Kung Fu VS Acrobatic (1990)

Not enough Wong Jing-ness

Offering up a weird, part quasi-spiritual sequel to his own remake of Buddha's Palm and part spoof of the whole phenomenon, Taylor Wong's Kung Fu Vs. Acrobatic is a gloriously scrappy feast of pure adrenaline, minimal budget and maximum commitment. Far from polished and definitely not subtle, there's an attempt at crafting a modern-day homage to the black and white Chinese fantasy flicks of yesteryear; unfortunately, that all seems to have been thrown out from the moment the opening credits have finished rolling. The film has all the right ingredients for a lively, engaging romp, but the concept seems to have been stretched to 100 minutes, which ultimately feels longer than anyone on set had material for. It definitely feels like the sort of film that Wong Jing would have been better off directing himself, as Taylor Wong's direction is fine for what it is. It just leans way too far into uninspired slapstick, complete with obnoxious sound effects, despite the presence of a few good jokes, Yuen Wah's hitherto unheralded break-dancing skills and the sudden appearance of a mystical hammer-wielding cartoon ninja turtle. The action certainly speaks louder, and the film's cast is clearly putting in more effort than necessary, with Andy Lau having a limitless amount of charisma to burn, and the gorgeous Joey Wong is merely reduced to window dressing, presumably drumming her fingers whenever she's offscreen. Ultimately, despite some genuine enthusiasm here and there, Kung Fu Vs. Acrobatic amounts to little more than daft fun; had it been made a couple of years later, perhaps it would have found better luck, but as it stands, it's a lacklustre, oddly disheartening send-up of films that were far wittier and imaginative.

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