The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

KUNG FU was a revelation back when it first aired. This American-made telemovie has turned out to be one of the defining moments in martial arts movie history. While precious few of the hundreds of kung fu movies I've seen have ever bothered to espouse a philosophy of any kind, this made-for-TV movie delved deeply into the raison d'etre for the martial arts. (Ironically, the one shortcoming- a noticeable one for those of us who had already familiarized ourselves at least to some degree with martial arts- was the lack of genuine gung fu skill evinced by the star of the show. David Carradine, by his own admission "a dancer," was able to fake it well enough, but, looking back on the series now, his Dung Fu is almost laughable.) It'd be great to see some real-life martial artists in a weekly series (as long as it didn't degenerate into another MARTIAL LAW or WALKER), but maybe martial arts is still considered "unbankable" by the Hollywood powers that be.

Warner Brothers shows that in the 70's you didn't need a hospital, courtroom nor police station set to create great drama. And compared to the so-called "reality" drek that's pervaded the airwaves over the last several years, one almost wishes it was the 1970s all over again.How do "Survivor", "American Idol", "Big Brother", "The Simple Life" and even the somewhat more high-budgeted "Law & Order" franchise compete with shows like "Kung Fu"? Watching the stories unfold with high production values one becomes puzzled how the "reality" genre ever got a toehold.David Carradine, the well seasoned actor, gives us a monastic Shao Lin outcast in search of refuge and family. The best performances come from all, but I found myself liking Master Po the best, played by the late great Keye Luke. Nitpicking; I would've shot it somewhat differently, and I'm not sure I would've cast Carradine in the role, but, given the character that needed to be portrayed I'm at a loss of who else could've done the job. Carradine is a capable actor who brings us a character (to paraphrase Kwai-Chan) seeks not answers, but only to "understand the questions." If only all humankind had such wisdom.Thankfully Kwai Chan's exploits and insights, and those of his teachers, have been forever preserved on three DVD sets :-) Carradine's character wanders the countrysides of Cathay and and a century old United States in a Western-leaning genre of drama and action.

This is a classic martial arts film that i enjoyed very much!. It's very engrossing, and all the performances were fantastic, plus i loved the flashbacks!. The film moves along very nicely, and there is an awesome fight near the end, plus David Carradine is amazing in this!. I loved the scenes with Caine, and The Old blind man, they were engrossing and very interesting, plus it's smart,and intelligent. If your looking for all fight scenes, stay away, but if you want a smart intelligent martial arts film, that moves along nicely with a couple cool fight scenes, good character development and great performances, definitely rent this right away!.The Direction is great!. Jerry Thorpe does a great job here, with good camera work, creating a nice style, and keeping the film at a very fast pace!. The Acting is brilliant!. David Carradine is AMAZING as always, and gives an amazing performance here, he is very likable, great at martial arts as always,was mysterious,had awesome chemistry with Keye Luke and was just brilliant all around! (David Rules!). Barry Sullivan, is decent here and does what he has to do adequately.Keye Luke is great as the old man, i loved him!. Philip Ahn is good here as one of the teachers i liked him. James Hong is great, in his screen time.Radames Pera is very good as a young Caine. Rest of the cast are great. Overall a must see!, i can't wait to buy the Kung TV series!. **** out of 5

A watershed moment in the history of American television. All who fondly remember the TV series should make a point of seeing the pilot, which is a beautifully crafted, lovingly executed piece of work.It marks, also, the first of Kwai Chang Caine's many adventures in the Wild West; Caine takes up a job laying railroad tracks as part of a gang of cruelly mistreated Chinese immigrant workers. Extensive flashbacks tell the story of Caine's childhood in China, joining the Shao Lin temple after being orphaned, and partaking of a rigorous program of intellectual and physical development.Thus the pilot combines a fairly conventional Western narrative with a dazzlingly innovative Eastern sequence, which is very much the heart of this movie. The producers did their homework, took infinite pains, and the results speak for themselves. Magical sets, moody photography, and meticulous research create an unforgettable impression; to give but one example, observe the moment when the two Kung Fu masters demonstrate their long choreographed sequences of moves on the temple grounds. Most heartwarming of all are the performances (as Masters Kan and Po) by Philip Ahn and Keye Luke, superb actors who had slogged through two lifetimes of unrewarding ethnic parts in cinema and on TV until each at last achieved the role of a lifetime.Good work in the American half of the story by Hollywood pros Albert Salmi and Barry Sullivan, plus a stalwart Asian-American cast who went on to lend distinction to the regular episodes in the 3 seasons of KF that followed (Benson Fong, James Hong, many others). And spare a thought for David Carradine, who combined a mix of decorousness and stubbornness and turned this into one of the most unusual characterizations in the history of television.