Kung Fu Killer

Kung Fu Killer stars David Carradine as another 'Caine' type character from his beloved Kung Fu series.

The television movie is actually co-written by David Seidler who would go on to win an Oscar for Best Screenplay for his next film, The King's Speech.

Carradine plays a Caucasian monk called Crane in Shanghai who infiltrates the criminal underworld to find the killers of his spiritual female Grandmaster and thus gain his vengeance.

Carradine was rather long in the tooth for some of the martial arts scenes but he acquits himself well. He joins up in this film with his Kill Bill accomplice, Daryl Hannah who plays a nightclub singer and romantic interest. Hannah is rather wasted in the glamour role especially given how vicious and striking she was in Kill Bill.

Carradine has enough charisma to keep us the audience interested, after all we end up reminiscing about his Kung Fu series from our boyhood.

The television film has a few good set pieces, the plot is rather hokey and the film is rather pedestrian even dull in places.

This rocks! Can't believe Spike went all the way to China to do one of its movies. Most of their stuff is lame but this looks like a real movie. Not a big Fan of Darryl Hannah but she did okay. Carradine was good, looked pretty strong. The Chinese girls were HOT. The story was solid but the best part was the action. Some of the fighting was insane and bloody so I got my moneys worth. Spike usually plays buckets of these old martial art movies but its good to see they're making them now. I'm just wondering what's the deal with the two movies. Was this supposed to be a series or something? If it is then maybe I'll watch it. My only complaint is they didn't show more of the hot girls.

Kung Fu Killer did seem interesting concept-wise and for the two most well-known stars of the mini-series David Carradine and Daryl Hannah. Execution-wise, Kung Fu Killer is very lacking and could have been much better but it isn't a complete waste of time. The best things about it are the scenery, the production design and Carradine. The scenery is absolutely gorgeous and makes you wish you were there, the production design and costumes are equally handsome and give a real sense of time and place and Carradine plays his role with authority and dignity. Anya is very charismatic as well, and while not as memorable Osric Chau is above average as well. The same cannot be said for Hannah though, whose role is almost completely needless and she looks disconnected throughout, she has also looked much better than she does here. The choreography and violence is well-choreographed and exciting on the most part, but more finesse in the editing and less of a hard-to-take approach would have been welcome, parts did feel very unsubtle and too much. While the scenery and production look great, the photography is murky and the editing isn't always completely smooth. The music is not sluggish or forgettable as such, in fact there are some memorable parts and there is a sense of tempo, but it has an oft tendency of drowning out the dialogue and could have been toned down more. The dialogue isn't really all that much to write home about, a lot of it is corny and simplistic with need of more flow. Outside the concept and some of the action sequences the story isn't really all that engaging, it could have done with more tension and heart and it does have a dull and meandering feel to it. There are worse characters around, however more time could have been spent with getting to know them and relate to their situation, Carradine's is an exception, and then there are others who are pretty much irrelevant especially Daryl Hannah's(essentially a love interest and nothing more). All in all, there's definitely worse but a rather mediocre mini-series. 4/10 Bethany Cox

It's good to see Carradine at his very best. The story is great and there is just enough violence (and when is violence not a part of the martial arts?) I love stories of old china and this one is great. It's also nice to see Carradine and Hannah together again after Kill Bill. The action shots are better than a lot of other martial arts films.

It looks like the director new his martial arts. I recognize the moves in the action, which gives it authenticity. There are millions of martial arts fans around the world starving for more of these types of quality films.

Carradine may be getting older but he plays his part well.

Excellent. Only someone who is a fan of the genre would understand what the filmmakers wanted to achieve. C'mon, it's supposed to be dark and violent.Shanghai, 1935, get it? It's smart blend of action and film noir with fantastic tips of the hat to classic films like Five Fingers of Death. The opening is perhaps one of the most staggering (and yes, violent) in recent memory, and, like the the ending, trulyepic. This director pulled out all the stops and he shows an effortless mastery of action and emotion.

Carradine's performance is dark, nuanced, his fighting is ruthless. Now that's not to say it isn't flawed in some ways as most films are when they take these kinds of chances, but kudos to some really bold film-making. My advice to the naysayers is to grow a pair, bone up on this genre and appreciate good film-making.