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Kung Fu Hustle By David DiCerto Catholic News Service NEW YORK (CNS) -- Take "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and "The Matrix" and mix in the manic whiz-bang zaniness of the classic "Looney Tunes" cartoons and you'll get the picture of writer-director Stephen Chow's stylish but unnecessarily violent "Kung Fu Hustle" (Sony Classics). Part martial arts extravaganza, part slapstick comedy, the movie -- set in China during the 1940s -- tells the story of Sing (also Chow), a small-time crook who yearns to be a gangster. Stumbling into a low-rent district known as "Pig Sty Alley" with his sidekick (Lam Tze Chung), Sing poses as a member of the feared Axe Gang -- a ruthless ring of hatchet-wielding thugs, led by the nefarious Brother Sum (Chan Kwok Kwan). But his extortion scheme backfires and inadvertently unleashes the wrath of the Axe Gang on the shantytown, triggering an all-out war between the mobsters and the locals, several of whom are secretly kung fu masters, including a baker (Dong Zhi Hua), a tailor (Chiu Chi Ling) and a landlady (Yuen Qiu) with a lethal sonic shout. Sing initially sides with the Axe Gang, but soon discovers that his heart's allegiance -- along with his destiny -- lies with the townsfolk, forcing a showdown with an invincible assassin known as "The Beast" (Leung Siu Lung). Sing's love interest, Fong (Huang Sheng Yi), a deaf ice cream vendor whom Sing had rescued from playground bullies when they were children, adds a sweetly romantic dimension to the story. "Kung Fu Hustle" pays homage to Hong Kong action movies, even while lampooning their conventions, including a musical number with dancing Axe Gang members. Much like Jackie Chan, Chow possesses an appealing blend of charm, athleticism and disarming humor. The violence -- of which there is quite a lot -- is intentionally over the top. In one scene, Sing dispatches a small army of Sum's stooges single-handedly (and -leggedly) -- but the violence is somewhat tempered by the film's tongue-in-cheek campiness. However, the opening sequence is needlessly brutal -- a rival gang leader's leg is cut off and his moll is casually gunned down -- and seems out of place with the rest of the film. And while the chop-socky melees are more Bruce Lee than Ang Lee, Chow does manage to imbue their choreography with a fair degree of artistry. In one of the special-effects-laden centerpieces, for instance, a pair of harp-playing hit men (Jia Kang Xi and Fung Hak On) square off against two of Pig Sty's defenders, assailing them with ghostly projectiles launched from the vibrating strings of their musical instrument. The film, with subtitles, contains much stylized action violence with associated gore, a shooting, rear nudity and a crass scene of urination, as well as rough and crude language and humor. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R -- restricted. - - - DiCerto is on the staff of the Office for Film & Broadcasting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. END Copyright (c) 2005 Catholic News Service/USCCB. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed. CNS · 3211 Fourth St NE · Washington DC 20017 · 202.541.3250 |
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