Kung Pow! Enter the Fist
by Steve Oedekerk
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Hui Lou Chen, Joon B. Kim, Leo Lee, Michael Li (II), Tad HorinoDirector: Steve Oedekerk
Brand: FOX Home Entertainment
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 81 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2002-07-23
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Movie Reviews of Kung Pow! Enter the Fist
Movie Review: Why rate this intelligently, when it's brilliantly stupid?
Summary: 5 Stars
It's insane, and I'm not talking about the movie... yet. I've seen reviews where the person is straining their vocabulary to make their negative review of this movie sound credible and intelligent. Truthfully, reviews have to be intelligent if they are going to be negative, (the critic's reputation depends on it) but this movie doesn't deserve such spellchecking. It is stupid and wonderful and that's all that matters. Why? That's a question you almost don't need to ask. Either you like this movie or you don't, (but even if you don't you may eventually change your mind).
For the record, writer director Steve Oedekerk has taken an obscure Hong Kong movie from the 70s, digitally transferred it, and incorporated new footage of his own and redubbed the voices for some well needed comedic insanity. The result is something you don't need the IQ of say... a movie critic (*ahem*) to appreciate. Sometimes in life, things don't make sense nor do they need to. I imagine that movie critics would pee themselves if it were the case that every movie have a perfect plot and the same kind of "intellectual" comedy... but what's life without variety? The very fact that this movie, (that some even have the nerve to call the worst ever) has found a nice "cult" fanbase and is rated so highly in fan reviews is proof that movie critics sometimes collectively drop the ball on certain reviews to make themselves appear quite respectable... they should be thanking their lucky stars that they have a job at all.
The plot itself is very typical, (as far as the kung-fu master seeking revenge bit goes) although it isn't necessary to enjoy the movie. A special child is born to a small family in ancient China, and according to prophecy a child such as this (with a special "birthmark") is destined to stop the holy council from it's diabolical plan, (which we may not know until the second movie). Thusly, a gang of murderers lead by Master Pain goes to the family's home to murder them and wipe out the child... The Chosen One. Master Pain kills the family, however he finds out very quickly that killing Chosen, even as a baby, is not so easy. Chosen is very skilled in kung-fu, even in infancy (and here begins the insanity) and he fights Master Pain's attacks off quite skillfully. In a rage Master Pain barracades the child in the family's house and burns it to the ground.
Chosen jumps out and barely escapes the flames, only to crawl away and roll down a very long and (very rocky) hill. He is found near the middle by a peasant woman, who picks him up... and drops him once again to roll down the rest of the hill. That very act should set up how ridiculous this movie is going to be. If you aren't prepared for these kinds of surprizes to continue, then this movie isn't for you. Chosen One then is found and raised by rodents (cheap joke but certainly nowhere near the best in the movie). Throughout his life he is hunted, and so constantly fighting for his life his fighting skills are quite amazing as he walks along... searching for Master Pain, to kill him and avenge his family.
In the vien of Airplane, Naked Gun and Hot Shots, this movie is complete lunacy... even more-so than those mentioned if you can imagine that. Some have compared it to Woody Allen's "What's Up Tiger Lily?" because it combines old movie footage with new footage, but that's where the similarity ends. Steve Oedekerk wanted complete freedom from the constraints of comedy rules for this movie, and that's exactly what we get. However unlike the similar genre of improvisational comedy, this movie is edited to include the most funny moments and dialogue (mostly). Some notions in life are thought about too much when the solution is obvious, so for this movie you may have to regress a little bit to realise how funny it can be (whatever substances you may or may not use to do so is out of my control). And there are all different kinds of laughs to be appreciated here. Most of them are things I'd forgotten was funny during my childhood, but that's not to say that they are completely immature.
Maybe some reviewers felt the need to bash Steve Oedekerk because he not only starred in the movie, but he also wrote it, directed it, produced it, and did most of the voice overs. And while it may seem arrogant, nothing could be further from the truth. This was an experiment... just like the anime Furi Kuri, or the first Star Wars movie, or video games like the original Super Mario Bros., and as such I'm sure that the director may have concluded that the results could have completely backfired. However the results are in fact more impressive than most of Steve's other works like the "Thumbs" series or Jimmy Neutron, or even Ace Ventura. He could have easily gone the way of complete gross-out jokes that many former SNL cast member's seem so commited to, (vile though they may be) ...he could have throw a lot of sex and flashy images at the audience, he could have even vindictively directly parodied certain films which "deserve" it. But he kept things in balance, and he directs with a kind of innocence (that oddly went against Ace Ventura's character traits for the sequel he directed).
The original movie from which half of this film is taken, (called Tiger and Crane Fists) was directed by Jimmy Wang Yu, and Oedekerk directed his film in exactly the same way. Even when fighting a computer generated cow, the footage matches the old footage extremely well, (although the DVD version cleans the newer footage up a bit too well). There is some very good composit work done to make Steve O fit into the old footage, many are love connection scenes with a character from the original film named Ling. The curly cues on her face and cute demeanor would make anyone swoon. Other original film characters make similarly interesting appearances, such as Master Tang of the crane style Kung Fu school. He becomes likable because of Steve's silly voice over and his hilarious dialogue. And the humor in the antics of the individual characters is where the movie shines, even though the new footage has it's moments, the re-edited old footage feels like long lost comedic genius that was lost in time. Steve must be thanked for fleshing this idea out.
So what's so funny? There are some jokes about bodily fluids, but they are somewhat clever yet unique. Still they are few and far between, so you needn't worry. Most of the jokes are about the ridiculous English dubbing and strange scenerios made in Hong Kong movies of the 70s, literal impossiblities of time and space, and how often times heros and villians over-emphasize their strengths. And they are easily grasped once you appreciate the actual voice work, (if sometimes needing a "getting used to") which was done entirely by Steve Oedekerk with one exception. Some reviewers have gone on record to say that the jokes repeat themselves making the movie too long of a skit, I never felt such a feeling when watching the movie and as of yet have no idea of what they're referring to.
-So 5 stars? Yes.
-Why? Because the movie does exactly what it's supposed to, it's extremely funny if you aren't too high brow of a movie expert, plus the DVD is packed with extras.
-Would you recommend this to anyone? Yes, and everyone. Everyone should see this movie at least once, but not take it so seriously.
-Is the DVD worth buying? Yes, because you gain a lot of insight into the reasons for the making of this movie, how the movie was made, and the extras are plentiful (even more-so than some supposedly "big" movies). You can even watch the movie with the original Mandarin Chinese and Gibberish English dialogue done before Odedekerk's voice overs.
-Who is Tonguey? You'll just have to find out.
-Will there be a sequel? Supposedly we'll be seeing Kung Pow 2: Tongue of Fury in 2006, hopefully... cross your fingers with eyeballs on the ends of them.
Summary of Kung Pow! Enter the Fist
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