Kung Fu Killer

Well, the rigidly choreographed Kung Fu will not kill you, but the boredom of an insanely slow paced movie might.

It was with some reluctance that I sat down to watch the 2008 TV movie "Kung Fu Killer". The movie's title was the first hurdle to get past, then there was the fact of it having David Carradine as the main attraction. But still, the movie also had Daryl Hannah on the cast list, and it was a movie that I hadn't already seen, so I took a chance and watched "Kung Fu Killer".

Writers Jacqueline Feather, David Seidler and John Mandel didn't exactly manage to put together a particularly thrilling or interesting storyline here for the movie, and I must admit that as the movie went along at a unfathomably slow pace, I was gradually losing my interest in it, as nothing worthwhile or interesting happened.

The martial arts scenes in the movie were wooden and rigid, and they were choreographed and executed in a manner where it was painfully obvious that the performers were indeed following a strict choreograph here. The fight scenes lacked a natural flow and fluidity to it.

The acting performances in "Kung Fu Killer" were about as wooden and rigid as the martial arts scenes, so at least they matched one another. But in terms of providing proper entertainment, then the acting performances were severely hindered by a lack of interesting or proper storyline.

I assume that if you were a fan of the original "Kung Fu" TV series that starred David Carradine, then you will find some enjoyment here, as it apparently is the same character he portrays.

"Kung Fu Killer" was a movie that came and went without leaving much of a lasting impression on me, and this is certainly not a movie that I will be returning to watch a second time. Nor is it a movie that I would recommend you waste your time, money or effort on.

My rating of director Philip Spink's 2008 movie lands on a generous three out of ten stars.

Were do I start? How bout DO NOT see this movie! I watch almost every Kung Fu/Martial Arts movie that comes out. I love anything with Jackie Chan, Jet Li and any Shaw Bros films. This movie is trash from beginning to end. With an M 15 + rating, there is little to no kill scenes and the fight scene with that decrepit old man hurt to watch. This movies script could have been written by a three year old. The most corny thing I think I have ever seen. I created an IMDb account so I could warn people like myself from wasting their time and money on this abomination of a Kung Fu Film. Apparently there was some acting... I missed it. Do your self a favour (correct spelling in Australia) even with its enticing name, DO NOT do it to yourself, you will only regret it !

It's good to see Carradine at his very best. The story is great and there is just enough violence (and when is violence not a part of the martial arts?) I love stories of old china and this one is great. It's also nice to see Carradine and Hannah together again after Kill Bill. The action shots are better than a lot of other martial arts films.

It looks like the director new his martial arts. I recognize the moves in the action, which gives it authenticity. There are millions of martial arts fans around the world starving for more of these types of quality films.

Carradine may be getting older but he plays his part well.

"Kung Fu Killer"'s main drawing card is that it reunites two big names from "Kill Bill" - David Carradine and Daryl Hannah - but let's face it, this is not the shining moment in either of their careers: Carradine is getting too old and static to participate in continuous action scenes, and Hannah has a rather thankless "object of desire" role. The real reason for which I would recommend seeing this film is the presence of Anya as a henchwoman. Apparently she had a near-fatal car accident in 2003, but she returned to her career, and despite a couple of remaining scars, she still looks stunningly beautiful. She also seems to have worked on both her martial arts skills (impressive) and her acting (arguably the best in the film - though her character suffers at points from poor writing, and it seems as if the writers wanted to suggest that she is lesbian but not go "all the way"). The story is kind of slow and plain, but the production values are passable, and there is some good fighting at certain points; I liked how the choreographers incorporated choking / grappling techniques in the fights - particularly when Lin Tong Hsu (the Head Siren) used them! (**)

Kung Fu Killer did seem interesting concept-wise and for the two most well-known stars of the mini-series David Carradine and Daryl Hannah. Execution-wise, Kung Fu Killer is very lacking and could have been much better but it isn't a complete waste of time. The best things about it are the scenery, the production design and Carradine. The scenery is absolutely gorgeous and makes you wish you were there, the production design and costumes are equally handsome and give a real sense of time and place and Carradine plays his role with authority and dignity. Anya is very charismatic as well, and while not as memorable Osric Chau is above average as well. The same cannot be said for Hannah though, whose role is almost completely needless and she looks disconnected throughout, she has also looked much better than she does here. The choreography and violence is well-choreographed and exciting on the most part, but more finesse in the editing and less of a hard-to-take approach would have been welcome, parts did feel very unsubtle and too much. While the scenery and production look great, the photography is murky and the editing isn't always completely smooth. The music is not sluggish or forgettable as such, in fact there are some memorable parts and there is a sense of tempo, but it has an oft tendency of drowning out the dialogue and could have been toned down more. The dialogue isn't really all that much to write home about, a lot of it is corny and simplistic with need of more flow. Outside the concept and some of the action sequences the story isn't really all that engaging, it could have done with more tension and heart and it does have a dull and meandering feel to it. There are worse characters around, however more time could have been spent with getting to know them and relate to their situation, Carradine's is an exception, and then there are others who are pretty much irrelevant especially Daryl Hannah's(essentially a love interest and nothing more). All in all, there's definitely worse but a rather mediocre mini-series. 4/10 Bethany Cox