By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3 cats
Director: Teddy Chan
Original language title: Yi ge ren de wu lin
Country: china, hong_kong
Year: 2015
Running time: 110
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2952602/combined
Kyle says: “KUNG FU JUNGLE will appeal to fans of the great Hong Kong martial artist and movie star Donnie Yen (He also appropriately receives main title billing as ‘Action Director’.), but also to fans of director Teddy Chan, since they worked together on the moving historical drama BODYGUARDS AND ASSASSINS (2009). In addition, Mainland China actor Wang Baoqiang, who portrays the title character, is one of the stars of writer/director Jia Zhangke’s superlative A TOUCH OF SIN, which received many international awards, including one for Best Screenplay from the Cannes Film Festival. The film will be of interest to Hong Kong cinema enthusiasts.
“Someone is killing the great, mostly retired, martial artists of various special skills (‘Boxing, kicking, grappling and then weapons. From the outside to the inside.’), and Hahou Mo (Donnie Yen), who has turned himself in after a killing to pay his debt to society, knows he can help find the villain. He persuades the police chief to release him in return for help in stopping murders. Fung Yu-sau (Wang Baoqiang) is established early on as the killer, as are his motives — physical deformity, lack of appreciation, his wife’s terminal cancer, and lunatic rage — but the movie is about the cat-and-rat game that leads to a confrontation between the two martial arts masters. “Meanwhile the vast resources of the HK police are wasted tracking down clues and giving chase unsuccessfully, the police proving so incompetent they decide Hahou Mo and Fung Yu-sau are in collusion, as scores of officers are beaten, maimed and killed. Lest there be any doubt what is going to happen, Fung Yu-sau is recalled saying, ‘Martial arts is for killing, not playground fighting. We decide who lives and who dies’. Hahou Mo decides what he must do.
“The final confrontation comes during a jaw-dropping set piece on a truck route into a busy system of highways, overpasses and underpasses, starting on the empty pavement and escalating among horns honking, cargo spilling, and vehicles speeding by, into a frenzy of violence. With the counterpoint of a cacophonous score by Peter Kam Pui Tat, and a blizzard of body blows and martial moves between the two antagonists, this mayhem continues even under fast moving trucks. Nothing exactly like this has been seen in the HK cinema, and I am guessing the Hong Kong Film Awards voters agree: KUNG FU JUNGLE received an award for
Best Action Choreography, given to Donnie Yen and three colleagues.
“As police and ambulances arrive on the scene, lights flashing and sirens blaring, the two men lie on the pavement splayed out next to each other, while the camera pulls up and away, unclear whether they are exhausted lovers or dead foes. As with many HK movies, an unfortunate postlude is tacked on, this one reminiscent of the introduction to Jacqueline Susann’s VALLEY OF THE DOLLS: ‘There is so much one must sacrifice to stand on that narrow peak. I’d rather take someone’s hands and brave that world together, creating the happiness, and bearing the bitterness. The thought of being No. 1 never crossed my mind again’. 3 cats
“Seen Sunday, August 9, 2015, on Netflix, New York.”