After watching Kung-Fu Hustle in its entirety, I am left with very little words. While not being a slapstick comedy from beginning to end, I'm not really entirely sure what to think of the movie. It's my first Steven Chow film, but even in that, I find it very difficult to talk about the intensely silly film.

Taking us back to 1940's China, Hustle revolves around Sing. You never really hear his name, but you learn early on that he just wants to be accepted. He tried fighting for the good, but has decided that it's not paying off, so he wants to be bad, and join the infamous Axe Gang. They control most of China, except for the poor slums. After a chance encounter with an obnoxious landlady, Sing starts off a turf war that can only end with one group falling to the other, but neither wants to back down.

Basically, that's the plot of Kung-Fu Hustle. Nothing imaginary by any means, but a lot of the zany fight sequences are just that. Zany. The quote on the front about it being a cross between Looney Tunes and Kill Bill really wasn't a lie. There are more than a few scenes of about 50-60 guys in black suits surrounding one person to come and kill them. And on more than a dozen occasions, the silliness of the film rules out and it becomes somewhat of it's own Looney Tunes reality joke. Chow is fairly good in his role, as is everyone else who steal his spotlight.

But the thing I found the most interesting about the picture was the art direction. 1940s China looks absolutely gorgeous. From the set-pieces to the vivid colours, I was amazed at how excellently the backdrops were created for the film. From the costumes to the buildings, to even all the little random objects, it all screams nostalgia and screams of being excellent. The cinematography is not all too bad either.

If there was anything to say against the film, it was the fact that none of the characters are really well explored. There are no signs of showing why Sing feels the way he does, except for one silly flashback scene. Even when a pivotal character shows up (so pivotal in fact, she has all the 10 minutes of screen time, and zero lines), his motivations are never really explained well enough, and he just seems to be fighting randomly. Same goes for everyone else. There was mention of a son by the landlady and lord, yet never explained for its significance later on.

It's moments like these where I know I should just enjoy it for what it is, but the fact that key parts of the film's writing is missing, really does not help the film.

7/10.