Avis des critiques

In this throwback to the wild-and-crazy Hong Kong movies of yesteryear, bad guys leap _over_ flocks of birds, film sets are cleared for box-cutter-vs.-20-foot-pipe duels, and combat takes place atop giant human skeletons... The plot is sometimes ridiculous, but by the time Yen and Wang square off on a busy highway full of hurtling big rigs, who cares? Let's fight!

I'm looking forward to a few of these behemoths, namely Mad Max: Fury Road and San Andreas, but for the most part I prefer to retreat to action films more human-scaled during the sweaty months. Which is why Teddy Chen's Kung Fu Killer is my summer movie of the year. Garnering a limited stateside theatrical release from the invaluable Well Go USA, it's a cleverly conceived Hong Kong fight film.

Balanced on the razor edge between parody and the real thing, Teddy Chan's Kung Fu Killer combines two B-movie pleasures—the rote serial killer procedural and the wire-assisted kung fu stunt—into a flurry of snapped elbows, shattering furniture, and ba-dunk sound effects.

Mr. Chen, who teamed with Mr. Yen for the superior "Bodyguards and Assassins," scatters references to Hong Kong martial arts classics. But while he has impressive fists of fury in both Mr. Yen and Mr. Wang, "Kung Fu Killer" lacks the brio and spice of its ancestors.

It's a pity that it's an undeniably bland film in style and story, despite a few elaborately staged fight sequences... Some will be captivated by the climactic wooden-staff battle on a busy highway, while others might prefer to rewatch The Raid — the new gold standard in bone-crunching physicality.