It's kinda sad how the Hong Kong film industry is changing itself to please ocidental audiences. Kung Fu movies were pieces of art, crafted by hand, with no computers or expensive special effects, and yet filling each frame of the film with pure art.
Jackie Chan had been criticised, and even clashed with some HK directors, because he didn't want any wire work or special effects in his action scenes. At first, I didn't understand why he didn't want any wire work - Jet Li used it in such films as "Tai Chi" and "Fong Sai Yuk" in a good way, improving the action scenes and making them more comical and enjoyable. But J.C. kept his movies simple, always with a good, simple story and with jaw-dropping action sequences, with no computers or wire work. I mean, watch the last fight in "Drunken Master 2" and you'll know what I mean.
But Jackie Chan knew what was going to happen: kung fu films would become a product. Now, with today's technology, anyone can be a kung fu master. Suddenly, the plot was forgotten, and the kung fu movies became a bunch of CGI-filled kung fu scenes with a dumb plot between those scenes. "Matrix" was the last nail on the coffin. Suddenly, the HK film industry had to keep up with the new trend...
Stephen Chow tried to make a good movie with Kung Fu Hustle, and you can feel he really wanted to. The scenes are beautiful to watch, the comedy is there (even though it's made for oriental audiences), the scenery is amazing, but there's something missing. The plot is confusing, a real mess, you never know what's motivating the characters...
The action sequences are good, quite good, although the CGI is a little weird looking, almost cheap. And, in order to keep up with this new trend on kung fu movies, Stephen Chow had to let the ancient kung fu art go, and stick with CGI fights... even though it is good to watch, and somewhat funny, it's not the same. It works when the film is spoofing this technique, as Stephen Chow did in his last movie - Shaolin Soccer - but it does not work when the action sequences are supposed to be real kung fu fights...
Well... all in all... Kung Fu Hustle is not a bad film. Not as good as Shaolin Soccer, not as good as many other HK films, but worth a watch. Who knows, you might enjoy it...