Pretty Good

Not even bad in a good way

It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

Kung Fu Hustle really put Stephen Chow on the map for me.. So when this popped up, I jumped at the chance to see it!Unfortunately this is no Kung Fu Hustle. Granted, I knew that it wasn't going to be, but it really, really isn't. Not just regarding what it is about, but also regarding if it's good.This is an attempt at a warm, family friendly sci-fi-drama. It just did not do much for me. Now, I can appreciate a children's movie, a family movie, all kinds of movies really, but I just didn't "feel" this one.I may be overly harsh on this movie, but when I saw it, I was disappointed. I didn't like it. It was neither funny, nor a "tear-jerker". Little under mediocre. Boring. Might be a bigger hit in China, perhaps.Stephen Chow - Please make another Kung Fu Hustle! Come on!!

CJ7 is a wanna-be Disney movie, a cross between Lilo&Stitch and Lassie. The main protagonist is a young boy who's family is really poor. His dad doesn't have any money to buy anything, so he just finds things in the dumpster for the family. The thing that bothers me the most about this movie is how annoyingly stupid all the characters are. The actors are trying to be funny, but instead they end up crossing the line into stupidity. Everything is so exaggerated and ANNOYING!! When making a funny movie, the idea is to have characters that are stupid but at the same time likable, which this movie fails at terribly. I was very disappointed in this movie because I am a HUGE Stephen Chow fan. I loved all of his movies, but this one just doesn't cut it.

Given that this was written as a kids film I think it absolutely hits the mark and then some, but if you are expecting Kung Fu Hustle's biting humor or the physical comedy of Shaolin Soccer then you find it here (at least not all).The film made me laugh and it made me cry (but then I am a total sap and prone to crying). I watched it to make sure it was OK to show to my kids. After watching it I would have no problem showing it to any kid, although as was mentioned by another reviewer you might want to be there to cuddle with the kids when the sad bits hit.Looking forward to Chow's next venture. This will be one more of his DVDs to end up on my shelf.

I've seen both of Stephen Chow's excellent films that were distributed in America, "Shaolin Soccer" and "Kung Fu Hustle", and so I wasn't about to be dissuaded from seeing this film by negative reviews of "CJ7" such as the one that our local San Francisco Chronicle printed. Perhaps a word of warning is in order for this movie, so that nobody goes to see it or rents it hoping for a kung fu action film. This is more like Stephen Chow's attempt to make a Spielberg type of film, though I found it more enjoyable than any of Spielberg's recent films. It's a movie primarily for kids but which also aims to entertain adults.The story is very simple -- an impoverished construction worker (the director, Chow) cannot afford toys for his son because he has spent all of the money he has for private school tuition, hoping that the boy will have an opportunity at a better life than he has. He finds a strange ball in a heap of trash and brings this to the boy, and the ball ends up becoming a magical alien creature. The boy, Dickie (actress Jiao Xu, impressively playing across gender lines), hopes that the creature which he names "CJ7" will be able to use his magic to help him with all his problems, and then becomes very angry with the "dog" when it can't deliver. Drama ensues when the father is involved in a horrific accident at work.I would have liked the movie better if "CJ7" wasn't such an overtly cartoonish creation. The movie might have been a bigger hit if it didn't look so much like Pikachu or whatever you call those pokemon things. It's just a bit too cutesy for most adults, though I assume kids like it. It reminded me a bit of "Gizmo" in the "Gremlins" movies.The heart of the story is a very good one. I think it was interesting that they allowed Dickie to be so bitter and so angry; most children's films are too patronizing to allow their characters to be real human beings. The actors portraying the kids all did a wonderful job, especially Xu and the kid playing the evil boy (credits list here is incomplete). Chow himself had a touch of grey hair in this one and a corresponding gravity on screen as he assumed the role of a mentor and parent.There are a lot of very funny scenes. I especially liked when Dickie was scared of "ghosts" and makes a silent scream because he doesn't want to be punished. Also the battle at the schoolyard was very funny and reminded me of Chow's other films. And that scary dog is pretty funny all by himself! Some of Chow's humor is pretty weird and might seem inappropriate to some people, but I personally prefer something intelligent and ironic to the type of sight jokes that occupy most comedy these days.The reason I don't think it is a really excellent film, but merely a good one, is that it was a bit too predictable and formulaic. The climax of the story doesn't really surprise or produce much sympathy.I would recommend to my fellow English-speaking posters that they go ahead and watch the film in Cantonese, as I compared both versions and the English dubbed version left out some of the meaning (for example, it does not have him telling Miss Yuen "there is no limit to bitterness" and it does not show him realizing that he was never promised anything by CJ7).