Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.5

Kung Fu Killer Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman July 20, 2015

Lovers of Hong Kong martial arts flicks are used to these kinds of films offering a succession of vignettes strung together by what are often the slimmest threads of narrative. Kung Fu Killer (which due to Chinese censorship provisions was released as Kung Fu Jungle overseas) makes no pretensions about being much other than a string of vignettes, but quite surprisingly it ends up crafting a generally compelling story that actually manages to deliver not just a series of spectacularly staged fight sequences, but an at least passably intriguing amount of suspense. The basic premise of Kung Fu Killer stretches credulity to the breaking point (again, nothing new in Hong Kong martial arts movie territory), positing an expert fighter named Hahou Mo (Donnie Yen), who inadvertently kills one of his opponents and is jailed for his “crime.” In prison, Hahou overhears a television broadcast where breaking news is covering the apparent murder of another martial arts expert. It’s obvious from the look on Hahou’s face that he knows something, and when he begs not one but two guards for the chance to call the investigating police officer, Luk Yuen-Sum (Charlie Young), he’s met with some good natured refusals. Hahou is very intent on getting Luk’s attention, though, and he simply turns around and starts a riot right there in his cell block, something that of course gets the guards’ attention and which (not so surprisingly) delivers Luk to Hahou’s post-melee interrogation room. The no nonsense policewoman is obviously curious as to why Hahou wanted to see her so badly, but when the erstwhile kung fu expert says he can pretty much guarantee there will be more murders, Luk isn’t buying it, especially when Hahou insists he needs to be set free in order to bring the assailant to justice. As Luk is leaving the room, however, Hahou shouts out a list of seven potential “next” victims, and Luk is obviously intrigued. When one of those seven indeed turns up dead soon thereafter, a cat and mouse (or mice, as the case may be) game is afoot, with a serial killer on the loose who seems to be targeting a coterie of former aficionados of various fighting styles.

Though Kung Fu Killer is mostly played for adrenaline fueled thrills, there’s an only slightly masked winking subtext to much of the proceedings, something that’s made evident by the rogues’ gallery of cameos the film offers (none will be spoiled here, but the film’s closing credits offer a complete recounting in case you missed any). There’s therefore something almost elegiac in quality here, as if co-writer and director Teddy Chan is lovingly offering “call backs” to an entire generation of Hong Kong martial arts fare.

The first crime scene which is investigated does not include the actual showdown between the perpetrator and the victim, but the result is rather amazing, with a car basically having climbed right up the wall of a massive underground freeway tunnel. This gambit might lead some viewers to suspect that Kung Fu Killer is going to be a mystery in a way, with a nefarious, unknown criminal wreaking havoc amongst the martial arts gifted populace. But perhaps surprisingly, when the first real set piece of the film gets underway, the bad guy, Fung Yu-Sau (Wang Baoqiang), is shown without much fuss and bother. Fung’s actual motives do in fact take a while to be detailed, but in the meantime the villain is prone to listen to Peking Opera classics (in a florid plot element that would be perfectly at home in a Brian DePalma thriller) and to paint ideograms giving clues to who’s going to be his next victim (along with a number of other fetishistic behaviors, in another florid plot element that would have been perfectly at home in David Fincher’s Seven).

That first set piece aptly illustrates this film’s somewhat cheeky take on the martial arts genre, though in this case it might be more appropriate to say cheekbone take on the martial arts genre, as the fight between Fung and his nemesis plays out on a huge supine human skeleton which bears more than a passing resemblance to the gigantic fossil which hapless Cary Grant is working on in Bringing Up Baby. One of Fung’s anomalies, a club foot, is addressed in this first showdown, but that handicap turns out to be only one of the scars, both physical and psychological, that the character bears.

Of course a series of martial arts related slayings ensues, in a kind of kung fu version of Kind Hearts and Coronets, with Teddy Chan seeming to not really mind that the film boils down to a series of vignettes. A fitful through line is established courtesy of Hahou, who of course is sprung from stir to track down the bad guy. The chase in Kung Fu Killer is probably more fulfilling than the actual capture (there’s little doubt how this entry is going to end), but the film’s climactic showdown between Fung and Hahou is a true standout, with the two battling amidst rush hour traffic in Hong Kong. Some less than stellar CGI slightly detracts from this sequence, but the film’s hyperbolic finish should certainly pump up all but the most demanding adrenaline junkie.

Kung Fu Killer Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Kung Fu Killer is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Well Go USA with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1. This appears to have been sourced off the same master used for the Hong Kong Blu-ray release reviewed by my colleague Dr. Svet Atanasov. As Svet mentioned in his review, this is really an impeccably sharp presentation in its (many) bright lit scenes, and even in close-ups in more dimly lit environments. Some sequences utilize fairly aggressive color grading, and in some of these choices (notably some yellow scenes), detail is minimally reduced. When not artificially tweaked, the palette is very natural looking and pops with considerable wallop (no pun intended). As mentioned above in the main body of the review (and in Svet's assessment, as well), the film is not helped by some soft and unconvincing CGI at a couple of key junctures.

Kung Fu Killer Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Kung Fu Killer is one of the rare Well Go USA Blu-rays which offers several audio choices, with (admittedly lossy) Spanish and French 5.1 mixes added to the usual original language (in this case Cantonese) and English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mixes. While the two lossless mixes are identical (or nearly so) in terms of overall amplitude and effects placement, the dub is really almost laughably bad. The Cantonese track offers excellent discrete channelization in the set pieces, but also in more "tame" environments like the crowded police station. The low end on this track is extremely aggressive, with several floorboard rattling moments. Dialogue is delivered cleanly and is always well prioritized. Fidelity is excellent and dynamic range is very wide in this problem free track.

Kung Fu Killer Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Making Of offers four short EPKs with interviews, behind the scenes footage and interviews:

  Fight to the Top (480p; 2:21)

  Spirit of Kung Fu (480p; 2:30)

  The Final Duel (480p; 2:49)

  Legendary Action Directors (480p; 2:34)

• Trailer (1080p; 1:55)

Kung Fu Killer Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Kung Fu Killer probably could have dropped all pretensions (not that it has many to begin with), and not even attempted to fill in the backstory of the nefarious serial murderer in this film, for that aspect of the plot actually turns out to be the least compelling. The parade of extremely imaginatively staged and shot set pieces provides more than enough juice to keep Kung Fu Killer propelled at a high octane velocity for virtually its entire running time. Yen (who also did the fight choreography) is in great taciturn form and the neat cameos provide an extra bonus for genre aficionados. Technical merits are first rate and Kung Fu Killer comes Recommended.