Kung Pow! Enter the Fist

Have you ever seen a twist on your classic karate movie? If not, here is one. I watched the martial arts comedy movie Kung Pow! Enter the Fist, released on January 25, 2002. Directed by Steve Oedekerk, it takes place in China. Starring Steve Oedekerk, Jimmy Wang Yu, and Fei Lung, it is rated PG-13.

The Chosen One has been training for years to get back at the man who killed his parents when he was a baby. He eventually finds the man, named Master Pain, and must become fully developed as a martial artist to defeat him. With the help of an old master named Master Tang and a love interest named Ling, he needs to stop the bad guy before he takes over with the help of the Evil Council. Can the Chosen One fulfill his destiny?

For years, this movie was seen as one of the worst comedies ever made. As such, I was not interested in it for a while. That changed when I had recently heard that this movie is viewed as a cult classic and I was intrigued enough to check it out. My result is that this is a movie that was greatly misunderstood for years and is a comedy classic that more people need to see. Let us talk about why this film is a comedy classic.

This movie was made by taking clips from a 1976 Hong Kong martial arts film Tiger & Crane Fists, redubbing the movie, inserting characters into the film, and creating new scenes. What you have is one of the most stupidly silly things you could ever watch. I am not familiar with the movie Tiger & Crane Fists, but I might watch it someday because of this movie. The redubbing for this movie is so funny. Hearing ridiculous words being spoken by characters with ridiculous voices had me bursting into laughter almost the entire time. This movie is so quotable because of the absurdity of the dialogue. The new scenes also add to the humor, with weird things happening that go beyond what is considered rational. I will say this is not a movie for everyone, because people who do not like dumb humor are just going to be annoyed throughout. However, if you like this type of humor, you will absolutely love this movie. I will criticize the fact that there are some scenes that fail at being funny, but most of those scenes are hysterical, so I think it works overall.

While the humor is the reason to watch this movie, I do have to give credit to the technical aspect. Steve Oedekerk digitally replaced the main actor of the original movie, Jimmy Wang Yu, and did the redubbing for almost every character. While it is obviously meant to feel like a terrible movie with the horrible dubbing and effects played for humor, it is still impressive that he made this as believable as he did. I feel that a big reason why this was hated at the time is because people did not realize what his intentions were and thought it was just badly made. Now, redubbing movies and shows for comedic effect is popular, so more people are coming around to it.

Overall, this went from a movie I never thought I would want to see to one of my all-time favorite dumb comedies. It is a movie for a specific audience depending on what they are willing to tolerate. People who do not like dumb humor will hate it, while people who like it will love it. It takes genius to make something this dumb, which is something I respect. Something to watch if you just want to have a fun time.

As ridiculous as the scenarios with our martial artist main character were, he still needed to be fit and healthy to fight as well as he did. Exercise is very important to maintain a healthy life. It can keep our weight in check, it can keep our blood pressure in good range, and it releases endorphins to keep us stress free and happy, among other benefits. Unfortunately, too many people are not getting the exercise they need. Maybe it has to do with a busy schedule, maybe they do not have the best access, and maybe they just are not able to motivate themselves to do it. Whatever the reason, this needs to change. If you are someone who does not get enough exercise, set a schedule to find time. If you do not have access, find creative ways to exercise. Going to a gym would not hurt. If you do not have the motivation, find ways to motivate yourself. Maybe give yourself rewards for exercising. If you are getting enough exercise, but someone you are close to is not, try to help them out with the suggestions I gave. Above all, spreading awareness could improve the health of your family and friends. It is important to be healthy, which we can encourage with your help.