Kung Fu Hustle is a good film about Kung Fu, and also involves comedy, love, and Buddhist philosophy. I feel Stephen Chow did an great job with the pacing and story line. Those of you who are Matrix fans will instantly recognize the choreography and wire work of Yuen Wo Ping in the fight scenes.
A lot of characters in the film could be taken at face value, but you can also get a deeper meaning. For instance, on the surface the Axe gang is just a mob, but they could also represent the oppression of working class people, or the brutality of oppression ingeneral.
Sing (Chow) represents the desire of humans to transform and better themselves, even if that means joining a gang, because he wants respect. The idea of "fate" also weighs heavily in the movie. Fate had 5 Kung Fu masters living in the same place, but no one knew it. Sing, a mugger, is really a Kung Fu master. The film also speaks to standing up and doing the right thing. Sing makes a decision to help the landlord/landlady and fight against the beast, and winds up changing his destiny. As far as the Kung Fu, the martial arts is used to protect and defend, which is a great contrast to the violent murders committed by the Axe gang.
The movie also speaks to the "Chi" concept an inner power or force that all individuals are supposed to possess. For example,the villains who use the lyre (musical instrument which looks like a harp for the lap) to fight against the masters, never physically touch them, yet they are using Chi,though in a negative sense, to destroy the masters. Their negative energy is represented as a force that is used for evil. Contrast that with Sing, who uses the "Buddhist Palm" for good and eventually tames the beast. The love story between Fong and Sing represents the strong protecting the weak.
There was a lot of slap stick comedy in the movie,(Eyeglasses guy,running at high speeds)which was effective. The movie is entertaining, and it was cool to see the Axe gang get their dance on. Looking forward to the sequel.
A lot of characters in the film could be taken at face value, but you can also get a deeper meaning. For instance, on the surface the Axe gang is just a mob, but they could also represent the oppression of working class people, or the brutality of oppression ingeneral.
Sing (Chow) represents the desire of humans to transform and better themselves, even if that means joining a gang, because he wants respect. The idea of "fate" also weighs heavily in the movie. Fate had 5 Kung Fu masters living in the same place, but no one knew it. Sing, a mugger, is really a Kung Fu master. The film also speaks to standing up and doing the right thing. Sing makes a decision to help the landlord/landlady and fight against the beast, and winds up changing his destiny. As far as the Kung Fu, the martial arts is used to protect and defend, which is a great contrast to the violent murders committed by the Axe gang.
The movie also speaks to the "Chi" concept an inner power or force that all individuals are supposed to possess. For example,the villains who use the lyre (musical instrument which looks like a harp for the lap) to fight against the masters, never physically touch them, yet they are using Chi,though in a negative sense, to destroy the masters. Their negative energy is represented as a force that is used for evil. Contrast that with Sing, who uses the "Buddhist Palm" for good and eventually tames the beast. The love story between Fong and Sing represents the strong protecting the weak.
There was a lot of slap stick comedy in the movie,(Eyeglasses guy,running at high speeds)which was effective. The movie is entertaining, and it was cool to see the Axe gang get their dance on. Looking forward to the sequel.