Blind purchases/rentals are dangerous for a couple of reasons, mostly because you run the risk of not liking what you spent money on. Unfortunately, I have been burnt by KUNG FU BROTHER, a self-billed "action comedy" starring, written, and directed by Marcus Aurelius (Pep in FULL CONTACT, not to be confused with the Chow Yun-Fat film of the same name). I literally just found out about this film today while browsing news headlines, and the title alone intrigued me. I like cheesy action movies, and I had modest hopes that this one would be entertaining, at the least. What I didn't expect was this to be a no-budget stinker, the likes of which I haven't seen since THE ROOM. Granted, KUNG FU BROTHER is a little bit more competent than THE ROOM, but only by a small margin. Aside from the genre difference, this film does have some decent fight sequences and doesn't quite seem like it was filmed all in the same place. Marcus Aurelius also has the distinction of being the best actor out of the entire cast. A lot of his dry remarks were witty, but not in a "laugh your butt off" kind of way. Everything else in the film just reeked of amateurism, from the variable video quality and student film-level special effects, to the poor excuse for a plot, laughable dialogue, and equally laughable delivery of said dialogue. If the filmmakers were going for some level of dramatic authenticity which, by the tone and content of certain scenes they might have been, then it was an utter failure. Otherwise, it was an odd mix of drama and comedy where the performers weren't up to the task in selling either (save, Marcus Aurelius). The plot was kind of interesting, involving three cops and a reporter who go to Thailand on the trail of a murderer who is trying to collect six magical scrolls that will grant him special powers. With a slightly bigger budget and capable writers, a half-decent film could have been made, but unfortunately KUNG FU BROTHER squanders this potential. The only redeeming features were a handful of acceptable fight scenes that showcase the martial arts abilities of the titular "Kung Fu Brother." Other than that, there were no interesting characters wandering around in a plot that I stopped caring about halfway through. Did I waste my money? Yes. To all those potentially interested in a laughably bad action movie, my advice would be to just wait for it to debut on Netflix.
