[KFCC] Everyone is Kung Fu Fighting Review

Story:

Gung Ho: A Sprite TV commercial spoof in which a Sammo Hung type character saves a desperate girl from evil gangsters.

Crouching Waiter, Hidden Chef: Two clueless idiots go to a Chinese restaurant to make fun of the waiter, until the crazy chief decides to kick them out.

Kung Fu Legends: Turbo Edition: Inspired by videogames such as 'Mortal Kombat' and 'Street Fighter', it features characters and hyper-dynamic action that seems to come directly from a Beat-em-up.

Prison Warz: Prisoners have to fight to the death in teams of two. With no guards in the warehouse, only the best will come out alive.

Dare: A Special Force Army man, helped by two beautiful reporters, has to fight bad guys and capture their boss.

Kaela: In a short film in the style of a trailer, a schoolgirl turns into a deadly Karate-ka to escape from some bad guys.

Cradle of The Blind: Two adversaries fight each other in a dojo.

Teamwork 2: Featuring the 'Stunt People', the story resolves around two brothers who intercept a drug deal communication. Trying to spy on the gangsters, one of the brothers is kidnapped, and now the other brother needs to bring back the recorded tape in exchange for his brother's life.

Collection Agency: The guys from 'Kwoon' have to get back the money that gangsters owe them for buying a lot of swords. However, the gangsters are more interested in getting rid of the guys rather than paying the bill.

Review: This Independent DVD release from distributor A55 Films features a lot of interesting content for Martial art fans, especially those who like short movies. Of course, most of these movies feature amateur work, but some of them are very impressive. I won't go into too many details for each movie, as most of them don’t have a deep plot or detailed stories, so instead I will concentrate on the action.

'Gung Ho' is a very well made small production featuring Jeff Centauri (the main guy behind A55 Films) dressed up as Sammo Hung. The fighting and camera work are really good, and the movie also features some nice humour. The next short, 'Crouching Waiter, Hidden Chef', centers around two guys who go to a Chinese restaurant, but the two are real morons and they manage to make an enemy of the chef. The humour is really simple and idiotic but the short starts to get more interesting in the second part, when the fighting finally kicks in. It's a bit slow and choppy and sometimes, looking more like a wrestling match than martial arts combat, but these guys still did a great job and had fun doing it.

'Kung fu Legend' is one of the best of the compilation. If you are a video game fan, you’re going to love it. The short doesn’t feature the best fighting, but contains the best visual effects and the most innovative ideas. It plays just like a videogame, with voice-over narrative cut-scenes, and fighting with special powers - it's a lot of fun. If 'Kung fu Legend' presents the best visuals, 'Prison Warz' steals the prize for the best fighting. Featuring five Tae Kwon Do martial artists, the action takes place in a warehouse. There’s no dialogue, but the camera work is great and the fighting is very impressive and fun to watch.

'Dare' is also another Jeff Centauri production, but unlike 'Gung Ho' this is one of the director's early projects. The short film has a very lousy story and features quick editing and close-up camera work, which makes the fighting dizzying and a bit hard for the viewer to follow. 'Kaela' is also less than impressive. They used the idea of editing the short as a trailer, which is good, but leaves the project without a real conclusion. Fighting is quick and little is shown, which is a bit disappointing, as the schoolgirl idea was great at the beginning. 'Cradle of The Blind' is not much better as it only show two guys fighting in a dojo. The camera is nice but the fighting is obviously unrealistic, but it shows great determination. A bit of a story would have been a nice addition.

The last two films are amongst the best shorts in the compilation. 'Teamwork 2' features great fighting based around an ordinary plot. The team also show a few stunts a la 'Yamakasi', it's not as impressive as the real French guys, but still great to watch. The fighting is also impressive with a lot of hard falls on the ground, great kicking ability and also a little weapon fighting, all this performed along with with funny dialogue. The last film (but not the least), features the guys from 'The Kwoon', who we interviewed at KFC Cinema a few years ago. 'Collection Agency' is probably their best work to date, with a decent plot, great fighting and a lot of comedy relief; this is indeed what I call a great Kung Fu short. I hope they can release more stuff in the near future, as they deserve more exposure.