Kung Fu's Crackin' Jokes
Movie Review of “Kung Fu Hustle”
By Nicholas Johnson

When you first   hear the title “Kung-Fu Hustle” you think of someone using kung-fu as a way to hustle people out of their money, right? Well, that is not the case in this movie. The “Axes” gang is the most feared and dangerous gang in the 1930's,when this movie is taking place. A young man who is a serious fan of the Axes poses as an Axes gang member and later on in the movie when his cover is found out by the real “ Axes” gang members, he is forced to hide in a housing project.

It just so happens that the landlords of the housing project are both highly skilled in the art of kung-fu and as a result he is able to use them to protect himself from the Axes.

The martial arts and special effects in this movie are truly amazing. The story line was also done fairly well. The only downfall s I see in this movie are : 1.The English   words   used in the subtitles aren't   too literal .The   movie only gives you enough English   to understand what the actors are saying, but not enough to understand the story very easily.   I had to see the movie three times before I understood the story completely, but   it probably wont take you as many.   And 2.The director   tried too hard to configure comedy into the script. As a result of this, it made the actors and actresses look   less serious .Personally, I   feel that   a kung-fu   movie should be full of seriousness and emotion.The   fact   that   an   attempt   to incorporate   comedy into the script   with the use of over exaggerated   special   effects was used here, took away from the seriousness as well as the quality of the movie.

Saying that   comedy has no place in a kung fu movie is far-fetched. When   you watch   a Jackie Chan   movie you see lots of kung-fu   action, but   you also see areas   of   comedy   periodically throughout   the film. The fact that the director strategically   placed   these acts of comedy and jokes into the movie script, made it   possible for Jackie Chan   to pull it off. Although   you see comedy in most of Jackie Chan's    movies, Bruce Lee's movies tend to mostly lean   toward   seriousness. Comedy is fine in a kung-fu   movie, but only when it has been placed   in the correct   areas   and done realistically, not cheesy   with special   effects.        

Over all, minus the goofy attempt to do comedy with serious fighting, Kung-Fu Hustle is a great movie. So if you like action, martial   arts, special   effects, but can tolerate cheesy comedy, Kung-Fu Hustle is the flick   for   you.