Blending martial arts with a serial killer
narrative, Kung Fu Killer offers
brief genre-bending originality in its premise before settling into predictable
entertainment. There are some thrills to be found in the execution of the fight
scenes, but the narrative offers too few surprises to keep the moments
in-between entertaining enough to weave together a satisfying story.
Preposterously unrealistic and blandly predictable, Kung Fu Killer features decent action scenes that aren’t quite
memorable enough to outweigh the rest of the film’s shortcomings.
Donnie Yen
reunites with writer/director Teddy Chen (Bodyguards
and Assassins) to play Hahou
Mo Hong Kong and killing them with his bare hands, Mo starts
a prison brawl in order to get the attention of the detectives investigating.
Claiming to know the men who will be targeted next by the killer, Mo is
temporarily released from prison to try and stop the murders.
For some
inexplicable reason, Mo is given enough freedom in his release that a majority
of law enforcement quickly assume that he is an accomplice to Fung. This
subplot is quickly tiresome, punctuated and saved only by the occasional fight
scene scattered throughout the film. Having perfected a series of different
styles and weapons, Fung has molded himself into the perfect tool for revenge
against all of these men, though we know that it will all come down to the
inevitable showdown against Mo. The reasons for revenge are kept hidden as a
revealing twist that attempts to humanize the villain, but ends up seeming more
contrived than inspired.
Since the police
procedural aspects of the narrative are dealt with flippantly, the film quickly
becomes reliant upon the success of the fight scenes. Fortunately, they offer
enough variety to keep the film entertaining, despite offering little in terms
of depth. The film builds up to its climactic battle on a freeway overpass,
showcasing the abilities of the film’s two leads. There are also many other
veteran martial arts film stars to pepper the cast, filling this film with
nostalgia and a modernized kung-fu narrative. It all sounds great, but somehow
the execution remains less thrilling than my expectations for the film. It is
only the disastrously bad films in Yen’s recent filmography which give this
film the illusion of being better than it is.
The Blu-ray
release does provide the full visual impact of these action sequences,
including DTS-HD Master audio to capture each bone-crunching punch. All of this
would be a great deal more impressive without being bogged down by bad police
procedural and romantic melodrama, but fans can enjoy the film for the fight
scenes alone. The special features include a making-of featurette, as well as a
trailer for the film.
Entertainment Value:
7.5/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 6.5/10
Historical
Significance: 5/10
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