Movie · 2004 · Action, Comedy, Crime, Fantasy · 1h 39m · R · CN
Curator score: 8.2/10 (368.8K ratings)
So many gangsters… so little time.
Overview
It's the 1940s, and the notorious Axe Gang terrorizes Shanghai. Small-time criminals Sing and Bone hope to join, but they only manage to make lots of very dangerous enemies. Fortunately for them, kung fu masters and hidden strength can be found in unlikely places. Now they just have to take on the entire Axe Gang.
Ratings
Curator score: 8.2/10
IMDb: 7.7/10
Letterboxd: 4.01/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 90%
Metacritic: 78
TMDB: 7.5/10
Director
Stephen Chow
Production
Huayi Brothers & Taihe Film Investment, Star Overseas, Beijing Film Studio, CP Film Production Asia, China Film Group Corporation
Cast
Stephen Chow, Yuen Qiu, Yuen Wah, Lam Tze-Chung, Bruce Leung Siu-Lung, Eva Huang Shengyi, Danny Chan Kwok-Kwan, Chiu Chi-Ling, Xing Yu, Zhihua Dong, Tenky Tin Kai-Man, Lam Suet, Kang Xi Jia, Fung Hak-On, Feng Xiaogang, Yuen Cheung-Yan, Zhang Yibai, Jiarui Ren, Ding Xiaolong, Zhang Mingming
Curator Review
Verdict
A wildly inventive kung fu comedy that turns gang warfare into cartoon physics, slapstick spectacle, and genuine crowd-pleasing action. It’s fast, absurd, and surprisingly heartfelt, with visual invention that keeps escalating until the finale feels like a live-action comic book fever dream.
Best for
fans of high-energy action comedies
viewers who like broad slapstick and visual gags
kung fu movie fans open to parody and fantasy
people who enjoy imaginative practical effects and stylized fight choreography
Skip if
you dislike exaggerated humor or cartoon logic
you want grounded crime drama or realistic martial arts
you prefer subtle comedy over loud, maximalist set pieces
Overview
Stephen Chow’s film is a delirious blend of gangster movie, wuxia fantasy, and old-school slapstick, built around a simple rise-and-fall story that keeps mutating into bigger, stranger set pieces. It has the confidence to be silly at full volume, and that commitment is what makes the action land so hard: every fight feels like a punchline and a showcase at once.
Worth noting
What stands out most is the film’s visual imagination. Characters are introduced with comic-book flair, ordinary spaces become battle arenas, and the choreography keeps finding new ways to surprise without losing clarity. The movie is also smarter than its chaos suggests, sneaking in themes of hidden talent, social status, and the idea that heroism can come from the least likely people.
Bottom line
Even if the humor doesn’t always translate perfectly for every viewer, the sheer invention is hard to resist. It’s one of those rare action comedies that feels genuinely alive, as if every scene was designed to top the last one with more wit, more motion, and more joy.
Top Letterboxd reviews
demi adejuyigbe (4.5★) · 2905 likes
Hahahahahaha are you fucking kidding me?????
An embarrassment to modern American “comedy.” Never seen a movie so thoroughly commit its budget and effort to just pure goofery. Fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun!!! A live-action animated kung fu gangster western in a fantasy world where landlords are awesome... only in The Movies!!
David Sims (4.5★) · 2533 likes
every movie should have this plot and feature these characters and images
karen h. (4★) · 2173 likes
there is nothing in this world more glee-inducing than the reveal of each kung fu master’s signature move
Edgar Cochran ✝️🍋 (5★) · 1437 likes
"Jackie Chan and Buster Keaton meet Quentin Tarantino and Bugs Bunny."
I really think Roger Ebert's comment perfectly explains it.
96/100
adambolt (3★) · 1327 likes
the lads and i having a group pissing session on this random child we just bullied