Kung Pow: Enter the Fist (2002)
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The story
A man known as The Chosen One travels from town to town seeking the man who murdered his family when he was a baby. He encounters Master Tang, a sickly and slightly deranged sifu, who agrees to train him in martial arts after seeing his sentient tongue, Tonguey. The Chosen One joins two other students: Wimp Lo, who was trained incorrectly as a joke, and Ling, who harbors romantic feelings for him. While training, The Chosen One displays cartoon-like feats of strength. However, his journey is complicated by the arrival of Master Pain, the man who killed his parents, who has recently arrived in town and demonstrated his skills to the local mayor.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
The Chosen One, a man seeking the murderer of his family, trains under the deranged Master Tang alongside Wimp Lo and Ling. After discovering that Master Pain (now calling himself Betty) has arrived in town, The Chosen One attempts to train but is easily defeated. A mysterious one-breasted woman named Whoa warns him not to fight Betty, but he ignores her. He encounters Moo Nieu, a karate-gifted cow, whom he incapacitates by milking her. After a confrontation at a waterfall where Ling's father, Master Doe, is wounded and later dies, Ling confesses her love for The Chosen One. The Chosen One consults a lion named Mu-Shu Fasa for advice and discovers Betty has taken over the town. After finding his friends maimed, The Chosen One trains to find Betty's weakness: pyramid spikes in his chest. He successfully pulls them out, but is beaten by Betty after the French alien Evil Council grants Betty supernatural powers. In a final battle, The Chosen One's sentient tongue, Tonguey, flies out of his mouth to destroy the Evil Council's mother ship. This leaves Betty vulnerable, allowing The Chosen One to rip out the spikes and kill him. The film ends with The Chosen One returning home with Ling, followed by a teaser for a sequel.
- First release year
- 2002
- Runtime (minutes)
- 81
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Steve Oedekerk
- Writers
- Steve Oedekerk · writer
- Cast and characters
- Steve Oedekerk · The Chosen One; Jennifer Tung · Whoa; Leo Lee · Young Master Pain/Fei Lung body double for new footage; Alejandro Olazabal · The Chosen One as a baby; Hui Lou Chen · Master Tang (archival footage); Fei Lung · Master Pain a.k.a. "Betty" (archival footage); Ling Ling Tse · Ling (archival footage); Lin Yan · Dying Ling/Ling Ling Tse body double for new footage
- Genres
- martial arts comedy; parody
- Themes
- vengeance; martial arts training; parody
- Tone and mood
- humorous; off-the-wall; parodic
- Premise and plot tags
- martial arts; comedy; parody; slapstick
- Source material / true-story basis
- Tiger & Crane Fists (also called The Savage Killers) starring and directed by Jimmy Wang Yu
- Reception
- Despite a negative critical reception, the film was a moderate box office success, grossing $17 million worldwide against a $10 million budget. It has since been considered a cult classic for its off-the-wall humor and parodying of various dubbing tropes.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 13% · review count: 55; Metacritic · score: 14 · scale: 100 · review count: 14
- Production trivia
- The film uses footage from the 1976 film Tiger & Crane Fists.; Steve Oedekerk digitally inserted himself over Jimmy Wang Yu in many scenes.; Oedekerk re-dubbed all of the original cast's voices himself.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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