When the villains of Kung Fu Hustle introduce themselves with a swishy line dance, you know you’re in for something special. No it’s not the latest Baz Luhrman musical; it’s the new Hong Kong film from actor/writer/director Stephen Chow.

The well choreographed bad guys are “The Axe Gang”, and they’ve just finished killing off their gangland competition. They call the city’s ineffective cops out of hiding to pick up the bodies, and go back to celebrating. It’s 1940’s Shanghai and they have the run of the town. Enter Sing (Stephen Chow), a wannabe gangster and two bit crook. In the poor neighborhood of “Pig Sty Alley” he attempts to con a barber out of some cash. He botches everything and suddenly the whole Axe Gang is declaring war on the residents of “Pig Sty”, with the mewling, prat-fall prone Sing stuck somewhere around the edges.