Fei Ying Xiong, an indigent comic book artist, is romantically interested in Bao’er, but the head manager of their company, who also has an interest in Bao’er, prevents that from happening. So, he summons four legendary Kung Fu masters to learn the highest level of martial arts and help him get his girl.
Fei Ying Xiong (Ashin) is a timid and talented comic book illustrator. He pines over a co-worker Bao’er (Madina Memet) whom his boss also has an obsessive interest in (being a woman is difficult anywhere in the world). Xiong believes four long-dead men can help him achieve in relationship with Bao’er. In a lazy homage or possibly just outdated storytelling, a desperate drunken birthday wish summons four Kung Fu masters of Chinese folklore. Legends like Wong Fei-Hong and Ip Man are called upon to help an incel get laid! It’s as preposterous as it sounds and the movie doesn’t fare or recover from its ludicrous plot.
I grew up loving movies based on Wong Fe-Hong, Jet Li played the famous character three times and he was considered a hero. In “Kung Fu League” he’s reduced to a smirking imbecile, a far cry from Li’s excellent portrayal. Xiong crosses into his illustration world that’s poorly conceived and executed. The world looks like “Take on Me” by A-Ha or unused conceptual footage from Linklater’s “A Scanner Darkly.” Fei-Hong enters our world on the set of a modern-day action film. He impresses the director and meets another famous counterpart, Bruce Lee. Tarantino’s portrayal of Lee in “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” had a much more interesting albeit trolling and cheeky approach than this. There’s a lot of reckoning with how these ancient men react to the modern world but it’s all uninspiring and falls flat. One scene, in particular, introduces the men to fast food, they enter a McDonald’s and for some bizarre marketing ploy, are encouraged to kiss for a free meal. It’s only a modicum of “Kung Fu League”’s problematic screenplay.
Ultimately, “Kung Fu League” is a cheesy indulgent action outing. I found it difficult to suspend disbelief and I refuse to allow a birthday wish as the basis for an actual story. That concept was used up in “Big” with Tom Hanks over 30 years ago. The other glaring issue is the lack of solid fight choreography, I can generally deal with a thin story if you can back it up with some genuinely great set pieces. Like a song with terrible lyrics, if at least the beat or melody is nice, you can usually still enjoy it. If you’re looking for properly funny and innovative action, I highly recommend Stephen Chow’s “Kung Fu Hustle.”
Available on Blu-ray™ Combo, DVD and Digital September 17th
