Kung Fu Hustle

If you're looking for a movie where you get to see a woman who can hit a higher note than Mariah Carey on a good day, a man who thinks he's a frog, a Road Runner/Wile E Coyote style chase and a group of bad guys that dance as well as a bunch of Backstreet Boys groupies, then you've come to the right place.

Kung Fu Hustle has about as many references to every movie as it can fit into the space of 90 minutes and, believe me, it does it in style. One minute you could be watching the intro, which is similar to the intro to Men In Black, the next you're watching fight scenes that look like they were missed out of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Movie similarities aside, you can tell that the director's vision was simple - spoof every movie and throw it together with a plot that has so many coincidences that you leave the cinema, thinking "Wow, why doesn't life happen in that way?"

Kung Fu Hustle tells the story of a good guy, Sing (co-writer/director Stephen Chow), trying his best to be a bad guy and how no one will take him seriously. I think what you're supposed to get from this is try and try again and if that doesn't work just let out the kung fu master in yourself.

Anyway, Sing wants to be a member of the baddest gang in town, the Axe Gang, and when his attempts to overthrow the small community of Pig Sty Alley goes tits up he decides that the best plan of action is to run away. This is understandable when he realises that the small community is inhabited by kids with more muscles than Arnie when he was six and a barber who, as well as being the biggest pansy in town, is also a master of martial arts. The Axe Gang tries to take on the residents of Pig Sty, but come out the losers so its up to their leader, Brother Sum (Kwok Kuen Chan), to find a new way of dealing with the problem.

Everything about this movie is great, from the performances to the perfectly choreographed fight scenes (I meant it when I said they could have been in Crouching Tiger) to the special effects. This movie will leave you wanting more.

Kung Fu Hustle is for anyone who enjoys a movie based on the principal that it's meant to do one thing - entertain. And believe me it does just that.