Kung Fu Hustle

Kung Fu Hustle (2005)

  • 90% of critics liked it
    (181 reviews)

  • 85% of users liked it
    (222,729 ratings)

The work of international superstar Stephen Chow, Kung Fu Hustle is a humorous, special-effects-filled, action-packed martial arts epic set in early '40s China. A bumbling thief named Sing (Stephen Chow) desires to be the toughest member of the dreaded gangster hit squad known as The Axe Gang,… More

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In Theaters
Apr 8, 2005 Limited
Sony Pictures Classics

Critic Reviews

  • David Ansen, Newsweek

    So disarmingly eager to please that only a stone-faced kung fu purist could object.

  • Ken Tucker, New York Magazine

    Chow's movie may seem nutty on the surface, but its slyness, its dreamy unfolding of so many moods and genres, becomes intoxicating.

  • Desson Thomson, Washington Post

    Kung Fu Hustle snaps and crackles like nuclear popcorn on a scorching griddle.

  • Ann Hornaday, Washington Post

    But for all its stylishness, verve and moments of visual poetry, the relentlessly punishing slapstick and overall cruel tone left me cold.

  • Geoff Pevere, Toronto Star

    Retrieving the martial arts movie from the gentrified middlebrow tastefulness of movies like House of Flying Daggers is only one item on Kung Fu Hustle's agenda.

Read all 21 critic reviews

See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

  • Albert K


    I seem to be the only one that did not enjoy this movie. I found the comedy to be way too elementary. I ended up not laughing too much. (It's been a while since I've watched this movie so bear with me).

  • xGary X


    An inept would be gangster inadvertently causes a war between a tap dancing, axe wielding gang and a poor rural village which unwittingly acted as a retirement community for ex-martial arts masters. The follow up to Stephen Chow's amusing genre send up Shaolin Soccer, Kung Fu… More

  • Jan Marc M


    Kung Fu Hustle guarantees entertainment with intense, wild, and creative martial arts.

  • Lewis C


    This movie is a gem. Let's go ahead and get that out of the way! Wildly inventive and relentlessly funny, Kung Fu Hustle is one of the most entertaining light-hearted martial arts flicks that you'll ever see. From the dance numbers of the Axe Gang, to the surprising… More

  • Universal D


    Poetry. And funny too.

Read all 20 featured audience ratings

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