House of Fury

Background
Wire-fu is one of my favorite genres when it comes to Chinese cinema. It is exactly what it sounds like - kung fu movies where the stunts are performed with wires. This often leads to very unbelievable stunts - remember the last fight in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", or Jet Li running on water in "Hero"? However, wire-fu is not supposed to look real, it is supposed to be fantastic, over the top and spectacular.

One of the true masters of wire-fu as well as traditional kung fu choreography is Yuen Woo-ping, who choreographed the action sequences in films like "Last Hero in China", Jackie Chan's "Drunken Master", "Fist of Legend", "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", "Kung Fu Hustle", "The Matrix" and many, many more. His latest film is "House of Fury". And yes, I say that it is his film, and not Stephen Fung's, who directed it. Why? Read on and I wil let you know.

Story
Veteran actor Anthony Wong stars as Yue Siu Bo, a former bodyguard to secret agents, now making a living as a chiropractor. After his wife died, he has raised his two children, Natalie and Nicky, on his own. They have heard their father's stories, but never believed any of them. The two siblings constantly fight, and since Siu Bo has taught them kung fu, we get to see the greatest fight for the remote ever caught on film, as well as some under-the-dinner-table-kicking that is really pretty funny to watch.

One day Siu Bo is kidnapped by a very Bond-esque baldheaded badguy in a wheelchair. He wants to know the location of an old, retired agent, who is responsible for putting the badguy in the wheelchair in the first place. Using a truth serum, he finds out that the identity of the agents are being kept in two memory sticks, placed within two necklaces that Siu Bo's children wear, without knowing their true contents.

Mr. Badguy sends his cronies - all very stylishly dressed in black - to retrieve the necklaces. However, since the two siblings are skilled fighters, we're up for a lot of fighting, a few wire stunts and then some more fighting.

Verdict
This is no masterpiece. Don't expect a new "Legend of Drunken Master" or "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon". This was made purely out of commercial interest. That, however, does not mean that it is bad. In fact, it is a very entertaining and rather funny action-comedy, with a strong emphasis on action.

Anthony Wong is as good as his role permits him to be, which is not nearly enough for an actor of his caliber. Gillian Chung, on the other hand, who plays Natalie, is amazing. Yes, yes, she is very easy on the eyes, but she's also got some pretty serious kung fu moves. Granted, she's no Zhang Ziyi, but don't be surprised if she becomes the next cute-as-a-button-star in a whole lot of less serious kung fu flicks.

Director Stephen Fung also plays Nicky, Natalie's brother. This is just his second attempt at directing, but I'd advise him to stick to acting. Why so, you may ask? After all, I just said it's a good film, right? Yes, but that is all thanks to the aforementioned Yuen Woo-ping. Without the many, many fights and his great choreography, this would not have been nearly as entertaining. However, thanks to Yuen, this is a movie I would recommend to anyone wanting to be entertained without having to think. It's fun, fast and filled with fighting.'