Huayu: King of Kung Fu

I don't know if Hung King-bo was hired by Raymond Wong to create hype.

He immediately praised Lin Hu for being more powerful than Chen Long, which delighted the Hong Kong media.

The next day, Hong Kong newspapers were filled with headlines that were anything but ordinary.

The Oriental Daily News even went so far as to say, "Compared to Lin Hu, Chen Long's punches are utterly weak!"

Chen Long was caught in the crossfire, but luckily he went to Hollywood.

Otherwise, those Hong Kong reporters would definitely have gone to interview Chen Long: "Brother, some people think your fists are weak compared to Lin Hu's, what do you think?"

That being said, others might not be allowed to say these things, but Hong Jingbao said them anyway, since he is the elder brother of the elder brother Long.

Besides hyping up Hung King-po's remarks, Hong Kong media also gave positive reviews of "Ong-Bak".

Ming Pao praised Ong-Bak, saying it felt like taking people back to the golden age of action films in the 1980s, and that it was a return to true kung fu films after Jackie Chan's peak.

The Daily News, meanwhile, is stirring up trouble, claiming that the new generation of action star Lin Hu will challenge Chen Long's throne, and that future action films will be a battle between dragons and tigers.

Sing Tao Daily, primarily distributed to overseas Chinese, directly declared Lin Hu to be another action superstar born in mainland China after Jet Li.

With unanimous praise from the media, Ong-Bak was released in theaters across the city on October 4, just before the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Hong Kong is the birthplace of action films, and the audience here grew up watching action movies, so it's very difficult to satisfy them.

But as long as you make them happy, you'll have box office success.

On the night of the opening day, Lin Hu took Gao Yuanyuan and Huang Bo into a movie theater to see how ordinary viewers would react.

Their show was a prime-time 8 PM slot, and the audience, carrying sugarcane, popcorn, and drinks, entered the venue one after another, with an attendance rate of about 60%.

It's not a lot, but considering that Ong-Bak is a new film, the attendance rate is quite good.

Fortunately, Raymond Wong spared no expense, launching a massive publicity campaign.

Otherwise, who would come to see Lin Hu, a newcomer?

It's possible that no one will even bother with it.

Donnie Yen is already quite famous, but his action film "Kill, Kill, Dance" released half a year ago only grossed HK$85 and was pulled from theaters after just a few days.

The lights dimmed, the scene unfolded, and Lin Hu appeared, displaying his skills for the first time.

A spectator whispered, "This handsome guy is pretty good, he's on par with Chen Long."

"Didn't that fat guy Hong Jingbao say he was stronger than Chen Long?"

"This has only just begun, what's the rush?"

Soon, a cool chase scene began.

"Wow, he's definitely more powerful than Chen Long!"

Soon, the underground boxing match began.

"Wow, it really is Ong-Bak!"

"Ong-Bak" has a strong flavor of Hong Kong action films from the 1980s. After being localized by Lin Hu, it looks even more natural to Hong Kong audiences.

And so, everyone quickly got into the swing of things.

"Great!"

Wow, that was a powerful move!

"Ha ha ha ha!"

"Kill this bastard!"

As the movie ended, the audience gave a warm round of applause.

In front of Lin Hu, a middle-aged man in his forties said, "It was so much fun! It felt like I was back in middle school, watching 'The Big Boss' with my family at the theater."

One of his companions nodded repeatedly: "This Lin Hu seems to be a rising star in the martial arts world. No wonder the newspapers say he's even stronger than Chen Long!"

"Chen Long is getting old; it seems like the future of action movies belongs to this handsome guy!"

Although Gao Yuanyuan couldn't understand what the audience was saying, the enthusiastic reaction was undoubtedly praising the movie and Lin Hu, which made her extremely happy.

The three got up and followed the crowd outside when someone suddenly called out, "Hey handsome, you're here too!"

Upon being recognized, Lin Hu immediately put on a smile: "Hello, hello!"

The audience was excited when they discovered that the movie's lead actor was in the same screening room as them, and they surrounded Lin Hu and his two companions.

"Handsome guy, come and get my autograph!"

"Hey beautiful, what's your name?"

"Hey kid, are you from Hong Kong?"

Huang Bo looked sullen, while Lin Hu and Gao Yuanyuan beamed with joy when they were called handsome young men and beautiful young women.

When it was his turn, he became the loser.

Sigh, being ugly means you have no rights!

The three were surrounded by a crowd and spent a long time signing autographs before they were able to escape, giving them a real taste of what it's like to be a celebrity.

It was mainly Lin Hu and Gao Yuanyuan who were experiencing it; no one paid any attention to Huang Bo, so he could only wait on the sidelines.

……

Kung Fu films are a unique genre in China!

As Lin Hu said in his acceptance speech at the Busan International Film Festival, kung fu films are a gift from Chinese cinema to the world.

In Lin Hu's mind, the pinnacle of kung fu films is Jet Li's "Fist of Legend" and Chen Long's "Drunken Master II".

Both of these films were made in 1994, and after that, Hong Kong action films basically came to an end.

The innovation of CG technology has enabled movies to create dazzling visual effects, making the spectacle created by action movies seem somewhat inadequate.

At that time, the mainstream trend in the world was to play with special effects, and Hong Kong films followed the trend and produced "The Storm Riders," which became a sensation.

Against this backdrop, for a long time, people couldn't find a way to revitalize action films.

Until Ong-Bak came along!

Lin Hu does not believe that Ong-Bak surpasses Fist of Legend and Drunken Master II.

But Ong-Bak was a watershed moment for action movies, finding a way to get audiences excited again.

That is... violence!

Chen Long's works try to de-emphasize violence, while Li Lianjie's action films resemble art.

However, in Ong-Bak, every punch and kick is incredibly powerful, drawing the audience in and making them feel that every move could kill someone.

The worship of power stems from humanity's primal instincts.

The fierce and domineering action scenes in Ong-Bak brought out this instinct.

When people see those bloody scenes, their adrenaline surges, and the only word that comes to mind is... awesome!

After Ong-Bak, action movies around the world became increasingly violent and brutal.

There is a threshold for how many movies humans watch. The more movies you watch, the higher your threshold becomes, and you will need new stimuli.

Ong-Bak arrived just as action films were declining and audiences were tired of traditional action movies, bringing a fresh thrill that satisfied viewers.

If the audience is satisfied, word-of-mouth will follow, and box office revenue will follow.

The next morning, Lin Hu had just gotten up when he received a call from Huang Baiming.

The box office figures for Hong Kong's opening day have been released.

"162 million!"

One day's box office revenue is equivalent to two of Donnie Yen's "Kill, Kill, Dance".

But Lin Hu wasn't quite sure what this number meant, so he asked, "Is it a lot?"

"There are a lot of newcomers, and 'Ong-Bak' has an excellent reputation, so its popularity will definitely continue to rise!"

"That's good!"

"I've booked a banquet tonight to celebrate!"

Huh? It's only been released for one day, and they're already celebrating?