Kung-fu Hustle was still good because most of the actors and actresses were still from HK.

After that, he concentrated on being a director and making movies for China's market.

The "mo lei tau" essence of his movies are lost when it is made in mandarin.

The jokes just not funny anymore and he concentrated too much on special effects.

The worst part is his movies are still huge box office hit in China.

CGI was not the major problem. Both Kungfu Hustle & Shaolin Soccer have lots of CGI. The main problem is the supporting casts. The actors from China & Taiwan are just not as good as the Hong Kong actors when it comes to comedy.

No one can replace Ng Man Tatt. The chemistry he had with Steven Chow cannot be recreated by anyone else. If you notice all the good comedies from Steven Chow in the 80's and 90's, he was always supported by superb comedy actors too like Lo Kar Ying, Sandra Ng, etc.

If it is not Lo Kar Ying who sings Only You, I don't think it will be funny any more. That scene in jail is a classic unforgettable by anyone who watch it before.

I am a banana and found Wondering Earth a very good sci-fi movie comparable to lots of Hollywood production because it retained a universal value that everyone can understand. Some of the action movies such as wolf warrior and operation Red Sea were pretty good too because action movies main selling point are action. The main problem is comedy now. Lots of HK directors try to replicate HK style comedy for China market but to most non-China people, the jokes are just not funny anymore. It is basically lost in translation. The China comedy like Detective Chinatown series are tailored for China’s market and the comedy is lost to a lot of non-China people too. In order for China comedies to be successful worldwide, it needs to discover a formula that appeals to everyone and not China people only. However, China do not need to do it because their market is big enough but if they want to be a true superpower, they need to improve their soft power to a level at least comparable to South Korea. Look at Korean movies. Anyone who don’t speak Korean still find their movies entertaining.