Hustled me!

I am stunned by the absolute brilliance of Kung Fu Hustle. I expected a farcical poke at Kung Fu. Instead I got a range of emotion and depth to rival any great movie. Absolutely ridiculous premise and yet somehow the story turns ridiculous into unforgettable.

The story depth goes as low as a group of boys urinating on a weaker one (our hero) to silly like the Man and Woman master commenting that (our hero) would likely end up being a stunt man someday when he grows up. A love story that somehow fits in the middle of unrelenting kung fu. Gangs convincingly ferocious, and characters we love and hate.

There is good and bad, growth and change, surprises and plenty of laughter. The kung fu seems to go over the edge and somehow gets to a place that makes it convincingly unbelievable. We would expect as much from these "Masters".

The imagination to use musicians to fling swords and dead warriors from their stringed instrument. To use unbearable landlords as heroes. Great warriors were popping up in the rank and file, you never knew who the next fighter would be.

It spoke to greatness being tied to simplicity, speed to being still, and character as something worth improving. A wonderfully morally immoral kung fu comedy of heroic proportions. I was grateful for the "Hustle" and I'm going to go watch it again right now.