docfalken wrote:They showed this film during BNAT last December just after Ong Bak. I just didn't feel the love for Kungfu Hustle.
And the hatchet dancing sequence is entirely too short. A film on that gang alone is needed.
I agree with that last statement; The Axe Killer Gang is so cool it's not true. But having watched both Ong-Bak and KFH several times each, I'm firmly of the opinion that KFH is the better film. Ong Bak is great, but part of the reason that I loved it was, bizarrely enough, that it reminded me of some of the old Van Damme martial arts movies like Bloodsport and Kick Boxer - which made me feel nostalgic, but wasn't neccesarily a good thing. Obviously, Ong Bak has much, much better stunts than KFH, supposedly performed without any help from wires, whch certainly can't be said for KFH - but there are a couple of moments in KFH which absolutely blow anything in Ong Bak out of the water.
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Firstly, the scene quite early on when the Axe gang stomp into Pig Sty Alley to wreak revenge after one of their buddies has been punched into that barrel. The way Chow uses the music when the woman and her son are pulled out of the crowd, and the gangsters pour petrol on her. WOW! That scene is so good, it brings tears to my eyes every time I see it, and I'm not even sure why. It's something about the way the music really kicks in when the guy lights his Zippo - magnificent scene
Secondly, The Beast's first real scene - when all the Axe Gangsters are doubtful that he is as much of a bad ass as he's supposed to be, and they're asking for a demonstration. He laughs and says "you cretins aren't worthy" - that is just a fantastic fucking line. Then someone pulls a gun on him and The Beast just calmly pulls it out of his hand and starts examining it. Everyone in the room then pulls their gun out and points it at him. When you're first watching the scene, it really is quite intense, you just know he's gonna have to do something spectacular, but you have no idea.
Then he points the gun at his own head, pulls the trigger and catches the bullet, in the best exaple of bullet-catching ever seen on film (Bryan Singer, take note please!). As if that wasn't cool enough, he delivers an amazing line in what has become one of my favourite exchanges ever: <i>"In the world of Kung Fu, speed defines the winner"</i> and that's all he needs to say - the gang boss immediately gets to his feet and declares at the top of his voice<i> "The Beast is the greatest of them all. The Axe Gang expends their respect"</i> ..... !!!!! THAT IS JUST SO COOL
Finally, the scene where Chow's chi has finally been sorted, and The Beast's cronies are dashing round the apartments of Pig Sty Alley looking for him. It's the way they intercut Chow walking to the door from the inside with the gangsters surrounding the door from the outside - but there's a big switch and you realise they're outside a different door.
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Dino, you've mentioned something very close to my heart, I'm glad you liked it because it blew me away