With Kung Fu Hustle, you may think you've seen something like it before, but you haven't. Think a live action Tom and Jerry cartoon made by the quirky mind of Jean Pierre Jeunet (Delicatessen) and you're getting warm. Think of all the kung fu movies you've ever seen (or not) in one big, bananas send-up and you're warmer still. Because Hustle is the new film from Hong Kong legend Stephen Chow (writer, producer, director, actor). Funny and frantic, violent and romantic this is typical Chow - a brilliant blend of sweet 'n' sour.

In 1940s Shanghai, petty thief Sing and his tubby mate try to con the poor folk of Pig Sty Alley into thinking the duo are members of the feared underworld Axe Gang. But the locals aren't fooled and the real Axe Gang aren't pleased. In the ensuing melee five of the humble tenement dwellers reveal themselves to be kung fu heroes with superhuman powers. Beaten, the Axe Gang find similarly powered heavies to restore face. Convinced that good guys never win - a lesson learned as a kid when his kung fu isn't good enough to save a mute girl from bullies - Sing tries to join the gang for real. Cue outrageous special effects, cartoon violence and crazy characters - including a fearsome, super-powered landlady who chases Chow out of town in a very funny Road Runner v Wile E. Coyote scene.

Kung Fu Hustle (simply Gong Fu in the original) is a pot-pourri pastiche of all the ways in which kung fu has been used in movies. So we get traditional 60s and 70s chop-socky, the floating-fu of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon , the bloodily nasty fu of Kill Bill and the special effects fu of Matrix 1, 2 and 3. Appropriately, Chow has recruited legendary Hong Kong action choreographer Yuen Woo Ping - who must have enjoyed sending up his Matrix Reloaded Neo-versus-a-hundred-Agent-Smiths fight and his Uma-versus-a-hundred-samurai-gangsters blood-ballet from Kill Bill 1. And true to form, he's created some stunningly original fights here that won't disappoint.

Hitting western screens only a year after Chow's crowd-pleasingly simple Shaolin Soccer, Kung Fu Hustle isn't as immediately likeable or approachable: the special effects are too frequent and almost threaten to drown Chow's deftness of touch. But Hustle is the more rewarding movie overall - bursting with energy and movie-buff references. There's a hook-line from Spiderman ("with great power comes great responsibility"), spaghetti western standoffs and some quirkily effective musical moments - an Axe-Gang dance and Chow-with-a-girl mirroring an Astaire-Rogers Top Hat poster.

But Chow never lets the antics get out of hand and leavens it all with some sublime moments, a great score and a sweet romantic touch. If you don't mind the deliberately overblown special effects and sometimes squelchy Looney Tune violence, there's much to admire and amuse. Kung Fu Hustle is a riotously intelligent comedy filled with some breathtaking and poignant moments. Welcome to the world of Stephen Chow.

Glenn Watson 23.04.05