StunnaKrypto Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

Palaest recommended

filippaberry84 I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Brendon Jones It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

A_Different_Drummer Maybe you had to be there. And maybe the series speaks for itself. Hard to say. At a time when N.A. was just beginning to show interest in eastern martial arts -- mainly as a result of the spy films which invariably featured some sloppy form of judo or karate -- a story circulated in Hollywood about a husband and wife writing team. He was a black belt in Karate. She had been taught Kung Fu by her father. He was terrified of her. Ergo, let's do a series. They auditioned Bruce Lee for the pilot but found him too Asian. So they went with a westerner, Carradine. Bios of Lee make it clear that this event, more than any other, traumatized him and made him bitter. That was Hollywood. Some (not all) of the series' scripts were amazing. Some were junk. The movie/pilot remains one of the tightest pieces of writing of the era. And there is so much Bhuddist philosophy in the flashbacks that you wonder if they actually had monks on hand as consultants? Trivia fact: understanding that to the western eye, most Asians looked alike, they "recycled" the very same Asian character actors through all the Asian parts in the series and, sure enough, nobody noticed. The series ended not so much because of a lack of interest but because Carradine's image was badly tarnished by a series of public binges. Still, one of the most unique works to ever leave Tinseltown.

t-van-rossum7 That series was in a time when I hadn't seen Bruce Lee yet. Everybody could see how Carradine sucked at martial arts. He was a good actor but his moves were unprofessional and vague and showing it all in slow motion only made that worse. Furthermore the makers of the series obviously didn't care about anything being authentic. Shuriken (throwing stars) would never have been used in the Shaolin Temple as they were invented by a ninja clan. It would only have been fair if Bruce Lee would have gotten the part as he was entitled to it. He certainly would have improved the quality of it. Hollywood just changed the original story line to fit an American actor.

Stoney Martial arts movies are full of great action and well choreographed fights, from the days of Bruce Lee to the stunning visuals we have with todays wire work and cgi. But Kung Fu is not a martial arts movie/series.....Kung Fu is about a shaolin monk; Kwai Chang Caine. He travels around the wild west, seeking to help others and avoiding bounty hunters. The amazing thing about kung fu is that the flashbacks show Caine's past, we see that he has been trained to use kung fu, but he is a monk and would not harm a fly if it wasn't necessary. Caine chooses not to fight but when he has no other choice he proves that he can take anyone. The character is really brought to life by David Carradine, it would have been great to use Bruce Lee (Another of my idols) but I don't think the energetic Bruce would have been able to pull of the calmness of Caine.I was expecting to see a martial arts series in the wild west but kung fu is its own genre. The teachings of Masters Po and Khan are wonderful and make you think about life. Apparently after seeing the series people seeked more information because they wanted to raise their children under the same morals. It doesn't matter if you don't like martial arts or westerns, you need to see this. It has changed my life and the way I think about life.

Brian Washington This will always be one of the more original series to come out of the 1970's. Imagine a Western where the main character is half Chinese and half Caucasian and doesn't use a gun. Now think of how this series wound up as one of the great cult classics of its era. Even though this series originally was the idea of Bruce Lee and would have featured him as the star, David Carradine still pulls off the job and comes off as very believable as Caine. You also can see that he tries not to play to stereotype, but he does make this show very mystical, which can be seen as a positive and as a negative. Also wonderful were Keye Luke as master Po, Phllip Ahn as master Kahn and, of course, Radames Pera as the young Caine. This show will always be a cult classic of its era.