Pre-release KUNG FU HUSTLE

He's from HK/China, Taiwan, Singpore, Malayasia, or Japan, where Kung Fu Hustle's already playing?

The way chans describes this, it's kind of the way I felt about Shaolin Soccer. It was more polished and commercial than Chow's previous movies, I thought. I missed the more surreal & off-the-wall humor present in his early to mid-90's films.

Fuck select cities! Cause never in one of them.

Masterkilla: uniting nations and dispelling streotypes everywhere !

The early reviews for the movie have been extremely positive so far, I am certainly looking forward to seeing this movie.
I loved Shaolin Soccer, I thought it was hilarious and great over the top fun, so I am pretty sure I will enjoy this one too.

You sirry idiot!

It's less good than Soccer imo

Short summary: Kung Fu Hustle has the best superhero action ever put to film. There is a new god in the pantheon of action directors. Unfortunately, the film isn't that funny or endearing, especially compared to Shaolin Soccer. Still, the action is good enough to turn me into a babbling fanboy.

More details, no spoilers:

PROS:
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(Warning: Action geek ranting)
The action. Stephen Chow has just stepped into the pantheon of action god directors. There are things here that I have never seen in any other film before. Maybe take the very best moments of Matrix 2 & 3 and Shaolin Soccer and you have a glimmer of what to expect. Like those beautiful slow-mo shots of Neo & goons running along walls during the Chateau fight plus the huge scale of the final Neo vs Smith battle combined with the energy & style of Shaolin Soccer. Just awesome.

From a staging viewpoint, the fight design is BRILLIANT. The imagination on display is awe-inspiring. Complaining that it's special effects heavy is like complaining that the Hulk ripping tanks apart is unrealistic. It's a superhero action film. If you're expecting Bruce Lee realism, then you will be disappointed (though a few brief, down-to-earth moments of complicated trapping & jamming combos make me think they're the remnants of Sammo's input). Everyone else should be blown away. Wait till u see the final fight. Frikkin' awesome.

From a filmmaking standpoint, Chow has turned into the fucking man. I'm serious. There are sequences here which speak of such an amazing facility with action filmmaking that I kinda hope Chow just makes action flicks for a while. I'm talking about those sustained sequences where the camerawork, music (there's awesome use of traditional Chinese music), pacing, editing, and everything just come together so perfectly yet seemingly effortlessly that you know you're witnessing virtuoso work. The last time I felt something like that was the Moscow chase in Bourne Supremacy. It's just something special. And KFH does 2 or 3 times during the film.

I have to stress how much I loved the camerawork in the action scenes. Awesome "power" angles and Chow uses certain wide angle lenses during the fights that really make things look cool. I can't quite describe it, but it just looks very dynamic. You saw it a bit in Shaolin Soccer, and it's put to even better use here.

Finally, the special effects are beautiful to look at. Not necessarily convincing, but beautiful. CGI seems to have gotten really good even in cheap movies during the last 2 years. Have you noticed that? Even in foreign or second rate Hollywood movies, the CGI isn't bad. Wonder what happened..

CONS:
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Sadly, the film isn't very funny--I laughed maybe three times--and not a single one of the characters is given any significant development. Shaolin Soccer was fantastic in the way that it managed to be hilarious while creating genuinely endearing characters. As a result, there was a real sense of drama by the end of the film. Not so much here.


Overall, the action alone is enough for me to recommend Kung Fu Hustle, but if you're hoping for belly laughs you will be disappointed.

Yes, from what I've heard, the main complaint most Chow fans have is that there simply isn't any of the pathos and character development that normally counterbalance the slapstick...Chow is known for dancing along that line better than anyone, but for this film (which I haven't seen yet, this is just what I heard from those who have), he lands solidly in the action department, and many fans apparently hate that.

I'm still looking forward to it, regardless, after seeing the trailer.

I love it that the studios were disappointed with the box office returns of Shaolin Soccer...like their treatment of it had nothing to do with that. When it came out on DVD, my roommate went and bought it, and she had to convince the guy at Best Buy that she wasn't kidding, it was really out. He'd been waiting and waiting to see it, and it was released with such low fanfare that he didn't even know they had it in the store.

Yup, i have the same view, it's the same ensemble cast, but their development is minimum. We really didn't care for any of them, including Chow's caracter (who's like a secondary caracter). The action was great (good camera work and effects) however, it's not a memorable movie since we're not connected to the plot nor caracters.

That's why overall, i prefer SS coz it was more fun. I only laughed twice in KFH, and the rest of the time, i didnt really chuckle at all. Nothing out loud hilarious.

Definitely agree with the consensus here. It most likely has the best action scenes ive seen in a movie for quite some time now. After watching Ong-Bak a week ago, american action sequences just dont even compare anymore.

It was not as good as Shaolin Soccer though. Or God of Cookery, which in my opinion, is probabley funnier than Shaolin Soccer also. On a whole Shaolin Soccer is still my favorite, out of those three.

Still, its a fantastic movie. Especially if you dig anime style action and setup.

i found it highly entertaining and original like most of chows movies, but also not as funny as shaolin soccer, still its defintely worth a look

I think its hands down one of the best Kung Fu movies ever made.

Goddamit I got teary eyed at the first ending when he said "Master!", and at the reconcilliation in front of the store.

I find it hard to believe this movie isn't doing well in China especially with all the old school homages from sets, to music, to clothing. And the winks at Hollywood. The problem might be that its the darkest film Chow's ever made.

Me, too. I heard that the film set records in China when it opened.

This film has extremely sexy legs...

Asian Box Office.com has the real figures.


And some dated accordances from MoviesOnline and Monkeypeaches.

Kung Fu Hustle Sets Hong Kong Box Office Records

Chow, 42, co-wrote, directed and starred in Kung Fu Hustle, a comedy about gangsters who try to take over a street populated by kung fu masters disguised as ordinary residents.

The film earned 10 times more than the opening box office takings of DreamWorks' Shark Tale and Warner Bros.' The Polar Express in Hong Kong, and doubled that of local heartthrob Andy Lau's latest flick A World Without Thieves.

Kung Fu Hustle also grossed more than $1.2 million on the first day of its national release in mainland China.

Looks like it is a hit in China. So far there is no official release date for the American theatres that is being distributed by Sony Classics.

http://www.moviesonline.ca/movienews_2247.html


According to variable sources, the film has made 160 million yuans (US$19.33 million) by the third weekend, surpassing Zhang Yimou's House of Flying Daggers as the second all-time top grower, only next to Zhang Yimou's another film Hero (250 million yuans / US$30.21 million). In Hong Kong, it dropped to the second slot with the accumulated revenue of HK$53.40 million (US$6.85 million), after occupied the top slot for two weeks. In Taiwan, it remains at the top after three weeks. The accumulated box-office revenue, of less than ten countries in Asia, has reached US$47 million, with openings in South Korea and Japan yet to come.

http://www.monkeypeaches.com/kungfu.html

I've seen this now, and if it ever opens theatrically where I live, I'll be dragging my friends to it. It's incredibly fun.

The character development isn't very deep, but it's well-handled and believable, so it doesn't distract from the action, which is really the center of the film. That's actually a pretty high sccomplishment, as so many 'popcorn' films can be downright painful to watch in-between action scenes.

I prefer Kung Fu Hustle over Shaolin Soccer. The action is better, the pacing is tighter, the directing is stronger, and it's just plain the craziest movie I've seen in a long time. Besides, I never did figure out why the hero in Shaolin Soccer woos the girl for the entire film, then when she finally accepts him, he rejects her... wtf? Were my subtitles screwed up or what?

Anyway, see Kung Fu Hustle. Stephen Chow has won the rare "Free Pass" from me. Even if his next movie is titled "Two Hours of Donkeys Crapping on Kittens", my butt will be in the seat.

US poster.

I want that poster. This movie rocks.

This flick's sittin' out on my coffee table right now. I'll hopefully be getting time to watch it in the next few days. Buzz is GOOD for this one.

As long as Stephen Chow doesn't flick a small boy's penis in this one (KoC) I'll most likely enjoy it.

Was looking for release dates for this puppy, but besides March 18th, I don't know where or anything...

Any help on this?

Not sure of the US release date, but the official DVD/VCDs are available from most online shops that sell HK movies...

I caught this about a week ago. The film is greatness. It's a live-action cartoon with almost impeccable comic timing.

Loved Shaolin Soccer.

Can't wait to see this.

That poster perfectly captures the essence of the movie.

Shaolin Soccer i can watch it over and over coz it's fun. Kung Fu Hustles im amazed at the effects the first time, but i wont be watching the movie again and again, coz after once, nothing is special to make u come back. (Since it's not fun, i only laughed in one scene).

Kung-fu Hustle is a fantastic action flic and one of my fav Chow film. Half way through KFH, I realized just how much of a fan Chow is for mystical martial arts TV series. He references alot of the classics and I was eating it up with a big fat grin on my face like it was the greatest cheesecake I ever eaten.

It does come off WB-ish at first but when the plot thickens, everything made sense within the established film universe. I'm not trying to come off elitist but comparing it to DBZ is just plain lazy, not to mention flat out wrong. The closest I can come to decribing it to Western audiences is that the action is what the Matrix sequels should have been. Speaking of which, there was more than a bit of Matrix spoofing that, ironically enough, ended up being a whole lot better than the Matrix.

KFH is a change from Chow's winning formula but, like his guess appearance in God of Gamblers, it was a good change of pace. Also, I was loosing hope with the new big release martial arts movies; they're sleaker and grander for sure but fail to capture the magic that was what hooked me onto the genre in the first place (not to mention treading water and bringing nothing new to the table). On the other hand, Chow managed to become cooler than he already is by showing how to do kung-fu old school style.

Kung Fu Hustle is a masterpiece, my favorite movie of the last decade and as good as anything that came out during the 80's i.e. Gremlins, Ghostbusters, Poltergeist, The Neverending Story, Raiders of the Lost Ark etc....The only other movies that come close would be Sin City, A Scanner Darkly and The Fountain. Movies that use effects technology to create something that feels truly original. Its a fucking crime that Michael Bay gets ten times the budget to make his Transformers garbage but doesn't display even a fraction of the skills or creativity that Stephen Chow does with this movie. It's a disgrace that Steven Spileberg would even associate himself with hacks like Bay or Jar Jar Abrams when there is real talent like Chow walking the earth.