Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank was announced seven years ago as Blazing Samurai. It was an independent film that is now a Paramount release. It's also surprising that it's got some good laughs even if not to its predecessor's extent.
Writers Ed Stone and Nate Hopper (who share credit with Brooks and his Blazing Saddles co-writers) trade the original Wild West setting for essentially Cat Japan. There, the evil Ika Chu (Ricky Gervais) has it out for the village of Kakamucho. He sends his lacky Ohga (George Takei) and his ninjas to drive off the good kitty villagers. They only succeed in driving off their Samurai.
The villagers ask their Shogun (Brooks) to ask Ika Chu for a new Samurai. Ika Chu sends them Hank (Michael Cera), an aspiring beagle samurai, which doesn't sit well for Cat Japan's no-dogs policy. One cool cat, Jimbo (Samuel L. Jackson), reluctantly agrees to train Hank in Bushido. Hank's got a lot to learn about being a Samurai and not enough time to thwart Ika Chu's master plan. Let's say there's some hilarity and third-act complications involved.
Obviously, they couldn't replicate Blazing Saddles' audacity, but they do try to replicate its jokes. A few of them fall flat without that audacity, while others get a good chuckle. Kids are sure to get a kick out of Sumo (Djimon Hounsou), the film's answer to the original's Mongo. A few new gags (the world's longest game of telephone, pulling out a film projector for flashbacks) are better; others are worth a mild groan. Its meta-fictional gags include some of the film's best laughs. What's surprising is that plenty of these gags weren't advertised to death for the last few months.
One of the best surprises is the (formerly) title song, written by Alan Zachary & Michael Weiner, and sung by Michael K. Lee. Blazing Samurai, at least, replicates the grandeur of Blazing Saddles' own title song rather well, and is worked in perfectly into Bear McCreary's also-grand score. It's accompanied by some stylish visuals and topped off by a good logo joke. There's some admirable visual flair during its flashbacks and action scenes. Hank and Kakamucho's climactic rush to save the town from a flood is pretty thrilling.
The film runs a brisk 85-minutes, minus credits, per Hank's estimate (with them, 97). I was rarely bored by Hank's hero's journey even if it was rather routine. He's a sufficiently good boy who goes from wimp to warrior in due time. He's got a good supporting cast beginning with Jimbo, an entertaining rough mentor, whose troubled backstory involves a silly misunderstanding. Ika Chu is a purrfect bad cat, while Ohga is an entertaining henchcat. It's good to hear Brooks as the Shogun and know he's still funny at 96. Kylie Kumioka also stands out as Emiko the Kitten, Hank's biggest fan.
The only time I questioned myself being there was in its opening cartoon. In it, Big Nate of Lincoln Peirce's comic strip and his friends have an ice cream nightmare involving a hamster. It's an exercise in gross-out humor that ran far longer than the main film's homage to its predecessor's "bean scene." But there was a good time waiting once that was done. It's no Blazing Saddles, but Paws of Fury is still entertaining on its own merits. It reminds us of what curiosity does to cats, though I don't think a little curiosity will harm you in this case. But keep the short in mind if you see it.
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