the Chosen One (Neo 'Matrix' fans eat your hearts out) who has innate Buddha's Palm skills in him.

All's well ends well with no great surprises. The feelgood message while a tad sappy is also typical Chow - there is innate strength in every underdog or hidden dragons waiting to be unleashed for a happy ending. However, Chow becomes a victim of the excessive CGI effects and action choreography courtesy of Yuen Wo Ping and Sammo Hung, as well as his adoration of martial arts lore. The fight fests with Chow are big and banging but do not enthrall as he is no true martial artist, unlike Jet, Jackie or Bruce (both Lee and Leung). And the emphasis on them somehow detracts from the gags and barbs, which are great when they are there. Witness Chow's first appearance onscreen, taking possession of a soccer ball from a bunch of kids and saying dismissively, still playing '[Shaolin] soccer'?, the landlady's silent Bruce Lee taunting gestures or the cartoonish roadrunner chase scene. The subplot involving Sing's childhood, the love interest in the form of a mute girl and the significance of the paddlepop could have been played more but instead appears as an afterthought - unless a Director's Cut is in the offing. Ultimately, Chow seems to have forsaken his forte for high jinks - they are there but not in full form (just as Zhang Yi Mou traded in his signature strength of rich characters for CGI wizardry in House Of Flying Daggers) - for a shot at making a crossover Kung Fu film. Fans of the comedian Stephen Chow to one side of the room, fans of the Kung Fu star to another and whither fans of both in the context of this film? The verdict is still not out as to who has the last laugh.