“Kung Fu League” Theatrical Poster
AKA: Kung Fu Alliance
Director: Jeff Lau Chun Wai
Cast: Vincent Chiu Man Chuk, Dennis To, Danny Chan, Andy On, Bruce Leung Siu Lung
Running Time: 102 min.
By Paul Bramhall
Jeff Lau is one of those directors that audiences either love or hate, with the camp you fall into being largely dependent on a tolerance (or perhaps enjoyment) of his everything and the kitchen sink approach to filmmaking. Sure, it’s an expression which is frequently used to describe 80’s and 90’s Hong Kong cinema, but nobody embodied it quite like Lau. For myself, I fall into the former, being a fan particularly of his early 90’s output. Treasure Hunt and The Eagle Shooting Heroes are personal favorites, imbued with that kind of manic livewire energy that most likely got a lot of us into HK cinema in the first place.
However like so many HK directors that peaked in the 90’s, the last decade hasn’t been his finest. Kicking off with the lamentable Kungfu Cyborg: Metallic Attraction, going onto deliver probably the least needed sequel of all time with the Mainland made A Chinese Odyssey: Part Three (21 years after the first 2), and the less said about Soccer Killer the better. Despite his less than stellar work in the 2010’s, the announcement of Kung Fu League was enough to get even my jaded attention. The concept was suitably out there – four of the martial arts worlds most well known historical heroes team up together, with minor details like the fact they didn’t live in the same era being negligible. This would be the first time for Wong Fei Hung, Ip Man, Chen Zhen, and Huo Yuan Jia to share the screen togther. What’s not to like?
Together these names have resulted in some of the most well known kung fu movies of the past 40 years. Jet Li has played both Wong Fei Hung (in the Once Upon a Time in China series) and Huo Yuan Jia (Fearless), while Donnie Yen has played both Ip Man (in the Ip Man series) and Chen Zhen (Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen). In Kung Fu League, we get neither Jet Li or Donnie Yen (although ironically, we do get Leung Kar-Yan, who played Huo Yuan Jia in 1982’s Legend of a Fighter).
Instead, what we do get could best be called the B Team. Vincent Zhao, who took over playing Wong Fei Hung from Jet Li for Once Upon a Time in China IV and Once Upon a Time in China V, here continues his resurgence of playing the character. Kung Fu League would be his 3rd time to play Fei Hung in the same year, having also reprised the role for the VOD movies Unity of Heroes and Warriors of the Nation. We get Bruce Lee imitator Danny Chan portraying Chen Zhen, as the Little Dragon did in 1972’s Fist of Fury, and Andy On steps into the shoes of Huo Yuan Jia (who Chen Zhen is avenging the death of in the afortementioned Fist of Fury). Last but not least Dennis To reprises his role as Ip Man, having portraryed him in 2010’s The Legend is Born – Ip Man.
The question on everyones lips of course, was how do you make a coherent plot that brings this dream team together? (Disclaimer: ’Everyone’ in this instance referring to those who have never seen a Jeff Lau movie before) Coherency has never been Lau’s strength, and while the manic energy of his movies used to make it possible to overlook such shortcomings, that energy has gradually disipated over the years. As the audience, this isn’t good news. Kung Fu League comes with an idiotic plot that I almost feel is a waste of time to summarise, but I’ll give it a crack.
In present day Hong Kong, a timid office worker played by Ashin (the lead singer of Taiwanese rock group Mayday, incase you’re wondering) has a crush on his old schoolmate now turned co-worker, played by Madina Memet (Zhong Kui: Snow Girl and the Dark Crystal). Ashin has no luck, in part because he’s perceived as poor due to funneling most of his cash to his sick cousin in hospital, and in part just because he’s an annoying deadbeat (note the latter is my personal opinion, and not necessarily reflective of how we’re supposed to perceive his character). His hobby is drawing comics, one of which is Kung Fu League, which unites said kung fu heroes. After being humiliated one too many times by his boss, who also has eyes for Memet, he finds himself shouting to the skies for the heroes he draws to come and help him get the girl. In short, they do, and wake up to find themselves in modern day Hong Kong. Hijinks ensure.
A lot of hijinks. The fact that Kung Fu League is actually a bawdy comedy should come as no surprise to those that have watched even a handful of Lau’s movies, the difference here is that most of it falls flat. This is mainly due to the central plot, involving Ashin’s quest to declare his love for Mement, that quickly becomes terminally insufferable. It’s insufferable in a way that makes Badges of Fury seem like a comedic masterpiece, and frequently seems only there to challenge the audienes endurance. I have a theory that Dennis To may actually be playing the audience avatar, as he not only looks bored to be there, but sometimes looks genuinely spiteful that he’s appearing onscreen in such a production. It would be difficult to blame him, and he gets to do almost nothing in the action department.
In fact the above statement could be applied to all of the cast. This is not the movie to watch to see the likes of Vincent Zhao and Dennis To in action, with choreographer Tony Leung Siu-Hung restricted to dealing with CGI-enhanced cartoonish kung fu. Siu-Hung has brought along his older brother for the ride, the legendary Bruce Leung (Bruce and the Iron Finger), who’s characters curiosity is peaked by seeing Fei Hung’s no-shadow kick, a style which has been extinct for years. Leung’s technique though is literally carbon copied from Kung Fu Hustle, as he jumps around like a toad through a mix of uncomfortable looking wirework (if I was 70 I wouldn’t want to doing wirework either) amd awkward CGI. As much as a fight between the new waves Vincent Zhao and the old schools Bruce Leung sounds exciting on paper, onscreen it’s a gravity defying mess that doesn’t do either of them any favours.
It would have been mericful if events concluded after their showdown, but instead we have to suffer through a battle which pits Ashin, along with Zhao, On, and Chan (To is humorously written out of the movie early) against his kung fu supersuit wearing boss (think a kung fu Z grade version of Iron Man), played by Zhang Zi-Wen. The scene is partly rendered in CGI, and somehow the effects work on display are worse than the ones in Kungfu Cyborg: Metallic Attraction, made a whole 8 years earlier. It’s a drawn out fight that consists almost entirely of gimmicks, making the most painful aspect of it not the impact of the blows, but the lame comedy its attemtped to be imbued with. It’s also worth noting the confrontation has minimum involvement from our kung fu heroes, who are easily defeated in the beginning, in one of many illogical choices Kung Fu League makes.
It’s a shame, as occassionally there’ll be brief flashs of Lau’s knack for humor. Watching Leung Kar Yan chase the quartet around an outdoor period movie set, demanding to sign them up for a movie deal, is both as stupid and funny as it sounds, and Chan’s insistance on taking off his shirt before every fight also gets a substancial amount of comedic milleage. Indeed if Kung Fu League had simply been a fish-out-of-water style tale focusing on Wong Fei Hung and co. attempting to figure out modern day Hong Kong, I’m sure it would have been a much more entertaing movie, at least more entertaining than Ice Man: The Time Traveler I’m sure.
The whole comic come to life thing has been successfuuly done before, particularly with the likes of Operation Scorpio and Dr. Wai and the Scripture With No Words, but neither of those productions opted to ignore the talent they had onboard. By sidelining Kung Fu League’s four biggest assets in favor of a dull and frequently irritating story of a timid office worker attempting to hook up with his unrequited love, Lau’s latest does infuriatingly little with what should have been a high energy dose of silliness. I’ll remain a fan of Lau thanks to his 90’s work, but if Kung Fu League is anything to go by, being an entertaining filmmaker again is a wish that’s best described as being, well, out of his league.
Paul Bramhall’s Rating: 3/10
You’ve certainly covered my grievances with this movie, and it was worth the wait. My only disagreement is that I hated the movie more than you did. Haha!
Mr Leeder has let people know that this was not meant to be an action epic, and to be enjoyed as a silly comedy, and I get that. I enjoy a lot of “moi lei tau,” but this is where I draw the line. The nicest thing I can say is that the humor did not speak to me.
Seeing the four action stars get sidelined for an unlikable lead was just painful no matter how open of a mind I attempted to have.
I remember you commenting on this one around the time of its release Andrew, and I regret not listening to you. But like a moth to the flame, I kept on finding myself being tempted to watch it, and in the end got burnt.
The only reason Big Mike says this was enjoyable is because he’s still hoping for Lau to cast him in ‘Treasure Hunt 2’.
Oh Paul, I can’t expect you to avoid a movie because I said so. Haha! Then we wouldn’t have entertaining reviews.
Treasure Hunt was a real joy. I laughed every time Chow Yun-Fat screamed hysterically.
For the record, i completely agree with ur review. Only little tidbit id add is that this ashin is not the lead singer of mayday lol
You mean to say there’s 2 famous Ashin’s in the world!?
So…in other words Jeff Lau has taken a page out of the Kathleen Kennedy playbook of making Star Wars Sequels: Entice audiences with the promise of iconic characters, then relentlessly sideline them in favor of those you couldn’t give a rat’s behind about.
At least Hollywood’s Woke Liberalism and SJW inspired gender politics should be mercifully absent from this HK production.
Why do you right-wingers always have to bring politics up where there is none? Get over yourself, please—-you’re the only one bringing them up.
thank you 🙂
So…If i decry an “Agenda Over Entertainment” approach to much of current day Hollywood movies, driven by dubious racial, sexual and gender driven politics, resulting in insipid trash like the “Ghostbusters” and “Charlie’s Angels” reboot and the “Shit Stain on Celluloid” SW Sequel Trilogy, I’m a Right Winger?
Way to demonstrate how discourses these days get so regressive, there’s no room for the tiniest vestige of nuance.
But I will toss you ONE consideration. I should NOT have brought up politics in that comment.
My thought process itself was simple.
Paul reviews a Kung Fu film, and the review indicates that iconic characters of Kung Fu history have been sidelined in favor of non-entities, Which made me think of how the recent SW trilogy sidelined iconic characters like Han, Luke and Leia in favor of non-entities headlined by a Mary Sue I couldn’t give a rat’s behind about.
Should have stopped there as anything after that has no place in this forum. So, apologies to the moderators of this blog and to the spirit of this awesome site dedicated to the glorious legacy of Asian Action Cinema.
All good gents. Nothing wrong with some spirited discussion as long as we stay respectful towards each other.
In an ideal situation I’m sure yourself, squeesh, Killer Meteor and I could happily talk it out over a beer. Unlike the heroes in ‘Kung Fu League’ though, what we wouldn’t do is end up in McDonald’s kissing each other for a free burger.
Free burger you say…
I’d happily appear in Treasure Hunt 2!
I think 3/10 is too generous for this movie. This was an absolute disaster. It was unfunny and the action was terrible. This movie was embarrassing to watch. I don’t know what’s been going on with Vincent Zhao, but he’s been in some pretty bad movies lately: Warriors of the Nation, Unity of Heroes, and now Kung Fu League. The last two movies that he did that I really enjoyed was God of War and True Legend. Outside of those two movies, there hasn’t been anything that Zhao has done as an actor that has impressed me.
Agreed. Both ‘Unity of Heroes’ and ‘Warriors of the Nation’ are entries in the overpopulated direct-to-web streaming movie market that’s hugely popular in China, with the sacrifice being that these productions are usually made cheap and quickly. Zhao can next be seen on the small screen, playing Huo Yuan Jia (the role Andy On plays here) in ‘Heroes’.
Pingback: The Grandmaster of Kung Fu | Blu-ray (Properly Go USA) – Ykine