New Kung Fu Cult Master

Jing Wong takes another stab at Kung Fu Cult Master. Though I appreciated the chaos of the original, the film didn't do particularly well. Now it comes with the backing of a wealthier industry, which gave Wong more room to create a film that could live up to its source material. I personally don't think this first half is better than Wong's original adaptation, but opinions may differ.

Even though the plot is now split into two separate parts, it's still pretty messy. Wu Ji is a young kid, orphaned when his dad gets entangled in a martial arts dispute and meets his death in an ambush. Ji fades into anonymity after that, but when he grows older he'll find that it is impossible to escape his fate, as he gets sucked into the drama between the different martial arts clans once more.

With people like Louis Koo and Donnie Yen on the poster, you may expect a new, grand Hong Kong spectacle, but their parts are rather minor. The film is a lot more serious too compared to the original, Wong can rely on decades worth of experience to turn this into an amusing reboot. A bit too long and not quite hectic enough for my taste, but I had a lot of fun with it and will be happy to tackle the second part when it arrives.