This is not your typical Kung Fu movie, folks. It’s one part classic Chinese martial arts movie, one part The Matrix, one part a Bugs Bunny/Road Runner cartoon, and one part a Sergio Leone spaghetti westerm. And all of these completely disparate influences actually work together very well.
The look and feel and story of the film is very true to the classic films of the genre that came out of China and Hong Kong in the 70’s and 80’s. The same kind of plot, the same focus on “styles” of Kung Fu, the same underdogs and villains and fight of good versus evil. Whether it’s an homage or just a style they went with, it works.
The stunt work is right out of films like The Matrix, though. Everything is exagerated and bodies are flying through walls all the time. And it really looks like they are. How they did some of the stunts is a wonder - it must be CGI. The way buildings and furniture crumble on impact with people is just mindboggling. You can see some of it was done with wires, but some of it - who knows. But its great to watch and a complete departure from the more serious Jet Li kinds of movies.
And this movie has a real sense of humor to it. The “chase scene” - if you can call it that - is right out of a cartoon. Complete with people’s feet cartwheeling into a whirling dervish frenzy to propel them down the road. There is a lot of humor in this movie - it doesn’t take itself serious, despite the incredible amount of work put into every aspect of it.
And there is a style to it that reminded me of Sergio Leone. The reaction shots, the way the music was keyed in, and some of the angles. This is a stylish movie. Some of it is also exagerated, like the choreographed Axe Gang dance scene at the start. Yes … there’s a dance number. Unlike other “stylish” movies, though, Hustle spent their time and effort on the small stuff. There are no big lavish sets. Most of the movie takes place in “Pig Sty Alley” - and that gets more or less demolished during the fight scenes. The costumes are great, every main character is well defined in dress and behavior. And even the dialog is good - which is saying a lot since it has English subtitles.
Kung Fu Hustle is a great Friday night movie. It’s pure escapism. Well made and highly creative. You won’t see anything else quite like it.
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