Kung Fu Brother (2014) User Reviews

The martial arts equivalent of THE ROOM

[brchthethird · 3/10 · 14 May 2016]

Blind purchases/rentals are dangerous for a couple of reasons, mostly because you run the risk of not liking what you spent money on. Unfortunately, I have been burnt by KUNG FU BROTHER, a self-billed "action comedy" starring, written, and directed by Marcus Aurelius (Pep in FULL CONTACT, not to be confused with the Chow Yun-Fat film of the same name). I literally just found out about this film today while browsing news headlines, and the title alone intrigued me. I like cheesy action movies, and I had modest hopes that this one would be entertaining, at the least. What I didn't expect was this to be a no-budget stinker, the likes of which I haven't seen since THE ROOM. Granted, KUNG FU BROTHER is a little bit more competent than THE ROOM, but only by a small margin. Aside from the genre difference, this film does have some decent fight sequences and doesn't quite seem like it was filmed all in the same place. Marcus Aurelius also has the distinction of being the best actor out of the entire cast. A lot of his dry remarks were witty, but not in a "laugh your butt off" kind of way. Everything else in the film just reeked of amateurism, from the variable video quality and student film-level special effects, to the poor excuse for a plot, laughable dialogue, and equally laughable delivery of said dialogue. If the filmmakers were going for some level of dramatic authenticity which, by the tone and content of certain scenes they might have been, then it was an utter failure. Otherwise, it was an odd mix of drama and comedy where the performers weren't up to the task in selling either (save, Marcus Aurelius). The plot was kind of interesting, involving three cops and a reporter who go to Thailand on the trail of a murderer who is trying to collect six magical scrolls that will grant him special powers. With a slightly bigger budget and capable writers, a half-decent film could have been made, but unfortunately KUNG FU BROTHER squanders this potential. The only redeeming features were a handful of acceptable fight scenes that showcase the martial arts abilities of the titular "Kung Fu Brother." Other than that, there were no interesting characters wandering around in a plot that I stopped caring about halfway through. Did I waste my money? Yes. To all those potentially interested in a laughably bad action movie, my advice would be to just wait for it to debut on Netflix.

It's not what you eat, it's what you keep

[nogodnomasters · 4/10 · 10 December 2017]

A black American cop (Marcus Aurelius Daniels- director, producer) who thinks he is funny teams up with a fast motion Asian fighter (Ron Hall) to find a killer. So as not to confuse this with the more popular "Rush Hour" film series they add an unfunny white guy (James Huang) and his hot Asian reporter girlfriend (Rona Lee Par). The scene is Thailand and not China as they hunt a killer of the Weirding Clan who is seeking the sacred Kuji Denjo scrolls, because killing a person one on one in hand to hand combat is important to a nation that doesn't have a nuclear arsenal.

The film starts out fairly decent on a light note. However once they get to Thailand the humor goes off a cliff. Marcus Aurelius managed to have facial expressions while the other characters were less animated. The fighting was made to look good through fast motion filming and at times looked a bit silly. Ron hall runs around in his Thai police uniform looking like a UPS delivery man. I understand "Rush Hour 4" has been announced.

Guide: No swearing sex, or nudity. Hot Asian chicks in bikinis working a nightclub. Might work as a Wednesday night rental.

Indie blaxploitation/kung fu homage

[Leofwine_draca · 2/10 · 2 May 2018]

KUNG FU BROTHER is an indie homage to the blaxploitation and martial arts film of the 1970s, although sadly of nowhere near the same quality. Instead this is a drawn-out and unfunny little production, directed by and starring some guy going under the name of 'Marcus Aurelius'. It's very low budget and grubby looking, with a non-existent storyline and lots of padding. The main problem is that there are only a couple of decent fight scenes and they're not great, either too obviously sped up or saddled with tacked-on and silly sound FX.

RUSH HOUR MEETS BRUCE LEE in KUNG FU BROTHERush Hour meets Bruce Lee in Kung Fu Brother

[strath-1 · 10/10 · 11 August 2016]

If you like 70s throwback buddy movies, then Kung Fu Brother is for you. Marcus Aurelius is hilarious as an LA cop, who with his Asian Partner are sent to Thailand to track down a supernatural killer.

The film has some really fabulous sword fighting sequences, and major set piece fight scenes. It will not disappoint those expert fight critics and delivers on story and photography as well. This was shot on 35mm film.

Guns, girls and fighting, just like Shaft, and the Dynamite movies. The movie is also pretty funny, with some big surprises and big laughs as well.

"UNDER RATED CULT CLASSIC!"

[miamifilmshoot · 10/10 · 20 September 2020]

This is one of the Best, small films I've ever seen! The quality of production is sterling! Fight scenes are reminiscent of the great film "ENTER THE DRAGON!" This film is truly (according to the moviebloggercom ) "an under rated cult classic!"