Gong fu guan lan

Well sometimes quite literally. Not in a way Basketball is supposed to be played. Then again, I sometimes dreamt of playing a few sports like the Shaw Brothers would have taught me. Flying through the air and all that. Might not be fair to be honest, but then again the bad guys don't play fair either, do they know? That was rhetorical, because they obviously don't.

Having said all that, this is quite cliche and you can actually see where this is going. If you don't mind that, go ahead and watch it and enjoy the romp for what it is. Some fantasy come through, with many flaws and predictable as can be ... but you know fun

Clearly inspired by the success of Stephen Chow's Shaolin Soccer, Kung Fu Dunk, starring Jay Chou, is another slick sports/martial arts mix-up full of wire-enhanced action and CGI; but where Chow's film regularly bangs 'em in the back of the net, Dunk is far less reliable, the ball frequently rolling around the rim but failing to go in.

The 'pure' basketball scenes work well enough—expertly choreographed and hyper-energetic, they are the highlight of the film; likewise, the kung fu is fairly impressive when it happens. However, unlike Shaolin Soccer, which effectively combined its sports action with its crazy comic-book fantasy fighting, Kung Fu Dunk fails to make the two elements gel, the result being a film which switches awkwardly from one genre to the other. Similarly, the film's dramatic content lacks fluidity, director Yen-ping Chu clumsily juggling his over-sentimental themes of unrequited love, petty rivalry, and the importance of friendship and team spirit over individual wealth and success.

On a purely aesthetic note, the special effects are absolutely dazzling (standout scene; the players and crowd at a basketball match are quite literally frozen in time), and Charlene Choi is as appealing as ever, but some well rendered icicles and one cute-as-a-button 'twin' isn't quite enough to make this a winner.

5.5 out of 10, rounded up to 6 for IMDb.

I can't believe I watched this movie. It was bad... really really bad. Bad story, bad acting, bad characters, bad SFX, bad action, bad chemistry, just a really bad day after watching this junk.

Anything good? The part where Eric Tsang was trying to throw the can in the bin but kept missing maybe?

Everything else just didn't work. I'm really glad this isn't a complete work of the classic Anime Slam Dunk, it really would have tainted the series.

Steer clear, whether you are Jay fans or not, you will be embarrassed...

First of all, I have to say that the Cine Asia DVD cover promises more than the movie actually delivers. Which just goes to prove, don't judge a movie by its cover.

"Kung Fu Dunk" is a combination of basketball, Kung Fu and a semi-romantic love story thrown into the midst. The end result was entertaining enough. However, the movie didn't really fully get a chance to spread out its wings and be all that it could have been. The movie just brushed over the various topics on the storyline on the surface. And that was a shame, because if the director had delved more into the depths of some topics instead of trying to be everywhere at once, then the movie would have had much more impact, depth and meaning. Personally, I found the movie to be good entertainment, but it was a rather shallow story, because it never took time to go into depths with the topics.

The action scenes were nicely shot, and the Kung Fu scenes were really well choreographed and looked nice. The basketball scenes, however, well they were great, it was like you were there on the court with the players. One thing that really didn't fit well into the movie, despite it was amazing to look at and funny, was when the four Kung Fu masters entered the basketball court and started fighting the Fireball team. Sure it looked nice and there was a lot of nice effects, but come on, it was just too much.

Being a long-time fan of Asian cinema, then it was really nice to see some of the big guns from Hong Kong cinema appear in a Mandarin Chinese movie. I haven't seen Eric Tsang (playing Zhen Li) in a long, long time, so it was a nice treat to get to see him on the screen again. He always brings some comical charm with him to the movies he is in. And of course you had Hong Kong cutie, Charlene Choi (playing Lily), as well and despite having a minor role she actually did it great, because it was a step away from her usual sugar-coated late-teen love romance roles (and it was nice to see her in a movie without Gillian Chung around). Finally, in a small cameo role, you had huge Hong Kong movie star from back in the day, Kenneth Tsang (playing Wang Yiwuan). His role was very small, but still, just his presence there was awesome.

The movie's main actor, Jay Chou (playing Fang Shijie) was really carrying the movie mostly by himself. He was really well-cast for this role and he did a great job with his character.

"Kung Fu Dunk" suffered from a half-hearted storyline that never explored its potential, and that was a shame, because the movie really had potential for so much more.

If you liked "Shaolin Soccer", then the chances are that you will like "Kung Fu Dunk" as well, though this movie is not as good as "Shaolin Soccer". But still, it is entertaining and fun to watch.

I don't know the stars, or modern Chinese teenage music - but I do know a thoroughly entertaining movie when I see one.

Kung Fu Dunk is pure Hollywood in its values - it's played for laughs, for love, and is a great blend of Kung Fu and basketball.

Everybody looks like they had a lot of fun making this - the production values are excellent - and modern China looks glossier than Los Angeles here.

The plot of the abandoned orphan who grows up in a kung fu school only to be kicked out and then discover superstardom as a basketball play (and love and more etc;) is great - this is fresh, fun, and immensely entertaining.

With great action and good dialogue this is one simply to enjoy - for all ages - and for our money was one of the best family movies we're seen in a long time.

Please ignore the negative reviews and give Dunk a chance - we were really glad we did - a GOOD sports comedy movie.