Kung Fu Chefs

Despite being a fan of Hong Kong cinema, I'm not really a big fan of the Martial Arts genre. But whenever there's an Asian cooking movie comes out, I'm all over it like white on rice, which is why I couldn't wait to see the new Sammo Hung outing, Kung Fu Chefs.

It's been a while since I last saw Sammo in a convincing role. Real estate mogul and director Denis Law's Fatal Move, in which he plays the honourable triad leader, at war with another triad gang was probably the last thing that I thought worthwhile -- although Saat Po Long wasn't half bad either. And while he's still working as an action director -- most notably on the recent big budget chop-socky films, IP Man and Wushu, his age and girth mean that he's not exactly suited to playing the part of a Kung Fu Master any more, but he might be able to cut it as a chef. Which is why I was expecting good things from Kung Fu Chefs.

Although it appears to have been made on the mainland rather than in Hong Kong, and Chinese films in the past have lacked the commercial edge of films from the old colony, there's nothing really new about this movie and it really is a bit of a potboiler. It's got the same themes of filial betrayal and overwhelming ambition that are to be resolved in a cookery contest that you'd see in films like Stephen Chow's God of Cooking or the recent Korean offering, Le Grand Chef. Of the three, Stephen Chow's is probably the one to watch -- but then that's why Chow is currently the most bankable director in the whole of Asia, with movies like Shaolin Soccer and Kung Fu Hustle doing big business on a global scale now.

And while Kung Fu Chef is no Tampopo, it's no Ramen Girl either. It's a silly, funny romp with some spectacular looking Chinese dishes and none the worse for that.

But I do wish Sammo would give up performing the Kung Fu action and stick to directing it.