While martial arts began a new wave in Chinese cinema, Stephen Chow and other directors were responsible for the creation of another subset of martial arts cinema, which included the vampire genre. Stephen Chow combined elements such as undead, Taoism, kung fu, as well as comedy into his movies, which helped create a comedy-horror feel that was distinct to Hong Kong.[7] The beginning of martial arts movies has paved the future for both local and international directors. They started to learn and adopt martial arts to fulfill and satisfy their own demands, later the trend became a transnational market.[7]
Kung Fu Hustle 2 Full Movie English Version
Different from traditional Chinese wuxia cinema, Chow's new kung fu movies help with reflecting the extent to force the of globalisation within the entertainment industry, which later influenced the local construction of self-identity.[7]
Hong Kong director and film critic Gabriel Wong praised the film for its black comedy, special effects and nostalgia, citing the return of many retired kung fu actors from the 1970s.[66] Film critic Roger Ebert's description of the film ("like Jackie Chan and Buster Keaton meet Quentin Tarantino and Bugs Bunny") was printed on the promotion posters for the film in the US.[67][68] Other critics described it as a comedic version of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.[69] Positive reviews generally gave credit to the elements of mo lei tau comedy present in the film.[70] A number of reviewers viewed it as a computer-enhanced Looney Tunes punch-up.[52][71] In a 2010 interview, actor Bill Murray called Kung Fu Hustle "the supreme achievement of the modern age in terms of comedy".[72] In 2021, American filmmaker James Gunn called it "the greatest film ever made".[73]
Much of the criticism for the film was directed at its lack of character development and a coherent plot. Las Vegas Weekly, for instance, criticised the film for not having enough of a central protagonist and character depth.[74] Criticism was also directed towards the film's cartoonish and childish humour.[75] However, it was considered reasonable, as the Kung Fu Hustle production team chose to make the film's characters largely one-dimensional. In the movie, the directors "attempt(ed) to appeal to a transnational audience, affirms distinctly Western notions of Chinese that many earlier Kung Fu films set out to subvert."[7] The Kung Fu Hustle team attempt to appeal to a more progressive generation throughout the history of Chinese cinema. Earlier in the kung fu film industry, it usually involved complex characters, and also tried to explore and expose constructs ranging from gender to race as well as to nation.[7] One-dimension is the key feature of Kung Fu Hustle, as it is rooted in a filmic genre that connected with Hong Kong identity, but also represented the Western imagination of China's past and Kung Fu heroism.[7]
The huge success of Stephen Chow's latest comedy "Kung Fu Hustle" has drawn concerns about the threat of piracy. A copy of the poster of Chow's lastest kung fu comedy "Kung Fu Hustle" [ycwb]Since opening on Thursday, the Hong Kong film has generated more than 64 million yuan (US$7.71 million) at the box office nationwide. The figure will increase by 15 million yuan daily, according to Columbia Pictures Inc, the film's backer. Locally, Shanghai United Cinema Lines, the largest cinema chain in the city, said the film had taken in 8 million yuan at the box office so far. It was released to coincide with the golden season of Christmas, New Year and the Spring Festival. With a relatively large investment of US$20 million, the DVD and VCD release for "Kung Fu Hustle" is scheduled on February 1. With the popularity of Chow's films, the movie's investor decided to sacrifice some of its DVD copyright profits to guarantee a higher return at the box office. According to the owner of a DVD shop on Xincun Road, there were no pirated versions of the film available locally yet. "A lot of customers have come in to ask about the movie," said the man surnamed Zhang. "There's no pirated version of the movie in our shop now," as he hinted that a pirated version could come out after January. According to Wu Hehu, marketing director of Shanghai United Cinema Lines, pirated versions of the film could be found in Beijing and Chengdu, Sichuan Province. "But due to timely combat measures in town, we haven't found them," he said. He noted that most pirated movies, shot off the cinema screen, were of low quality and couldn't fully depict the digital effects of the movie. Chow, the writer, producer and director, spent two years to make the action comedy. 2ff7e9595c
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