Kung Fu Hustle

Directed by: Stephen Chou

  Written by: Stephen Chow
Huo Xin
Chan Man-keung
Tsang Kan-cheung

      Starring: Stephen ChowYuen Wah
Yuen Qiu
Danny Chan
Bruce Leung

The story happens in Shanghai in the ‘30s. A gangster aspires to join the notorious "Axe Gang" while residents of a housing complex exhibit extraordinary powers in defending their turf.

This movie pokes fun at the earnestness of recent films in the genre, like "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," "Hero," and "House of Flying Daggers." Nothing is taken seriously here. It attempts to bring a different style to the forefront of popular cinema but fails to be more than a shoddy mischaracterization of the Asian culture. And it is made with such infectious humor visuals it's easy to simply surrender all over again to Chow's brand of lunacy. Stephen Chow gives himself a fun hero to play, and he's also written a very clever screenplay. You’d better pay careful attention to the early scenes, because clues that you might be tempted to shrug off as just being silly bits of embellishment actually become quite important later on.

Few directors in world cinema are working so competently and consistently in any mode as Chow is in this one.