Kung Fu Jungle
October. 31,2014A martial arts instructor working at a police academy gets imprisoned after killing a man by accident. But when a vicious killer starts targeting martial arts masters, the instructor offers to help the police in return for his freedom.
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Reviews
Too much of everything
Thanks for the memories!
It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.
The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful
Just when I thought Kungfu movies could no longer be good, Donnie Yen surprises me again. In Kungfu Jungle, Yen plays a troubled convicted Kungfu master out to stop a crazed Kung fu killer. The story proceeds like a thriller, and the villain played by Wang Baoqiang is convincingly menacing. Teddy Chen portrays the characters as two similar people who chose different paths. The movie slowly unveils more about the antagonist and what drives him. It helps that Wang Baoqiang is able to be truly menacing and prove his immense skill because he has more fight scenes than Yen. In the final showdown between him and Yen, I was not disappointed. Though there were bad CGI and obvious wirefu going on, it helped enhance the fight scene and did not feel odd. Yen is still able to show he can kick serious butt, and uses his trademark lightning fists, and hard punches. Wang Baoqiang also shows that he could go toe to toe with Yen, just like Wu Jing and Sammo Hung in Kill Zone. Louis Fan also has a chance to show his awesome skills this time, unlike in Ip Man, where he only played a comical role. The fighting style in the movie is Kungfu at one of its hardest and most brutal forms. The techniques are less dance-like and lethal, unlike the old Kungfu movies. Even Bourne and Batman would know better not to mess with Yen's character whether it's hand to hand, or weapon to weapon.
If your a Donnie Yen fan, this film is an absolute must watch. He always delivers in the action scenes, but this movie also has solid characters and an interesting story.Kung Fu Killer (or Kung Fu Jungle) is essentially about the quest of two men to be the best fighter alive. The villain is very overt in their quest of dominance, but the heroes journey is clouded by questions of conscience, family, honor, and pride. This gives each a destiny discovered through a series of fight scenes. The two inevitably end up pitted against one another in a test of skill, strength, and willpower. I really respect the use of the fight scenes to add depth to both characters and story.If your watching this movie, it will be for the action. The martial arts is really well done, and while there certainly is some wire play and superhuman moments - the scenes follow their own stylistic rules which do not stray absurdly far from realism. Each dual features a different style, and the variation of techniques will be appreciated by the seasoned martial arts fan. I am especially fond of the fight highlighting weapons - especially it's introduction, style, and nod to the film industry.The story isn't perfect, and this is what holds this movie back from being a true kung-fu classic. Everything is in the right place - Haunted villain, damaged hero in need of redemption, love interests, and surrounding characters trying to uphold the law. But it takes the viewers imagination to make all the pieces fit perfectly, and while I don't mind this myself, I certainly understand how someone who needs the all the roughed up puzzle pieces perfectly smooth would be left somewhat disappointed trying to fit it all together. I'd like to say the lessons learned make the ending perfectly epic, but really the films moral falls flat in comparison to the action, and the depth of the main two characters.The villains character is especially deep. He overcomes both physical and mental anguish to become a master, but as a result of his life trials, is too damaged to be anything but a killing machine. The hero finds he has a choice in his destiny, which is one of the biggest points the film has to make.Production values are very good. The camera work is especially well done, and the fight scenes gain a lot from this excellence. Always nice to see fight scenes from far enough back to really witness the action unfolding, and minimal edits to watch the actors preform their craft and stunts.If your looking for an excellent martial arts movie with great characters, memorable fight scenes, and a solid story - then by all means, watch Kung Fu Killer.Way above average: 7 out of 10
Always loved Donnie Yen's work and especially the character Ip man which he played 2 times in recent years.This is not that good but rather a nice contribution to an action packed movie with an adequate story to keep it all going.The some what over the top scenes did not fit the film and dragged the totality of the film down.It has the feel of a big production and it wanted to do to much with all the genres they messed up in writing an interesting story.All the characters feel some how "off"in this movie and did not seem to matter,because in the end, they all get redemption anyway.If you like action or martial arts than this is your flick.Combination with thriller and drama was a let down according to me but some one might also see that as a plus.I enjoyed watching it.it has a good entertainment value.You should at least check it out if your a fan.I like Donnie Yen movies can't wait to see the next 1.
Old school style narrative for contemporary times.A physically challenged man who could be an inspiration to anyone (if he was not the bad guy) over comes his uneven legs to become a super strong Kung fu master with the goal of killing seven of the greatest masters of their styles.The legendary action movie star, Donne Yen plays a prisoner released from jail to find him and stop his killing spree.The movie is a who's who in Hong Kong action cinema with cameos from some of the biggest and best in the business like Raymond Chow, who was the only one I really recognized by face to go oh wow! (Some of these cameos are from action stars who date back to the 1960s, so they don't look the same)It's a real modern take on a classic style of Kung fu storytelling, with the Kung fu killer going from land to land village to village to find the masters and kill them, but now the village is the urban jungle of china. One of my favorite scenes is when the kung fu killer goes up against the master swords man, who is an action hero faking his blade skills on camera. Possible the best example in the movie of how contemporary the village has become. Everybody's Kung fu fighting, but it's also a cool police drama about hunting one the most interesting serial killers in cinema history. The Don does it again!!