'Kung Fu Hustle': Go for the fight choreography

The recent spate of art house kung fu flicks has either left you satiated by the computer-enhanced martial-arts genre or craving more.

Sony Pictures Classics 'Kung Fu Hustle' C The verdict: Too much of a cartoon to care about, but the fight sequences dazzle. Director: Stephen Chow Starring: Stephen Chow, Wah Yuen, Qiu Yuen, Kwok Kuen Chan, Siu Lung Leung Run time: 95 minutes Release date: April 22, 2005 Rating: R for sequences of strong stylized action and violence. See showtimes On the web Official movie site View the trailer    Trailers require Quicktime Rate "Kung Fu Hustle"   Go see it   Make it a matinee   Wait to rent   Don't bother Voter Limit: Once per Hour View Poll Results

If the latter, you will want to wire-walk over to Kung Fu Hustle, a comic take on this Hong Kong movie staple, which quickly goes over the top.

Co-written and directed by Stephen Chow (Shaolin Soccer), he also stars as an opportunist who moseys into the poverty-ridden slum known as Pig Sty, impersonating a member of the feared Axe Gang. He hopes to bully the colorful characters there but soon finds that they refuse to be intimidated. Then, of course, the real Axe Gang shows up.

Chow combines slapstick comedy with action sequences in a scattershot approach that soon proves tiresome, but more avid fans of these movies are likely to feel differently.

Go instead for the fight choreography by Yuen Wo Ping, whose work was showcased in the Matrix movies and the Kill Bills.

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