Kung Fu Jungle

"Kung Fu Killer" (aka "Yi ge ren de wu lin") is one of the absolute better Donnie Yen movies in years. I had very little expectations to the movie when I sat to watch it, expecting it to be little more than just another tough-guy-beating-up-all-the-bad-guys movies that Donnie Yen usually tends to make. However, I was more than genuinely and pleasantly surprised at the outcome of "Kung Fu Killer".

What makes "Kung Fu Killer" a good movie is a combination of several things, which include the action, the martial arts, the story, the acting, the setting and the atmosphere of the entire movie. I was really enjoying this movie from start to end. As with all Donnie Yen movies, then the martial arts and action sequences are tight, precise and well-choreographed and equally so executed. And I am a sucker for Hong Kong movies, so of course it was a treat to be back on the gritty streets midst worn-down old and sparkly new buildings at the heart of South-East Asia.

Donnie Yen does deliver his usual perfect set of fighting and action skills here in this movie, and he is joined alongside by Baoqiang Wang, whom I don't think I have noticed before. But wow, this guy was also quite amazing, and definitely a name to keep an eye on. There was a good feeling of brutality and honest, hard-hitting fighting throughout the entire movie, without excessive use of Wire Fu. Charlie Yeung also did add a good element to the movie with her acting talent.

The story is about an imprisoned martial arts instructor whom is given a deal to work with the Hong Kong police in order to find and stop a particularly brutal serial killer who is targeting the best of the best of martial artists.

The characters in the movie were a bit square, yes. And by square I mean that they were generic and as you would expect from a movie of this type. Nothing grandiose here or nothing innovative in terms of character building. But that is still alright, because they are enjoyable and well portrayed by the cast hired for the various roles and characters.

It should be said that director Teddy Chan does follow a strict how-to-make-an-action-thriller by the book. And that is one of the downsides to the movie, because it does give it a bit too much of a predictability to it.

If you enjoy Hong Kong cinema, then "Kung Fu Killer" is a definite must watch movie, especially in the latter years. I was quite surprised with how good the movie was, and am pleased to say that Donnie Yen is definitely back in top form. I am rating "Kung Fu Killer" a solid eight out of ten stars.

Granted, they had me at Donnie Yen, but then they gave me incredible production values, a fairly competent storyline, and met the action/fight-sequence quality of the first two IPman's.

This was ranked 6.4 this morning, 6.5 this afternoon, and could be headed higher.

It deserves it. It's a freakin' blast!

The final fight is as good as the alleyway in Killzone, and a clear lack of the all-too-present drama silliness found in many of these HK action flicks. Some of the serious stuff is handled quite well.

Albeit the fight scenes are still gloriously over-the-top(not sure what some were expecting reading some negative reviews - i mean isn't that wHY you rent a kung fu flick? Geesh).

The "filler" is solid, decently acted fare that keeps at an even pace and keeps the audiences interested in the fate of its lead characters. If u want realism go rent "the gunman" and be bored to death with a more basic plot, realism, and seasoned actors. It will fry your brain and send u back to the redbox faster than "Get Hard". Or have fun watching a mindless, unrealistic kung fu flick - which flies by like an F-16, and is a 90-minute adrenaline rush.

Highly recommend this! 65/100

I will be purchasing this. You should know where u stand before u hit play. If u enjoyed "true Legend", the "police stories", "supercop" or SPL:Killzone.. Or any modern kung fu flick.. You will love this!

Very fun to watch specially if you like Kung Fu martial arts flicks. KungFu style and moves used here are very surprisingly jaw dropping stunts. It may look bit unrealistic but just for the fun and imagination that Kung Fu is a whole lot on a different level of fighting style you will definitely love it.

If there's one thing I am missing on this movie is more challenging and long rival fights than easy to the top final match. Other rivals deserves something more too.

Anyway but still this is really a good one from Donnie yen. A must watch.

Kung fu instructor Hahou Mo (Donnie Yen) is serving a prison sentence for the accidental death of an opponent during a duel. When he sees a news report on the prison TV about the murder of a top martial artist, he believes that he can help the police to find the person responsible (who turns out to be a highly skilled fighter with a gimpy leg, as played by Baoqiang Wang).

While not exactly boasting the most inspired or original of plots (the story is reminiscent of all those old school kung fu films in which a villainous martial artist kills the good guys to prove he's number one), Kung Fu Killer is still a case of Donnie Yen proving to his detractors that he's still got it. Almost two and a half decades after he wowed audiences in In the Line of Duty IV, he is more than capable of choreographing and performing jaw-dropping scenes of martial arts mayhem.

I admit I was a tad doubtful at first, the initial fight scenes not grabbing me in the way I had hoped, but with each successive battle getting more and more elaborate and increasingly brutal, the film eventually won me over, the final showdown on a busy freeway being an incredible tour-de-force of kung fu excellence (with a truly wonderful spot of pole fighting midway). Admittedly, the fights are not without their use of CGI and wirework, but that's become fairly standard for modern action films, and the technology is used well in this instance. I for one am just happy to see Donnie still leaping about and doing what he does best. May he long continue to do so.

Leave it to Donnie Yen, to pay respect and make a movie that is sort of a tribute to a lot of Martial Arts heroes of the past. Acting martial arts heroes that is of course. And this movie does have a lot of them. But it does pay respect to almost everyone in the credits too (stay seated or watch them through if you are a fan).

The movie also is a combination of different fighting styles. It's sort of a best of. The story is pretty decent for a movie like this too. The stunts action scenes are fantastic we knew that (if you've been aware of Donnie Yens body of work, if you'll excuse the pun). But it's also the story that you want to enjoy too. It might have a couple of bumps along the way, but overall a very good movie, especially for the martial arts fan