Kung Fu Hustle

THIS ISN’T ONE OF MY USUAL FILM REVIEWS; I’m going to keep this one short. I have to say that at the start because normally I would go into all kinds of details about the cast, the technical details, the art etc. and to be honest, this film doesn’t deserve that. It does however deserve a special mention for being one of the most unique films I have ever had the pleasure to watch on DVD.

Kung Fu Hustle is in fact quite old (it’s been around since 2004) and it’s quite a difficult film to describe in one sentance but here goes… It’s a mix of comedy, martial arts, fantasy, musical, dance and crime thiller all rolled into one gloriously flawed, confused, outrageous and funny movie.

If you like your action whacky, your comedy outrageous and your martial arts off the wall - this is one for your collection. It’s not high art, it certainly won’t win any Oscars but it will leave you with a huge grin after watching it.

One word of warning though - the “engrish” translations aren’t great, and the subtitles can get in the way a bit… so just be prepared for a mad cap film with some pretty desperate translations as well. I’m so glad I came across this film and it now stands in my collection as one of those ‘oddball’ films that are just hard to hate, no matter how bad they are

Film Fact: Surpassed Shaolin Soccer in February 2005 to become the highest-grossing Hong Kong-made movie in Hong Kong.