Even before I began to write up movie reviews, I had a love for foreign movies. It initially started through my love for martial arts films which led me primarily to Hong Kong cinema. Through this I became a fan of some of the biggest names in Hong Kong action cinema such as Sammo Hung, Donnie Yen, Yuen Biao, Jet Li and most notably Jackie Chan.
This love for Hong Kong cinema led me to seek out other action movies from further afield, finding countless classics from the likes of Japan, South Korea, India, Thailand, Indonesia and countless other countries who have managed to impress with their action output.
However, in all my years watching movies, action or otherwise, I can’t recollect ever watching a movie from Kazakhstan. Borat (2006) doesn’t count. Now I’m sure those in the know could direct me to countless quality Kazakh movies, but would they be in line with what I’m looking for in a movie?
Well, one film certainly is, the upcoming Kung Fu Rookie a.k.a Timuchin which seems tailor made for action fans like me. Whilst a bit rough around the edges, Aman Ergaziyev’s film is a loving homage to the works of Jackie Chan, with it featuring several fight scenes inspired by the legendary action star.
Kung Fu Rookie follows country boy Timuchin (Timur Baktybayev) who travels to the city with dreams of joining the police force. He’s not in the city too long before he realizes his dreams won’t come that easy.
Helping out with uncle’s fruit stall, Timuchin quickly runs afoul of a local criminal gang who underestimate his martial arts abilities. What starts out as some small scale fights quickly escalates, with the gang’s attacks becoming more dangerous after every encounter. When they decide to go after those he cares about, Timuchin has no other choice but to take the fight to them and take down this gang once and for all.
Judging by his IMDB profile, it would appear that this is director Aman Ergaziyev’s debut feature. With the film clocking in at roughly 80 minutes, Ergaziyev keeps things tight, with there being no excess fat to proceedings. Unlike many other VOD directors, Ergaziyev doesn’t try to overestimate his reach. There are no attempts at elaborate car chases or gunfights here, with the action all being grounded in what Ergaziyev and his team can realistically pull off.
One of my main gripes with many low budget actioners these days is when they try to emulate their big budget counterparts but with a fraction of the budget, which usually includes fake looking digital blood and gunfire coupled with all other manner of low level effects work. Kung Fu Rookie never has these issues, with all the action thankfully focusing on fight scenes, with not one use of cheap looking gunplay interrupting your enjoyment of the action.
Now it is obvious that Kung Fu Rookie is made on a low budget, but that doesn’t mean that it looks necessarily cheap. It does have that overly digital look that is the norm these days, but even large scale blockbusters seem to opt for this. Ergaziyev shoots proceedings in a nice clean manner, where you can easily follow the action. There’s no need for shakycam here, with Ergaziyev incorporating some drone footage into the action, although he is smart enough not to overdo it.
Ergaziyev’s film is filled with knowing winks and scenes inspired by those out of Jackie Chan’s filmography, but story wise it seems to be most influenced by Stanley Tong’s Rumble in the Bronx (1995). Like that film it has our hero moving to the city where he offers to help out his uncle only to get himself involved in a whole lot of trouble. Similarly, while initially dealing with small-time thugs, matters escalate into something more serious.
Like Rumble, the plot is straightforward stuff, being mostly an excuse to get from one action scene to the next. In terms of the action, while it’s inspired by Chan, don’t go in expecting it to be of the same quality. That’s not to say it isn’t good. The performers are all extremely competent, but it just lacks that extra bit of quality Chan brings to proceedings.
Timur Baktybayev makes for a likeable Jackie Chan like hero, throwing himself into the action and making a good stab at the comedy and drama parts of his role. His acting may not win him any awards, but I have seen higher profile stars with less acting ability. Also, at this early point in his career I am sure he will only get better as his career progresses.
The fight choreography is certainly energetic, although every now and again it seems like the moves either lack the necessary power or are telegraphed, making the choreography appear somewhat obvious. However, one just has to look at the outtakes over the end credits (of course there’s outtakes) to see the hard work the actors and stunt team put into the finished film that these slight drawbacks are forgivable.
What does raise the action above some better known fare is its reliance on old school fight choreography and stunt work. There’s no CGI here, with everything unfolding on screen being pulled off for real. There’s an authenticity in the action, that even if the choreography is a bit rough, the hard work on display is still very much felt and appreciated.
There are several stand out action scenes that take place during the film, with a children’s park set fight clearly being based on a similar fight in Chan’s Police Story 2 (1988). Then there’s the finale which takes place in a car factory i.e. Twin Dragons (1992). Like the majority of Chan’s action, the fights in Kung Fu Rookie incorporate numerous props as well as injecting a good dose of humor in between the hard knocks.
All in all, Kung Fu Rookie is an enjoyable martial arts comedy that whilst not perfect still has enough quality action scenes to keep you entertained. I would have liked for the finale to be longer, as the film does seem to come to an abrupt end, but upon reflection this could be intentional. I have lost count of the number of Hong Kong action films that have ended this way.
Kung Fu Rookie may not rank amongst the bigger martial arts films coming out this year but for a quick action fix it more than does the trick and should keep martial arts fans suitably entertained during its swift run time. The film will be available digitally on VOD March 14th.
Plot: 3/5
Acting: 3/5
Action: 3/5
Overall: 3/5