KUNG FU JUNGLE (一个人的武林)
Director : Teddy Chen
Cast : Donnie Yen, Wang Baoqiang, Charlie Young, Michelle Bai, Alex Fong, Louis Fan
Genre : Action/Thriller
Rating : PG13 (Violence)
Run time: 100 mins
It’s a jungle out there – a kung fu jungle. In Teddy
Chen’s martial arts flick, Donnie Yen’s Hahou Mo was once the king of that
jungle. A skilled kungfu instructor and
martial arts school proprietor who was responsible for training members of the
Hong Kong Police, Hahou fell from grace after accidentally killing an opponent
in a duel. In the midst of serving his five year prison term, Hahou hears about
a series of murders on the news. A deranged fighter named Fung Ya-Sau (Wang) is
targeting Hong Kong’s top martial arts practitioners in a bid to prove his
supremacy in the various subsets – fistfighting, kickboxing, grappling,
weapon-wielding and finally the use of “internal energy”. Hahou approaches Luk
Yuen-Sun (Young), the policewoman leading the investigation to offer his
expertise and is provisionally released to assist the police. He also reunites
with his girlfriend Sinn Ying (Bai) who has been operating the school alone in
his absence.
Audiences
get a kick out of seeing feats of well-honed physical prowess on display. That’s
an integral part of the appeal of competitive sports and Cirque du Soleil-type
performances. In cinema, the martial arts genre best exemplifies this. Kung Fu Jungle reunites star Donnie Yen
with his Bodyguards and Assassins
director Teddy Chen, with contemporary Hong Kong in place of the period setting
of that film. Here, the plot exists primarily as a clothesline on which to hang
the kungfu battles but all things
considered, it’s not a bad clothesline at all. Our noble hero who’s been
wronged has to prove his worth by assisting the wary police in pursuit of a
dangerous foe. It’s reminiscent of the 1997 Gary Daniels-starrer Bloodmoon – that film’s director Tony
Leung Siu Hong gets a cameo here. Hey, beats the bog-standard “underground
martial arts tournament” plot device. We get some exciting set-pieces,
including a fight on and around a giant suspended modern art sculpture of the
human skeleton. There are chases on foot across rooftops and through canals on
speedboats. There’s also a pretty fun meta moment when Ya-Sau storms onto a movie
set to face off against action movie star Hung Yip (Fan).
However,
Kung Fu Jungle definitely has its
lapses in logic and spots of unintentional humour. For example, when Ya-sau
enters the film set to confront Hung Yip, the rest of the cast and crew just
hightail it out of there and nobody calls for the cops to, at the very least,
wait outside the studio to apprehend Ya-sau. There’s also a moment during the
climactic clash when our hero, brandishing a long bamboo pole, is running after
our villain, also brandishing a long bamboo pole. It’s very goofy and almost
worthy of spontaneous Yakety Sax music. That said, Chen has largely achieved a
tonal consistency and there aren’t annoyingly long comic relief interludes as
can often pop up in this genre. The action choreography by Yen, Yuen Bun and
Yan Hua is energetic, intense and creative, although there is more shaky-cam
employed than we would’ve liked. Computer-generated effects in Hong Kong cinema
are often jarring and dodgy so it’s a good thing that apart from just a few
quick bits, the stunt work is all practical and well-executed.
At
51, Donnie Yen is still as quick, spry and proficient a martial artist as ever
and he just looks awesome onscreen. This reviewer is relieved that after the
very embarrassing likes of Special I.D.,
Iceman and the abysmal Monkey King, Yen’s dignity is more than
intact here. True, his acting range is somewhat limited, but “wrongly
imprisoned martial arts master” is well within those limits and the focus is
rightfully placed on his fighting rather than his acting. Wang Baoqiang works
those crazed eyes for all they’re worth and although he does seem like a
dangerous, credible opponent for our hero, he has a tendency to ham it up. The
“skyward scream” he lets out during a flashback detailing his stock tragic
back-story™ really pulls one out of what should’ve been a dramatic moment. Charlie
Young does make for a believable woman in charge, though it’s nothing we
haven’t seen before in this genre. Mdm. Luk doesn’t let Hahou catch a break and
the partnership between the martial artist and the police is always somewhat
rocky. Michelle Bai’s role is just that crucial bit more than “the girlfriend” thanks
to a great swordfighting scene she gets to herself.
Aficionados
of Hong Kong martial arts movies will have fun keeping their eyes peeled for
cameos from personalities key to the success of the genre, including veteran
producer and Hong Kong cinema pioneer Raymond Chow, actress Sharon Yeung of Drunken Master and Angel on Fire fame and film historian/screenwriter Bey Logan. The
movie ends with a great montage in tribute to many influential filmmakers and
actors who have kept the martial arts movie tradition alive and kicking. Kung Fu Jungle does have its overwrought
moments but the good number of exhilarating fights and leading man Donnie Yen’s
presence makes this worth seeing for anyone who digs kungfu movies.
Summary: An uncomplicated plot, great action sequences, a
palpable affection for its predecessors in this genre and Donnie Yen doing what
he does best make this a fun rumble in the jungle.
RATING:
3.5 out of 5 Stars
Jedd Jong
