One of the biggest pieces of criteria I have for liking a movie is that it has to make sense. Call me crazy, but I like following stories that don’t have plot holes everywhere. There are, however, certain exceptions to this rule. One of those exceptions is none other than the entirety of the parody genre, because when you’re clearly making a joke out of something, you get a pass.
Even without giving it a pass, writer and director David Sandberg’s “Kung Fury” is a 30-minute masterpiece of a short film. The film follows Kung Fury, played by Sandberg himself. Kung Fury is a crime-fighting cop who experienced a freak accident. In doing so, he became The Chosen One, gifted with superhuman kung fu powers. When a villain travels through time to steal Kung Fury’s power, Kung Fury must rely on his skills and the power of friendship to save all of humanity.
It sounds like a typical action movie, but in reality? It’s about as ridiculous as you can get. The friends Kung Fury makes include a talking triceratops, vikings who ride t-rexes, an elderly Thor and the ever-so-memeable Hackerman. And the villain in question? It’s the “Kung Fuhrer” himself, Adolf Hitler.
Sounds absolutely insane, right? Now add robots, time travel, Nazis, vikings, dinosaurs and animation, you’d feel like this is too much to handle in just half an hour. For some people, it might be, but for me, it was perfect.
The movie was a love letter and parody to the 80s. Complete with references to 80s classics like “Miami Vice,” “Knight Rider” and a multitude of animated series and infomercials, Kung Fury takes as many genres and character tropes as possible and molds it into a cohesive and comedic journey. It embraces the spirit of 80s pop culture (there’s even a Nintendo Power Glove) in the best and worst ways possible.
When I say “worst ways,” I mean that this is a movie where everything that people would say is bad about this movie is also what others would say is good. The jokes are so in-your-face that some people may not necessarily find it funny. The premise is so ridiculous that more serious viewers might immediately dislike the film.
The special effects also look a bit cheap, but it plays into the “80s movie parody” factor even more. The acting can be a bit stiff at times, but it also lends itself to the idea that these characters are playing cliche tropes from 1980s movies and television. Basically, everything about this movie is so bad it’s good.
And once this hilarious nostalgia-filled trip is finished? None other than 80s icon David Hasselhoff sings us out in the credits.
Needless to say, if you don’t like random and wacky movies with cheesy dialogue and slapstick humor, this movie isn’t for you. However, if you do like those things, this movie aces every aspect of a parody movie imaginable and I would absolutely recommend it to you. I would say “Kung Fury” is a great time, but I also know that this is one part of my extensive sense of humor, so I can acknowledge that people won’t want to watch it or its upcoming sequel starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Overall rating: 10/10 (incredibly biased but I’m sticking by it)
The Beat @APU 