Well Go needs to be saluted for bringing some of the best action films being made to the world. While many are unexposed to the films being made in China, Well Go has attempted to make them as easily accessible as any other foreign film. The result is being able to watch some of the most creative film being made, some of the funniest comedies and some of the best action films around. KUNG FU LEAGUE is a perfect combination of humor and action and needs to be seen.

Directed by Jeffrey Lau who was responsible for the amazing film KUNG FU HUSTLE, he once again combines those two genres perfectly here. The story revolves around Fei Ying Xiong (Ashin),who watches the woman of his dreams Bao'er (Madina Memet) every day at the office without proclaiming his love for her. Drawing comics including the 4 masters of kung fu coming to his aid he's about to give her the comic as well as a love letter to her when they bump into one another and the pages go flying everywhere. Before he can give her the letter the president of the company they both work for Zhang Peng (Steven Zhang). It seems that Zhang has had his eye on Bao'er as well.

While on his way home, soaked in a downpour that pops up, Xiong screams at the sky. It's his birthday and everything is going wrong. His wish for his birthday is that the 4 heroes he adores come to his aid and help him find a solution.

The film cuts to the past, in particular the home of Master Wong Fei-Hung (Wenzhou Zhao) where his betrothed is praying for guidance since she has been with him for years waiting for marriage but has met another man she'd rather be with. Before we can learn who this man is or how the situation will be dealt with, Wong is whisked away to the present where he meets two more displaced men, Huo Yuan Jia (Andy On) and his student Chen Zhen aka Bruce Lee (Kwok-Kwan Chan).

Landing in the middle of a movie set the trio are pursued by the director of the film shooting in hopes of getting them to sign on to his next film. While they escape they come across another displaced person in the form of famed martial artist Ip Man (Yu-Hang To). As they discuss their situation we learn that Jia is the man Wong's betrothed was speaking of and some of the humor comes in the form of Jia and Zhen making sure that Wong doesn't find out.

The four men realize that something has brought them here but they still don't know what. When they finally meet up with Xiong he's thrilled to see them there to aid him and his birthday wish coming true. But how can they help him? It becomes apparent when they all see a special martial arts battle is being held in a nearby stadium and sponsored by Peng. Xiong is supposed to meet Bao'er there but Pend has something he uses as leverage to keep him from telling her how he feels.

Now the 4 heroes of the past must not only help Xiong discover the true hero in himself, they must help him rise to the occasion to fight for what he believes in. Another twists finds the 4 heroes fighting for their own lives against an enemy none of them saw coming. Can Xiong be helped? Can the 4 heroes return to their own times? And will love conquer all?

The path to finding out the answers to all of these questions is filled with plenty of non-stop action and laughs. Like his previous KUNG FU HUSTLE Lau shows an adeptness for combining skilled camera work and storytelling to move things forward and have you laughing at the same time. The interaction between characters lends itself to most of the humor and the high-wire work and martial arts skills of all on board make it a movie that entertains from start to finish.

Is the end result as good as KUNG FU HUSTLE? Perhaps not quite as good but that film would be hard to match. Taken on its own terms this movie was a ton of fun to watch and enjoy. Where some performances are lost in translation that's not the case here as all the actors play their roles perfectly. That they can do so and make themselves believable while subtitles let you know what they're saying is a testament to their abilities.

I had a lot of fun watching this movie, finding myself laughing out loud on occasion. That doesn't happen nearly enough these days. I enjoyed it from start to finish and know I'll be popping this disc in again in the future and will enjoy it all over again. Perhaps as a good double feature night with KUNG FU HUSTLE. Make a point of adding it to your collection as well.

Kung Fu League is a quirky Hong Kong action-comedy movie that goes back to the genre's golden era in the late eighties and early nineties. You will only fully appreciate this film if you are familiar with those movies as the four characters from the past who help the protagonist are obviously inspired by historical figures but also popular movies such as the Once Upon a Time in China and Ip Man franchises.

The story itself is rather nonsensical. A shy comic book artist has a romantic interest in a cute colleague and former school pal but their head manager also has an eye on her and humiliates the artist quite often. The depressed protagonist summons four legendary martial arts masters from his stories to help him. They arrive in present-day Hong Kong and are quite confused by contemporary customs. Upon meeting the shy artist, they want to help him participate in a martial arts tournament to face off against his bully and impress his love interest. The bully however has no intention to give his opponent a chance and turns out being even nastier than expected as he attempts to reach his goals by any means necessary. Things also start getting complicated among the four martial arts masters as three of them have a relationship with the same woman while the other one is an untalented impostor.

This movie convinces with excellent situation comedy and numerous quirky allusions to Hong Kong cinema classics. The fight sequences are intriguing and especially the final duels are truly intense. The clumsy protagonist and his innocent love interest are sympathetic and it's easy to root for them to get together.

On the negative side, the movie overuses special effects from time to time which gets particularly obvious in the final duels. A more natural approach to those scenes would have made them even more energetic. Not all the slapstick jokes work particularly well as some scenes are rather silly but the film's steady pace makes you forget those minor inconveniences rather quickly.

Invite your friends, switch your brain off and enjoy this nostalgic but energetic Hong Kong action-comedy movie to the fullest. It might not win any awards for creativity but it's thoroughly entertaining. Kung Fu League is a feast for genre fans and much better than its negative reputation.

"Kung Fu League" (aka "Gong fu lian meng") was a movie that I didn't even know about before now late in 2019. I was given the chance, and of course I did take it as I enjoy Asian cinema.

I wasn't sure what to expect from this movie, but I was convinced that it would be a martial arts movie. I hadn't expected it to also be a funny movie, so it was a nice experience to sit down and watch the movie.

Sure, the storyline wasn't all that impressive, but still it was entertaining enough, and the fact that the comedy, the acting performances and the martial arts helped lift up the movie definitely made it all the more enjoyable to watch.

The movie is over-the-top, so you shouldn't sit down and watch this movie with an intention of watching a realistic martial arts movie - but then again, how many realistic martial arts movies make it out of the Chinese cinema?

What worked well in the movie, for me at least, was the acting performances by the good ensemble of casted actors and actresses that they had managed to get together for the movie. That and also the comedy elements that the movie had to it.

My rating of "Kung Fu League" is six out of ten stars.