Kung Fu Hustle (DVD)

Kung Fu Hustle certainly sits firmly in my top ten of 2005 up to this point, and being someone who did not get a chance to see Shaolin Soccer (yet) I had no idea what I was in for when it came to a Stephen Chow film.

Written, directed and starring Stephen Chow Kung Fu Hustle is an action/comedy/drama that takes the best aspects of all three genres and wraps them all up into one nice tight bundle. The story centers on Sing (Chow) as his only goal in life is to become a part of the notorious Axe Gang. Unfortunately he doesn't have that "killer" instinct in him as he proves time and time again, but as the movie goes on Sing ultimately realizes his calling and a whole new story unfolds.

Chow has a flare for cartoonish effects and over-the-top action sequences. Whether he goes for breathtaking and graceful or downright goofy moves such as pinwheels for fast moving feet Kung Fu Hustle moves at a fast pace as its 99 minute running time is far too short for a movie that I could watch for endless hors.

This film could be considered a goof on classic Chinese martial arts films as it goes a far more humorous route with its tales of revenge and violence, these characters are called "masters" in the film, but would be better suited with a characterization of "superhero" as that is what their talents truly display and are used for.

As far as special features on the DVD go, they are quite numerous considering this film only pulled in $17 million at the box-office, but this film will hopefully have a long life on DVD. Included is a commentary with Stephen Chow and the cast (subtitled), a couple of deleted scenes, a blooper reel, a "Behind the Scenes of Kung Fu Hustle" featurette, poster gallery and an interview with Stephen Chow conducted by Ric Meyers.

Overall these special features didn't exactly do too much for me. The best of the bunch is the behind-the-scenes featurette, it is quite massive, and the commentary, even though it is subtitled. The first subtitled commentary I listened to was the filmmaker commentary on The Grudge: Extended Edition DVD with Takashi Shimizu, and it was better than this one, but this one is certainly lively, don't expect to see much of the movie if you try to keep up with the reading.

Features aside, this movie is more than enough for me to recommend you buy it. In a year of very poor films Kung Fu Hustle is a diamond in the rough, a film most would overlook, but once you have seen it you will regret not checking it out sooner.