Kung Fu League (2018) User Reviews

A good comedy and martial arts combo...

[paul_haakonsen · 6/10 · 5 November 2019]

"Kung Fu League" (aka "Gong fu lian meng") was a movie that I didn't even know about before now late in 2019. I was given the chance, and of course I did take it as I enjoy Asian cinema.

I wasn't sure what to expect from this movie, but I was convinced that it would be a martial arts movie. I hadn't expected it to also be a funny movie, so it was a nice experience to sit down and watch the movie.

Sure, the storyline wasn't all that impressive, but still it was entertaining enough, and the fact that the comedy, the acting performances and the martial arts helped lift up the movie definitely made it all the more enjoyable to watch.

The movie is over-the-top, so you shouldn't sit down and watch this movie with an intention of watching a realistic martial arts movie - but then again, how many realistic martial arts movies make it out of the Chinese cinema?

What worked well in the movie, for me at least, was the acting performances by the good ensemble of casted actors and actresses that they had managed to get together for the movie. That and also the comedy elements that the movie had to it.

My rating of "Kung Fu League" is six out of ten stars.

Film koplak

[imoetman · 5/10 · 13 February 2019]

A film that brings together four legendary kung fu figures ever lived. The comedy and actions remind us of 90s hongkong action movies , so that who are not used to it will hate this film

corny and laughably bad

[JacksonW0523 · 5/10 · 14 August 2020]

I respect the cast members like Vincent Zhao, Andy On and Dennis To because they're legit martial arts practitioners but this movie is laughably bad. They wasted the martial arts potential of the cast. This movie almost makes a mockery out of kung fu heroes. There is a romance between the main character and this girl in which I didn't care about, there was barely any chemistry. The fight scenes are corny. So scenes were so corny that I laughed out loud.

just like a comedy movie

[fonnyhariyanto · 5/10 · 7 April 2019]

The beginning movie was impressive with the action and the cast was very funny too, but then i got so bored with the funny things that not funny anymore for me. And the end of the movie so awful. i'm so dissapointed.

Worst Movie Ever (Spoilers Alert)

[joshwcy · 2/10 · 11 January 2019]

I don't think this movie is worth 5.3. It should be below 4 stars. Childish Storyline. Weak Character development. Especially, the actor that plays "fake" Ip Man. His Wing Chun Skills are all wasted, don't see him fighting at all. Too many unnecessary CG. And the storyline is just very weak and fake.

Good humor, Average kungfu fighting scenes, Bad CG

[andytanu7504 · 7/10 · 28 December 2018]

I haven't seen for a while a good chinese comedy movie & this movie is the answer for it. But the CG is so bad, especially in last fight, compared with Stepen Chow's movies like Shaolin Soccer or Kungfu Hustle.

Humourous references to martial arts masters and movies

[kluseba · 7/10 · 27 February 2020]

Kung Fu League is a quirky Hong Kong action-comedy movie that goes back to the genre's golden era in the late eighties and early nineties. You will only fully appreciate this film if you are familiar with those movies as the four characters from the past who help the protagonist are obviously inspired by historical figures but also popular movies such as the Once Upon a Time in China and Ip Man franchises.

The story itself is rather nonsensical. A shy comic book artist has a romantic interest in a cute colleague and former school pal but their head manager also has an eye on her and humiliates the artist quite often. The depressed protagonist summons four legendary martial arts masters from his stories to help him. They arrive in present-day Hong Kong and are quite confused by contemporary customs. Upon meeting the shy artist, they want to help him participate in a martial arts tournament to face off against his bully and impress his love interest. The bully however has no intention to give his opponent a chance and turns out being even nastier than expected as he attempts to reach his goals by any means necessary. Things also start getting complicated among the four martial arts masters as three of them have a relationship with the same woman while the other one is an untalented impostor.

This movie convinces with excellent situation comedy and numerous quirky allusions to Hong Kong cinema classics. The fight sequences are intriguing and especially the final duels are truly intense. The clumsy protagonist and his innocent love interest are sympathetic and it's easy to root for them to get together.

On the negative side, the movie overuses special effects from time to time which gets particularly obvious in the final duels. A more natural approach to those scenes would have made them even more energetic. Not all the slapstick jokes work particularly well as some scenes are rather silly but the film's steady pace makes you forget those minor inconveniences rather quickly.

Invite your friends, switch your brain off and enjoy this nostalgic but energetic Hong Kong action-comedy movie to the fullest. It might not win any awards for creativity but it's thoroughly entertaining. Kung Fu League is a feast for genre fans and much better than its negative reputation.

Wonderful

[jliao27 · 9/10 · 3 August 2019]

This movie is a Romantic Comedy with Kung Fu! I looooooved it. Some of the humor is Hong-Kong style slapstick, but I felt that it all worked quite well. I recommend this movie. It's both cute and cool.

Delightful comedy

[kyla-72302 · 7/10 · 2 February 2022]

I really enjoyed this. It was very silly and delightful. I enjoyed the romance and the over the top slapstick fighting

I particularly enjoyed the 13th Aunt.

...what an exhiliarating experience

[desubluesss · 9/10 · 8 November 2018]

I haven't seen a movie this hilarious in a long while. Every single joke and gag was absolutely spot. On. A lot of the funny moments to me, if not all (which takes up almost the entire film), feel incredibly fresh and extremely creative. So much so, that they all bring extra layers to the writing and character development, and fleshes out everything I need to know and so much more about these characters up to the point where I've been hit with left hooks during it's entire runtime. For setting up a fast-paced action movie, this decision is excellent and sheer genius. On top of that, there was not one scene that felt like it went on too long for me. It was just, exactly right. This movie just flowed like butter and no part of my satisfaction was left empty. The pacing was so good, it was actually pretty overwhelming to take in this first, or even presumably but very likely, eventual subsequent viewings. So yeah, I think it's execution is absolute perfection. Totally something that all excellent action movies should achieve in order to qualify as, you know, excellent.

Yeah, this movie may have a villain that's usually cliche at this point, but it's fleshed it out in a way where I didn't find it redundant or boring at all. There wasn't even that much focus on the villain until the very last act of the film anyway so it didn't bother me all that much. Besides, I don't mind corporate douchebags showing up in any movie, as long as it's purposeful to the any of the themes and is executed well.

Another thing that exceeded my expectations was how intelligent it was with it's concepts. I noticed that a lot of typical action movies made past and present follow the cheesy trope of using their 'substance' as a gimmicky excuse for a punchline that studios think would stick with audiences, which eventually got adopted by and become responsible for every single modern mainstream throwaway horror flicks you know today. Look at The Bye Bye Man for example. This movie is surprisingly a very insightful look at human spirituality and Buddhist ideologies. It's great dialogues proves it, and all the performances being on point sold me successfully. The film's own 'Chakra' concept just made so much sense figuratively and it made me laugh my ass off because it was just portrayed in such a fun way. It's just so funny because it's so true. It also makes so much sense to have a love interest as the fuel for the plot and not just for hot sex scene #69420, and I do not want to spoil anything, but I found it heartfelt. Very heartfelt.

The cinematography is surprisingly fantastic. There's a lot of noticeable green/blue screens in this movie, but the cinematography, editing and fight choreography totally makes for it, by a long shot. There's one amazing shot where the main protagonist's love interest, Bao'er, goes back inside from the pool after swimming, and her cousin creeped up right behind her and the scenes showing her cousin, who is at a completely dark area is only lit up by random occurrences of thunder. All of the music in the film were played immaculately in all scenes with it and it absolutely complemented the tones.

Overall, I was extremely impressed with this film. Honest to God, I think this may be the best literature on Buddhism and martial arts culture ever made (if you don't count boxing). It just works so well as a parody film and a piece of cinema at the same time. It's both a satire and true worship of kung fu. Man... what an exhilarating experience.

FUNNY ACTION PACKED FUN

[kirbylee70-599-526179 · 8/10 · 24 September 2019]

Well Go needs to be saluted for bringing some of the best action films being made to the world. While many are unexposed to the films being made in China, Well Go has attempted to make them as easily accessible as any other foreign film. The result is being able to watch some of the most creative film being made, some of the funniest comedies and some of the best action films around. KUNG FU LEAGUE is a perfect combination of humor and action and needs to be seen.

Directed by Jeffrey Lau who was responsible for the amazing film KUNG FU HUSTLE, he once again combines those two genres perfectly here. The story revolves around Fei Ying Xiong (Ashin), who watches the woman of his dreams Bao'er (Madina Memet) every day at the office without proclaiming his love for her. Drawing comics including the 4 masters of kung fu coming to his aid he's about to give her the comic as well as a love letter to her when they bump into one another and the pages go flying everywhere. Before he can give her the letter the president of the company they both work for Zhang Peng (Steven Zhang). It seems that Zhang has had his eye on Bao'er as well.

While on his way home, soaked in a downpour that pops up, Xiong screams at the sky. It's his birthday and everything is going wrong. His wish for his birthday is that the 4 heroes he adores come to his aid and help him find a solution.

The film cuts to the past, in particular the home of Master Wong Fei-Hung (Wenzhou Zhao) where his betrothed is praying for guidance since she has been with him for years waiting for marriage but has met another man she'd rather be with. Before we can learn who this man is or how the situation will be dealt with, Wong is whisked away to the present where he meets two more displaced men, Huo Yuan Jia (Andy On) and his student Chen Zhen aka Bruce Lee (Kwok-Kwan Chan).

Landing in the middle of a movie set the trio are pursued by the director of the film shooting in hopes of getting them to sign on to his next film. While they escape they come across another displaced person in the form of famed martial artist Ip Man (Yu-Hang To). As they discuss their situation we learn that Jia is the man Wong's betrothed was speaking of and some of the humor comes in the form of Jia and Zhen making sure that Wong doesn't find out.

The four men realize that something has brought them here but they still don't know what. When they finally meet up with Xiong he's thrilled to see them there to aid him and his birthday wish coming true. But how can they help him? It becomes apparent when they all see a special martial arts battle is being held in a nearby stadium and sponsored by Peng. Xiong is supposed to meet Bao'er there but Pend has something he uses as leverage to keep him from telling her how he feels.

Now the 4 heroes of the past must not only help Xiong discover the true hero in himself, they must help him rise to the occasion to fight for what he believes in. Another twists finds the 4 heroes fighting for their own lives against an enemy none of them saw coming. Can Xiong be helped? Can the 4 heroes return to their own times? And will love conquer all?

The path to finding out the answers to all of these questions is filled with plenty of non-stop action and laughs. Like his previous KUNG FU HUSTLE Lau shows an adeptness for combining skilled camera work and storytelling to move things forward and have you laughing at the same time. The interaction between characters lends itself to most of the humor and the high-wire work and martial arts skills of all on board make it a movie that entertains from start to finish.

Is the end result as good as KUNG FU HUSTLE? Perhaps not quite as good but that film would be hard to match. Taken on its own terms this movie was a ton of fun to watch and enjoy. Where some performances are lost in translation that's not the case here as all the actors play their roles perfectly. That they can do so and make themselves believable while subtitles let you know what they're saying is a testament to their abilities.

I had a lot of fun watching this movie, finding myself laughing out loud on occasion. That doesn't happen nearly enough these days. I enjoyed it from start to finish and know I'll be popping this disc in again in the future and will enjoy it all over again. Perhaps as a good double feature night with KUNG FU HUSTLE. Make a point of adding it to your collection as well.

Awesome movie really like it

[biriautiko · 10/10 · 27 January 2021]

My review is good and thumps up to the app it a lot of good movies that i really liked and not yet watch but i really love kungfu movies plus some my favorite actor's