Master der Shaolin

Definitely a movie worthy of watching. I have a complete set of all Jet Li's movies (Chinese and American made) and feel that it deserves a higher rating than others have given it. Reviewers must realize that kung fu movies are fun movies with lots of action and a weak plot. You can't compare them to Hollywood's finest productions, because people have to realize that they were meant to be released in Asia only and that they are to be compared to other Asian fighting shows. Now that I've finished ranting about other's reviews let's get back to talking about the show. Jet Li plays a different character than the usual Master Wong or Master Fong. Jet usually plays the master of the kung fu club or society, but in this case him and his son are rebel outcasts of the main society. I'm not going to spoil the movie for you, but it's the usual plot of a kung fu movie - he fights the true bad guys, picks up a sexy girl who falls in love with Jet, and he fathers and trains his son. By the way, I only watch the Chinese original movies because I'd rather read the sub titles and hear the original music and read the proper meaning of the show. I understand that influences my reviews because others may be seeing badly translated dubs with stupid voices in them.Rent or buy the proper versions if you can. The theme song for Fong Sai Yuk (Jet's character in the 'Once Upon a Time in China' series is an awesome instrumental song) If you're picky about production quality, quality of plot, etc. etc. then don't watch Chinese produced Jet Li movies. Some of my other favourite Jet Li movies are 'Last Hero in China' and 'Hitman'

The American re-release of this film, "Legend of the Red Dragon", is a mess. Shows how important seven minutes can be to a film. Deannie Yip's part (Red Bean's mother) is ripped to shreds for no discernible reason whatsoever, which unfortunately makes an important plot twist seem trivial. Also, she has the best comic moments in the original film. Columbia-Tristar is the villain here. They must think 'Fu film fans are stupid - which only goes to show how stupid THEY are. A real insult.

The original film is by no means a great film; intentionally anachronistic and overly dependent on special effects, it is clearly a kind of throwaway for Jet Li and director Wong Jing (although certainly not as trashy as their Wong Fei Hung parody, "Great Hero/ Last Hero of China"). Still, it is entertaining to a surprising extent, largely thanks to Yip's comic performance. If you can find the original (I saw it on a Tai Seng tape), don't expect much, but you may find yourself enjoying it for the characters if not the martial arts.

I watched the dvd dubbed version of the movie. It was 80 minutes of fun and entertainment. I'm a big Jet Li fan and have seen many of his films and I must say this is on the top 5 list he is in. The casts were a great mix. The movie kept a fast action, high octane flow from the beginning to the end. I was either excited by the awesome action scenes, laughing out loud on the humorous scenes, or just enjoying the beautiful sceneries. The music to the movie was awesome too. It was shear enjoyment. I'll definitely watch it again and again in the future. Jet Li played a martial art master skilled in the magic spear and in this movie you get to see his skill with spears and the amazing things he can do with it from the opening action scene.

It's short enough to be watched on some idle evening but believe me you are in for a treat...especially if you are into martial art and period movies. A happy fan.

This is an okay Jet Li flick if you're into crazy wire work instead of real kung fu. I enjoyed it, but Jet Li has done better. He's also done worse. The kid who played Jet's son was great, though. Go check out Fist of Legend (original dubbed version is the best) or Tai-Chi Master (released in english dubbed form as Twin Warriors). I think someone else suggested this as well. Frankly, Jet's screen persona has always been kind of wooden. He's a martial artist, not an actor. So why does he hardly ever get to show off what he's REALLY capable of? If you want to see a Jet Li movie thats even wilder, crazier, and has more action (albeit wire-work) then check out Kung Fu Cult Master.

This movie is crazy, and i mean it!! The Martial Arts in this movie is awesome. It was a shame that Jet Li used his Spear in the whole movie, but he did a great job any way. I especially liked Tze Miu as Man-ting, his Martial Arts skills is incredible. The story is about Hung Hey-kwun and his son, who is escaping from an invincible evil Manchu(Nice Martial Arts). I give this movie 10/10