Kung Fu (2021–2023) User Reviews

Missing the Key Aspect of the Original

[misho-29395 · 5/10 · 15 May 2021]

Kung Fu and Kung Fu: The Legend Continues were interesting primarily because there was this one outsider, Cain, with a strong moral code about being kind to others, but who didn't really understand the world around him especially well. Cain would always zero in on some simple truth or flaw that lied at the heart of the episode's conflict, and explain what this was with an outsider's wisdom.

In this version, the new Cain, Nicky, is not an outsider at all. In the first episode, she returns to her childhood home to live with her large family and catch up with her friends. There is no real reason her perspective should be much different to that of the others, and it really isn't in any significant way. She's just a woman who fights well, occasionally with mild superpowers like in the original. The end result is something that's barely different to any other procedural with some mystical MacGuffins thrown in, and it's so very dull.

Indignant reviewers

[shawn_hall · 7/10 · 18 April 2021]

How can you pass such extreme judgement after 1 episode? Give things a chance! I like that the cast is almost all Asian - heck let's remember David Carradine was a white man playing a half-Chinese man and while he was good in the role it could never be authentic. I find the show enjoyable and I look forward to more episodes. Rating a 7 for now. Not a fan of filming in Canada pretending to be San Francisco but that's not the actor's fault.

Very entertaining.

[strength0179 · 7/10 · 15 April 2021]

As a Chinese who grow up with Kung Fu movie, action movie with martial art are too violent in this day. And violence seems to be the only thing they know.

But Kung Fu (not this show) is not about how to end the fight with violence. It's about to show who the character is between the fight. Therefore I give this show a 70/100. It cares about the character, and that's good enough for me.

Also, it it has a good story to remind me those day that Kung Fu movie entertain the viewer, not to use violence to compress them in the chair. I love to see what's coming next.

For a young audience

[nancyldraper · 6/10 · 4 May 2021]

After watching the pilot, I must say I had higher hopes. This is aimed at a young audience, more pre-teen than young adult, but for that genre, it's a decent watch. I had hoped it would be a contemporary spin on the original series, but, then again, I was a young teen when I was a fan of it, so maybe it is the same audience. The plot is simplistic, the fights are engaging, it will appeal to young Asian viewers, and, despite the dumbing down of some of the dialogue, I'm going to give it a passing grade. I give this series a 6 (fair) out of 10. {Action Adventure}

If you want to see Kung Fu watch Warrior

[Plazeebo · 3/10 · 8 April 2021]

Based on the writings of Bruce Lee, Warrior (2019) is an excellent TV show with some well choreographed martial arts.

It IS possible!

But then someone creates this teenage angst driven show, calls it Kung Fu and runs away.

The acting and fighting reminds me of Iron Fist. It's just not any good. The story is horrible and this show is just such a lackluster.

I'll go watch Into the Badlands again and bite my pillow because I had such high expectations to this show.

It's an ok show and has an interesting premise

[ldamena · 7/10 · 8 April 2021]

& times like today I think we need more Asian/Asian American shows on Tv. But it's not the best quality, it's not bad but some of the camera angles gave me whiplash. It could have been shot better I guess, but I like the emphasis on the martial arts on the aspect of culture. I'll stick with it a few more episodes to see i I decide to add it to my schedule or not.

Cringy for a Chinese to watch...

[aliang-38598 · 3/10 · 8 April 2021]

Since this is based off of some other source, I can't bash the story too much but it's the details where you really see the lack of research into Chinese culture.

Off the top of my head, having Henry say he trains in Tai Chi and then have him fight with Wing Chun.

If all the conversations with her master was in Mandarin, it would have at least felt more "authentic", and there is no Chinese family that use both Cantonese and Mandarin as casual speak, It's like a English speaking family mixing Southern accent with British accent in their everyday conversations, that just doesn't happen.

And they really gave up on showing the audience what's going on and just straight up tells us what's happening everything 10 mins, and solely looking at the credits at the end, there doesn't seem to have ANY Asian influence higher up in the creative food chain, which tracks with what I saw in the show...

Something fun, light and entertaining

[christeasdale-26776 · 10/10 · 26 June 2021]

I don't care about all the negative reviews. I like the show. It's just easy watching. Honestly, don't take tv so seriously. It is just a show. There are things in reality that warrant the criticism and concern shown by IMDb users. But I assure everyone that television and cinema are not one of them.

The show is basically about a woman who tries to help people. And I believe that's a book we should all take a leaf out of. There is also a central storyline running through the series. One where the main character is trying to stop the person who killed her mentor from finding priceless Chinese artefacts that could potentially be a source of great power. This is kind of like a race to see who will get to each artefact first which is quite suspenseful.

At the end of the day. It's just a lighthearted, fun and entertaining show in my opinion. It, along with other shows and films allows me to escape the grim reality of everyday life. If I can put on a tv show or a film and it enables me to forget any worries or problems I may have for an hour or so. I don't know about anyone else but I would say that's a good show.

I Disagree With Many & Find It Very Watchable

[dmarti-92103 · 7/10 · 30 April 2021]

Yes, I watched the original Kung Fu and while the story takes a very different Generation Z young female approach to the story, I find it VERY watchable. If you want the same mold as the original, sorry; this will not be your show. But if you can revisit a discipline from a modern Chinese American approach, I think you will appreciate the struggles this young woman is going through. But if ONLY a David Carradine clone will do, then don't bother. I certainly find this show to be above average. I'm not going to say "stellar" in the 8-10 range. As I have gotten further into the series I'm liking the main character even more. The plot line about her aunt is a nice twist.

Ripping the Heart Out of "Kung Fu"

[kengullette · 3/10 · 10 April 2021]

The original "Kung Fu" TV series was about morality. Yes, the fight scenes were fun and brought something new to Western audiences that amazed us all, but at the heart of the series was a map for how to live a moral life; how to connect with all things.

This series is a disgrace to the "Kung Fu" name. It is written for a young audience and it appears to center around a sword with magical powers (Holy Green Destiny, Batman) and only its rightful owner can hold it (shades of Thor's hammer).

The first episode hints at magical powers to come, and it implies that the charismatic young heroine has developed amazing kung-fu skills in three short years at a monastery. At least in the original series, Caine grew up learning kung-fu and the ways of their Taoist. Zen philosophy.

Apparently the producers of this new series believe young people are not interested in thinking deeply. The plot is as thin as a bad kung-fu movie where the plot centers around, "You killed my teacher!" And of course, they threw in a Tong war. So far, there is no hint of the series that might have been -- a wise and skilled young woman coming back home and helping people not only with her fists of fury, but also helping teach them to accept others and live a more balanced life. As a result, the producers have ripped the heart out of the "Kung Fu" series and shown it to us, beating in their hands, before the series dies.

An Enjoyable Series

[micrapmailbox · 8/10 · 23 June 2021]

So many bad reviews or people comparing to other shows I watched it and found it entertaining and wanting more. I hope I get the opportunity to see both the story and the characters grow. Well done to all involved.

In my opinion it's a fun show!

[kaitlyn-barlow · 7/10 · 9 May 2021]

I'm so far enjoying this show. I love an Asian led cast and story. It's super fun to watch. This show is magical and has a female lead who kicks butt! This show In my opinion does his job it's entertaining and has a an intriguing story in my opinion. I will continue to watch.

Poor

[cameronsafe · 2/10 · 10 April 2021]

The only good thing about this show is it made me want to watch the original series,you just can't beat it.

New show, a different take on Kung Fu.

[TxMike · 21 April 2021]

No surprise at all, the biggest revelation so far is the stupidity of many "reviewers" on IMDb who don't have a clue how to actually review a TV program or movie. Their only objective is to try to trash it.

Why do we watch a show on TV? To be entertained. I really enjoyed the old Kung Fu show, but it was totally, yes totally, different from this one. So far after three episodes I have enjoyed this new TV series enough. But I decided to quit watching it simply because I have a certain amount of "viewing time" and this TV show doesn't give me that "I wonder what will happen next week" excitement. However it is a reasonably entertaining show that doesn't deserve the very harsh criticism from some quarters.

Comparing it to an old, totally different show has no merit. But then a few here on IMDb have no clue how to actually review anything.

Needs work

[vengeancegoon · 6/10 · 15 April 2021]

This could have been so much better but fell short.

The series has a decent cast and the fight sequences are probably some of the better ones I've seen in American broadcast TV shows (cable is a different beast). The main characters are likeable and seem to work well together. Changing the lead to female doesn't detract from the story but her becoming a Kung Fu master after 3 years does stretch the imagination a lot.

The backstory setup is pretty lame and feels like it was written last minute because someone didn't know what was going on. I'm guessing there was a dart board with all the tropes on it and whatever the writers hit they added it to the show. Every character seems to fit a role that will further the protagonist's quest a little too easily. What made the original Kung Fu so appealing was the story of a wandering loner helping people along the way, not a group of friends & family members fighting local bad guys. The entire direction of the show is altered in this way.

The camera work is shoddy, the script is pretty poor, and it feels like every procedural show out there. The episode is also peppered with the most awful music, that I can't imagine anyone liking.

Overall it shows some promise and I'm interested to see how it develops, but if it stays at this level of writing and production I'll probably stop watching.

If you really want to see something truly inspired by Bruce Lee with great fight scenes and good production quality I recommend Warrior on Cinemax, head and shoulders over this pilot. Time will tell if this will improve though.

Update: Yeah, this show's a loss, it hasn't got better since the pilot, and although I do like the cast, the stories written for them are pretty poor and sometimes contradictory to what the writing has already established. Feels like the writers are scrambling to come up with some coherence and failing badly. It just feels like a by-the-numbers show that has some heavy exec influence or is being run by people with no experience.

ditches everything from the original series but offers nothing to replace it

[cherold · 3/10 · 29 April 2021]

Kung Fu appears to have been created by someone who hated every single element of the original except the Kung Fu part. Old west to modern day, Man to woman, last-resort fighting to ready-to-rumble, real-word to supernatural elements, isolated loner to deep family connections. If there is any feature you remember from the original besides a monastery premise and a bunch of fight scenes, you can be assured it's not in this version.

It's really hard to understand why they bothered to say this is based on the original, since it's clearly not.

Some changes are good. The lead character is played by an Asian instead of a white guy who doesn't look remotely Asian. Even as a white kid in the 70s that made zero sense to me. And while it's been years since I saw the original, I think the fight scenes are probably better in this one, although no less gratuitous (in the original, Kaine always said he didn't want to fight, but he fought in every episode).

But let's ignore comparisons to the original and just think about this series as though it is a totally new creation. Is it good on its own terms?

Not really. This is your basic CW teen/early adult drama, with annoying pop songs, a bunch of annoying, attractive young people with dubious acting skills, a hey-kids-let's-put-on-an-investigation approach to crime, and a high annoying quotient. As always, I feel obligated to note that I'm an old man who has a lower tolerance for these series than a youngster - if I'm going to watch a teen show, it needs to be as smart and original as Impulse or Sweet/Vicious.

I wish this were an Asian/female version of the original show, with the same Daoist philosophy and unusual approach. But it's not, it's just another CW show that I can do without. But if you like stuff like Riverdale maybe it's the show for you.

Why the bad reviews

[martink1767 · 7/10 · 15 April 2021]

I'm not quite sure why so many bad reviews. The action is fine as well as the acting and characters. Just because it's called king fu it doesn't pretend to be the david carradine version or remake . I'm really enjoying this . Too many people judge on a 1st episode. Warrior had a decent first series then 2nd series not so much . Every series should be given time.

What a lot of rubbish

[bidhen-90383 · 3/10 · 10 April 2021]

I grew up watching so many different Kung Fu series and this is the worst.

Great representation for Asian people

[dcarter-27652 · 10/10 · 17 July 2021]

I truly enjoy the series. I remember the 70's version and was disappointed because Americans should not portray themselves as culturally dominant. This series depicts the cultural heritage of Asians whereas the original Kung Fu lacked realism. I appreciate the drama and the technic is authentic. Great show.

Don't watch if you live in the past

[ryanhadi · 7/10 · 12 June 2021]

This show is building up nicely and although some things may seem a bit too convenient like the gazillions of Hollywood stuff, it's promising. Definitely not for immature viewers who live in bygone days and don't have patience, a virtue practiced by people who actually KNOW Kung fu and not just like to talk about it.

Nice try

[c_sims76 · 3/10 · 8 April 2021]

I really wanted to like this. But with the hokey camera tricks to hide the really poor martial arts. Were you can tell no one is even hit the completely affected. But the story isn't necessarily bad.

I actually like this a lot

[DaeTheRebel · 9/10 · 8 April 2021]

I usually hate CW shows, just can't stand the teen melodrama and soap operaness. But I stumbled across this by accident and it pulled me in. Cool mix of magic and real life, compelling protagonist who made me like her because she just wants to decide her own life. It's not perfect but at least it's not SUPER over-the-top like other CW shows. Will come back next week to see where it goes. Hopefully the story will keep my attention.

Better than average

[boydsnz · 7/10 · 11 June 2021]

The more I watch the more I like this show hence my 7 star rating. Each to their own I say.

an abomination

[fredfredrikfreddyfred · 2/10 · 6 May 2021]

I feel the need to do a hit number on this show. Be forewarned: this is a pure grudge rant!

I wanted to like it and enjoy the new trend of females playing badasses.

The only redeeming quality is it is filmed in San Francisco, which is where I am from. The star even had potential which was wasted.

The original Kung Fu show may have been one of the most influential trend setting shows in television history. I remember watching the first episode as a teenager and my life was forever changed.

Maybe if they had titled this as "emotionally weak, insecure woman child who knows martial arts" I might be more accepting.

I got as far as the middle of the second episode and recognized that it would never develop into something meaningful with substance. Why do I feel so betrayed? I know... I have to get over it.

In summary: BOOO!

What a fun show

[msgigi78 · 7/10 · 26 May 2021]

I didn't watch the original but I love this one! The stories have a mix of both everyday issues (racism, sexual assault) and supernatural elements (ancient daggers, dragons). I also like how they include Chinese traditions and history, I'm learning something new each episode. The cast has a lot of chemistry and the fight scenes are A plus, the fashion and comedic scenes make this show an all around must watch. Please for Season 2.