Bringing together four martial arts folk heroes in a time-travel adventure: it’s an idea both far-fetched and obvious – an oxymoron that Jeff vệ sinh embodies film after film. & so Kung Fu League unites Wong Fei Hung (no introduction needed), Huo Yuan Jia (most notably portrayed by Jet Li in Ronny Yu’s Fearless), his most famous student Chen Zhen (who really existed but was given a fictional heroic fate in Lo Wei’s Fist of Fury) and Ip Man (no introduction needed either, not even a discreet wikipedia link). It doesn’t matter that these grandmasters are played by their respective ‘Plan B’ actors (Vincent Zhao instead of Jet Li, Dennis khổng lồ instead of Donnie Yen, Chan Kwok Kwan instead of Bruce Lee…): the curiosity remains strong.
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Fei Yingxiong (Ashin Shu) is a clumsy, broke geek who daydreams and draws martial arts adventures, while pining hopelessly over Bao’er (Madina Memet), a colleague he’s loved for years but has never dared to court. After being humiliated in front of her by his trùm cuối (Zhang Ziwen), who also covets Bao’er, a desperate Fei invokes the help of Wong (Vincent Zhao), Huo (Andy On), Chen (Chan Kwok Kwan) và Ip (Dennis To). Somehow it works: he appears in their respective dreams, & shortly afterwards the four folk heroes find themselves transported lớn 2018. As they try khổng lồ adjust lớn the modern world & to figure out how lớn go back to lớn their time, Fei asks them to train him for a big martial arts tournament, which he intends to win, in order khổng lồ impress Bao’er & find the courage lớn confess his love lớn her.
Kung Fu League spectacularly fails khổng lồ deliver on the promise of its silly but intriguing concept. Jeff Lau’s presence at the helm should have sounded a few alarms: indeed, the film is his usual – and by now quite tiresome – brew of Mo Lei Tau and film spoofing, with a dash of his instantly dated fascination for technology (carried over from the painful Kung Fu Cyborg: Metallic Attraction). Và despite having four martial arts icons portrayed by a talented quartet of actors, lau sidelines them at every turn in favor of Ashin Shu’s Fei Yingxiong, an unlikeable wuss whose cringe-worthy wish-fulfillment is the plot’s main focus.
For two thirds of the film, fighting is scarce, just a few skirmishes fussily choreographed by Tony Leung Siu-Hung; much like in Law Wing Cheong’s Iceman, the time-traveling heroes’ vast fighting superiority is translated into cartoonish flourishes – Huo Yuan Jia seems to lớn almost teleport, for example. A fight between Vincent Zhao & Bruce Leung is the most watchable kích hoạt scene in the film, but still so short it’s unlikely khổng lồ linger long in anyone’s memory. (Spoiler) The finale is action-heavy, but it’s an interminable and terribly asinine fight scene in which the grandmasters are quickly defeated by a supersuit-wearing villain, before Fei Yingxiong gets to save the day. (End Spoiler).
Where Jeff lau manages khổng lồ milk his concept a bit more satisfactorily, is in its comedic application. Seeing the four heroes storm out of Hengdian studios on horses (chased by Leung Kar Yan as a director trying to sign them for a contract), then take the subway with these horses is an amusing sight, and so is a brief karaoke duet by Ip Man và Chen Zhen. It helps that the four actors all display unsuspected comic timing. This is especially welcome from Vincent Zhao, who proves excellent at sending up his squeaky-clean nhân vật image: not only is his Wong Fei Hung oblivious to the fact that 13th Aunt isn’t in love with him anymore, he’s also hilariously passive-agressive once he figures out who she’s been cheating on him with. A drunk & disheveled Wong Fei Hung throwing hateful glances: that’s a new sight.
Similarly, Andy On reveals himself quite apt at comedy, with a charmingly deadpan performance: witness him order a “free wi-fi” (thinking it’s food) at a fast-food restaurant. Chan Kwok Kwan of course is no stranger khổng lồ imitating Bruce Lee in a comedic context, & there’s an uproarious running gag about people being surprised that he needs lớn rip off his shirt at any occasion. Dennis khổng lồ takes a bit of a back seat, but that’s the point: his Ip Man is aloof to the point of ineffectuality, & a late revelation about his character is very amusing. Ironically, he’s a more memorable Ip Man here than in Herman Yau’s Ip Man: The Legend is Born.
Long Story Short: A failed opportunity, Kung Fu League has a few amusing moments, thanks to lớn the excellent comic timing of its four stars, but scarce và mediocre fighting, and a cringe-worthy wish-fulfillment subplot that unforgivably sidelines the four heroes in favor of an unlikeable lead. **
With the Marvel films popularizing the idea of crossovers, it was only a matter of time before it happened with legends of kung fu cinema. Director Jeffrey lau (best known for his comedies with Stephen Chow) assembles four of the greatest kung fu icons in one film: “Kung Fu League”,&#x
A0; featuring Wong Fei-hung, Ip Man, Huo Yuanjia, and Chen Zhen and transports them khổng lồ modern times.
Lau has a ball with the fish-out-of-water, fourth-wall-breaking humor in this action-comedy where these four kung fu greats must help train a young boy lớn win a martial arts tournament & maybe even win the heart of his dream girl!
Trailer
Cast
Two actors reprise their roles among the aforementioned legendary kung fu masters. Vincent Zhao as Wong Fei-hung from the fourth and fifth films of the Once Upon a Time in trung quốc series and Dennis lớn as Ip Man from “The Legend is Born: Ip Man.”
Danny Chan Kwok-kwan plays Chen Zhen, a fictional character first made popular by Bruce Lee in Fist of Fury. Taiwanese-American actor & martial artist Andy On portrays Huo Yuanjia & Chen Hsin-hung plays Fei Ying Xiong, the film’s protagonist who is dismayed over his unsuccessful attempts khổng lồ win over his crush. Madina Memet plays Bao’er, the girl in question.
Plot
Cartoonist, Fei Ying Xiong, longs khổng lồ confess his feelings khổng lồ the love of his life, Bao’er, when he finishes drawing his first comic book on his birthday, but he isn’t wealthy by any stretch of the imagination. Feeling dismayed, he wishes that the world had heroes that would help the needy, just like in the movies.
His wish comes true, as four kung fu masters from Chinese history arrive in contemporary times. Hilarity ensues when the four masters try to lớn get acclimated & figure out their current situation. They find Fei Ying, who explains that he wants to win a martial arts tournament carrying a grand prize of 30 million RMB. The four masters agree to lớn train him so that he may win, hoping that helping him with his wish will return them all home.
Action
“Kung Fu League” gives a lot of fan service for any long-time fan hâm mộ of kung fu flicks. The mere concept of having this many legendary characters under one roof is already something worth shouting about. This is essentially the ultimate wish-fulfillment for kung fu aficionados.
All four actors portraying the four masters are martial artists themselves in real life, và that certainly lends khổng lồ the authenticity of the action, và the film goes to great lengths to accurately represent each master’s respective style.
Vincent Zhao’s background as a wushu practitioner lends itself well khổng lồ the flashy kicks, acrobatics, và flowy movements as Wong Fei-hung, as he executes a butterfly kick off a table early on in the film. The “Shadowless Kick” is referenced và shown in the film. This technique can be found in the Hung Gar style of kung fu, which Wong Fei-hung was a master of in real life, although this kick has been exaggerated in fiction & media.
Danny Chan Kwok-kwan is actually a student of Jeet Kune Do, (JKD) the martial art và philosophy originated by Bruce Lee himself, so during the fight scenes he incorporates the stances, swift transitions, & lightning-fast strikes.
This is also seen when Chen Zhen begins a fight scene: he usually starts with a straight lead punch, as in JKD và boxing. This punch is meant khổng lồ be simultaneously the fastest & most accurate strike và can be executed from multiple angles & levels.
As an homage to lớn the films of old, the fight scenes have a lot of floaty, gravity-defying physics. In this day & age this style of choreography may be seen as cheesy, but it’s a tremendous treat if you understand the references being alluded to.
Director Jeffrey lau was one of the producers on “Kung Fu Hustle”, & that type of comedic action edge is very much intact here. There’s always room for a punchline in every fight và there are some creative jokes with the masters applying their almost superhuman skills in a modern context.
Some of the fights rely heavily on wirework to pull off some of the comically impossible manoeuvres, but the outlandishness of these scenes are clearly meant to be seen as part of the fun adding lớn the comedy.
There isn’t heavy use of CGI throughout the film, which in this day and age is refreshing; instead relying on the martial arts prowess of the actors for many of the stunts. Toward the end of the film it gets even more out of control – what else vày you expect but martial mayhem amongst such a veteran dreamteam.
Summary
“Kung Fu League” is a kung fu fan’s ultimate dream. Jeffrey Lau & company nailed the small idiosyncratic details of each master khổng lồ properly vày them justice. The slapstick and situational humor is fits nicely và the film doesn’t take itself too seriously – inviting you lớn almost join in the fun with them. Disregard stern xúc tích và ngắn gọn and enjoy the chaos it has on offer, come for the kung fu minutiae và leave with sore ribs from laughter!
Trivia
When Wong Fei-hung is first introduced and throughout the film, the instrumental music of his theme song from the Once Upon a Time in china series can be heard in the background.Throughout the film, Chen Zhen refers lớn Huo Yuanjia as his master; a nod lớn continuity that was set in Bruce Lee’s “Fist of Fury”, as Chen Zhen was a student of Huo Yuanjia in that film.Chen Hsin-hung is the lead vocalist of the Taiwanese band Mayday, and goes by the stage name ‘Ashin’.Famous Taiwanese singer Jay Chou has a brief cameo as a gangster simply known as “Not Jay Chou”Multiple dialects of Chinese are spoken throughout the film in keeping with the place of origin for each character; Ip Man speaks Cantonese & at some points Huo Yuanjia speaks with a Shanghai dialect.Vincent Zhao has portrayed both Wong Fei-hung và Huo Yuanjia on separate occcassions throughout his career.Xem thêm: Tam Sinh Tam Thế Thập Lý Đào Hoa Tap 27 Eternal Love, Tình Thiên Thu
Film Rating: 7/10
Seen “Kung Fu League”, what were your impressions? Which of the old school kung fu masters vị you admire the most and who should be brought khổng lồ life to lớn live action, perhaps in a new & innovative way? Let us know in the comments below; Like, share and join in the conversation on Facebook and follow us on Twitter & Instagram.
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Leon has been training since he was 15 with a Shaolin monk and has travelled to trung quốc to train at the Shaolin Temple. His main specialty is Sanda. He avidly consumes martial arts action, whether it be film, news, đoạn clip games, etc. Currently mastering Master Raven in "Tekken 7". His fiancée is a 3rd degree đen belt in Taekwondo và yep, she can beat him up!