Kung Fu Hustle is a 2004 Hong Kong action comedy film directed and produced by, and starring Stephen Chow. The other film producers were Chui Po-chu and Jeffrey Lau, while the screenplay was written by Huo Xin, Chan Man-keung, and Tsang Kan-cheung. Yuen Wah, Yuen Qiu, Danny Chan, and Bruce Leung co-starred in prominent roles.
After achieving commercial success with Shaolin Soccer,[2] Columbia Pictures Film Production Asia began to develop Kung Fu Hustle in 2002. Although the film features the return of a number of retired actors famous for 1970s Hong Kong action cinema, it contrasts with other martial arts films released at around the same time that have made the biggest impact in the West, such as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Hero.[3][4]
The cartoon style of the film, accompanied by traditional Chinese music, is often cited as its most striking feature.[5][6]
The film was released on December 23, 2004 in China and on January 25, 2005 in the United States. It received extremely positive reviews, with Rotten Tomatoes giving it a 90% fresh rating[7] and Metacritic 78 out of 100.[8] The film was also a commercial success, grossing US$17 million in North America and US$84 million in other countries.[1] Kung Fu Hustle was the highest-grossing film in the history of Hong Kong[9] until it was surpassed by You Are the Apple of My Eye in December 31, 2011.[10] The film was the all time tenth highest-grossing foreign language film in the United States[11] and also the highest-grossing foreign language film in the country in 2005.[12] Kung Fu Hustle won numerous awards, including 6 Hong Kong Film Awards and 5 Golden Horse Awards.
Plot
Turmoil grips Shanghai in the 1930s. Various gangs vie for power, the most feared of which is the Axe Gang, led by the infamous Brother Sum and aptly named after its weapon of choice. In the absence of law enforcement, people can live peacefully only in poor areas which do not appeal to gangs. An example is Pig Sty Alley, a tenement home to people of various trades, run by a lecherous landlord and his domineering wife. One day, two troublemakers, Sing and Bone, come to the alley impersonating members of the Axe Gang to gain respect. Their plan fails and Sing's antics attract the real gang to the scene. In the massive brawl that ensues, more than fifty gangsters are defeated by three tenants who are actually powerful martial arts masters: Coolie, Master of the Twelve Kicks; Tailor, master of the Iron Fist; and Donut, master of the Hexagon Staff.After the fight, Sing and Bone are apprehended by Brother Sum for publicly humiliating the Axe Gang. The two narrowly escape death when Sing quickly picks the locks on the chains with which they are bound and requests Sum to let him and Bone join the gang. Impressed with his skill at lock-picking, Sum tells them that if they kill just one person, he will allow them to join the gang. The next day, the duo return to Pig Sty attempting to murder the Landlady, but their efforts fail comically and they narrowly escape the furious Landlady. Sing is badly injured and hides in a traffic control pulpit, where his multiple injuries spontaneously heal. During this convalescence he unconsciously strikes the steel sides of the pulpit, leaving deep impressions of his hands. After he has fully recovered, he rejoins Bone, but is unable to explain his fast and mysterious healing.
Sing and Bone lament their failure on the streets as the former describes his childhood: Sing spent his meager life savings to buy a Buddhist Palm manual from a beggar with the intention of "preserving world peace" and trained himself to be a martial artist. But when he tried to defend a mute girl from bullies trying to steal her lollipop, he was beaten up, humiliated and came to the conclusion that being a villain is better than being a hero. After telling his story, Sing then steals ice cream from a street vendor. Meanwhile, Sum hires the Harpists, a pair of skilled assassins who play a guzheng and materialize the sound waves using their Qi to create offensive and defensive objects, to assassinate the three martial artists at Pig Sty. They succeed, but are defeated by the Landlady and Landlord, who are actually powerful martial artists living in self-enforced retirement. They evacuate Pig Sty afterward and vow to deal with the Axe Gang.
The following day, frustrated with lack of any progress, Sing mugs the female ice cream vendor from earlier, only to realize she is the mute girl from his childhood whom he had vainly tried to defend; she offers him the old lollipop that she tried to give him as a token of her gratitude in their childhood. Sing rebuffs her and knocks the lollipop away, shattering it against the wall and running off. After he and Bone separate, Sing is picked up by the Axe Gang. Sum orders him to break into a mental asylum to free the Beast, widely rumored to be the world's top killer. Sing frees the Beast and brings him to Sum's office. The "world's top killer" puzzles everyone there with his flippant attitude and sloppy appearance - but after stopping a bullet that he deliberately fired at himself in order to prove his skill, the gangsters bow in respect. The Beast leaves and confronts the Landlady and Landlord at the casino, who are waiting to kill Sum and his men. The two battle the Beast, destroying the casino in the process, until all three are stuck in a joint-lock. A reformed Sing rushes in and, ignoring Sum's orders to kill the Landlady and Landlord, hits the Beast's head with a table leg. Enraged, the Beast frees himself from the lock and pummels Sing. Before he can deliver a fatal blow, the Landlady and Landlord snatch the unconscious Sing and run off. Sum angrily blames The Beast for letting them escape and The Beast casually kills Sum in response.
At Pig Sty Alley, Sing, while wrapped head-to-toe in bandages and treated with Chinese medicine, undergoes a metamorphosis. As he is severely beaten up by the Beast, his chi-energy activates more and flow through his body. He quickly recovers from his wounds because of chi flow, and his latent potential as a "natural-born martial arts genius" is realized due to the beating the Beast gave him. He easily defeats the Axe Gang before battling the Beast. The Beast uses his Toad Technique to send Sing rocketing into the sky. Again due to a heavy smash from the Beast, Sing's chi energy increases and he becomes incredibly powerful. As he falls back to earth, Sing recalls the Buddhist Palm, and delivers a blow that knocks the Beast flat and leaves a huge, hand-shaped crater in the ground. After another futile attempt to defeat Sing, the Beast bows, acknowledging Sing as the better fighter. Some time later, Sing and Bone open a candy store. When the mute ice cream vendor walks by, Sing goes out to meet her. A young boy walking outside after buying candy bumps into the beggar who gave Sing the Buddhist Palm book and tries to sell him one. The boy at first starts to walk away, but the beggar offers him something else, showing him several different pamphlets for martial arts. The child stares, intrigued.
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