Kung Fu Jungle (2014) (2025)

Popular reviews

• Review by Todd Gaines ★★★ 36

  There's a serial killer running rampant all over the streets of Hong Kong. Who's his targets? Well, he's after the kung fu experts. You know, the fellas who are top-notch at boxing, kicking, grappling, and weapons. He wants to kill the best of the best. He wants to be the ultimate kung fu champion. If Ric Flair has taught us anything it's "to be the man, you gotta beat the man." So, who's the man? Well, that would be Donnie Yen. But, there's one small problem. Donnie is in prison doing time for accidentally or maybe not so accidentally beating the living fuck outta someone. However, guess who gets a special get out of jail free card to help the…

• Review by Joe ★★★½ 5

  Martial Arts Maniac

  My friend Dan died a few days ago and I knew I wanted to make some sort of note of it on here but I wasn't sure how to go about it. Then this, which they probably recommended to me at least a thousand times, popped up on my streaming library, and I decided tonight was the night. Narratively this is basically Blackhat but with martial arts instead of hacking, and if it doesn't quite live up to that promise, well, what could. Some great fights although some of them feel a bit choked with CGI and even some American-style rapid cutting. I still can't quite believe that Dan is never going to comment "fuk u" under this lukewarm review, god damn.

• Review by Sean Gilman ★★★½ 1

  Modern day 21st century Donnie Yen, which means it's a thinly plotted, generically characterized and brutally physical action movie. Helped tremendously by the supporting cast (Wang Baoqiang as the killer is especially good, but Charlie Yeung and Michelle Bai are terrific as well, almost humanizing Donnie) and a vast array of cameo appearances (from the ubiquitous Roy Szeto to Bey Logan (he's the guy you see flashes of getting killed in the opening moments) to contemporary directors like Soi Cheang, Andrew Lau and Derek Kwok to televised nods to Bruce Lee, Lau Kar-leung, Chang Cheh, Jackie Chan and even a funny appearance by 86 year old Golden Harvest founder Raymond Chow himself). The end credit sequence acknowledges these cameos at…

• Review by Wesley R. Ball ★★★½ 2

  72/100

  Kung Fu Jungle is a technically sound police procedural peppered with some spectacular fight sequences. Some parts of the story may seem outlandish and some of the dialogue is a bit too literal, but that's simply part of what makes Chinese cinema so great to watch. Combining the classic martial arts with a somewhat gritty police investigation was a great and unique idea, and surprisingly works to the film's advantage.

  The intricate formalities of martial arts are well maintained in this film, as the killer chooses to dispose his victims through formal duels rather than simple cold blooded killing. We aren't entirely sure what his motive is, and I'm not really completely sure if it made too much sense…

• Review by Noah Thompson ★★★

  I wish to challenge you.

  A film which features possibly the most melodramatic splits I have ever seen in a feature film. (I'll let you know if I eventually watch a Jean-Claude Van Damme film that I think fits that bill more.) Strangely have seen another film with almost this exact same premise, a martial arts procedural about a serial killer going around murdering other martial artists, and the only guy who can stop him is another guy who knows martial arts. That film is called Bloodmoon, a DTV action film released in 1997 starring Billy Herrington lookalike Gary Daniels. That's admittedly a better movie, and if you haven't seen it or so much as heard of it, check it…

• Review by Jodie Stokes ★★★ 2

  A middling Hong Kong martial arts offering that suffers from its overly simplistic plot.

  Basic character motivations are given, the choppy editing's distracting and the sliverings of shitty CGI didn't help the situation. Donnie Yen isn't given nearly enough combat time, but the final confrontation in the middle of a busy highway was memorable.

  Bonus points for shooting a fight sequence on a giant spinal chord.

• Review by AndrewC 🎃👻 ★★★

  I'm generally not as much a fan of Hong Kong martial arts movies made in the last two decades and much prefer those produced in the 70s, 80s, and 90s as I mostly think they are just much better in quality, but some modern ones starring Donnie Yen are ones that I do like watching and Kung Fu Jungle is one such example. This isn't a great martial arts film in my opinion but just for the quality and frequency of its fights, fans of these sorts of films should have a good time watching it. Yen is as good as always in the lead as he is one of the foremost martial arts stars working today and he doesn't…

• Review by Tao A ★★ 7

  You know you fucked up when Jackie Chan is the highlight and he isn't even in the fucking movie.

• Review by 🎃 Martin Kostenzer 🎞️🎃 ★★★

  Kung Fu Killer ist ein solider Martial Arts Film mit einer der größten Koryphäen des Genres.

  Zwar bietet der Film jetzt nichts, was man nicht schon in einigen anderen Filmen dieser Art sehen konnte, schafft es dafür aber gut gemachte, abwechslungsreiche Kampfeinlagen mit einer Story zu verbinden, die an manchen Stellen sogar etwas berühren kann.

  Donnie Yen spielt gewohnt sympathisch und liefert einige spektakulär choreographierte Szenen, aber auch die anderen Beteiligten zeigen ihr Können, auch aber nicht nur im Zusammenspiel mit Yen.

  Der Film wandelt genau zwischen übertrieben-spektakulären Kampfsport-Epos, mit klar erkennbaren Wirework-Tricks und CGI-Bildern und einem geerdeten Gangster/Cop-Drama und das er sich nie so klar für eine Seite entscheiden kann mag vielleicht Manche stören, jedoch funktionierte diese Mischung bei mir, vor allem dank seinem Hauptdarsteller als kurzweilige Martial Arts-Action mit einem großartigen Endkampf überraschend gut und machte mir doch viel Spaß!

  Donnie Yen Ranking

  Martial Arts Filme - Ranking

• Review by 🩸 Bloodcurdling Carlo V🩸 1

  Ain't getting Ip Man 4 until who knows when so figured I'd go back and check in with this... servicable Donnie Yen actioner that's really more notable for having just about every HK action cinema cameo possible. Oftentimes it feels like there's no way back for these kinda movies. They've been ruined by resources and Hollywood's "bigger=better" way of thinking, which seeps into everything. The set pieces are still fun enough to watch, but they just feel tampered with to an extent where it becomes much harder for me to ignore the trademark flimsy writing.

• Review by Richard ★★★★★ 3

  Easily The Don's best film since Wu Xia. I loved it!

• Review by MrSvipi ★★★

  Kampf der Filmsammlung #66

  Kung Fu Jungle oder auch Kung Fu Killer (was ein bisschen cooler klingt) ist ein typischer, moderner Martial Arts Film, der nichts aussergewöhnliches bietet, dennoch ganz ordentlich unterhalten kann.

  Hahou Mo wird kurzerhand von der Polizei aus dem Gefängnis geholt um ihnen zu helfen einen Killer zu schnappen. Dieser scheint es nämlich auf Kung Fu Profis abgesehen zu haben und Hahou Mo hat als ehemaliger Martial Arts Experte und Polizei Selbstverteidigungs Lehrer wohl den richtigen Riecher für den Täter. Als die beiden Kampfsportler schlussendlich aufeinandertreffen, entbrennt ein Duell auf Leben und Tod...

  Die Geschichte beginnt spannend, wird aber bereits kurz darauf nur noch zum Grundgerüst der Kämpfe. Der Killer bleibt leider bis zum Ende sehr eindimensional…