Shao Lin si

I love this movie. In fact, when I saw it, I started to love kung fu movies. Why? If you have seen this movie you will know why. Don't ask, just see it. Because this is the greatest kung fu movie ever made. No "Hero", no "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", this movie is the best. Great story, even greater fights - what else do you need? This is the first Jet Li's movie and it made him star.

I will not tell you the story. See the movie and you will know it. If I could, I woul give "Shaolin Temple" not 10 but 20/10. Well, I can't...

But now I am wasting your time. Don't waste time with reading comments, just go and see this great movie!

This join venture of Hong Kong and mainland China started the 1980's boom of martial arts flicks in China.

Jet Li is the protagonist in this movie and unlike his later works, there is no stunt, no cable, no crane, no other equipment, no special effect, no fake moves, and no artistic creations. Every move is real, and the Hong Kong producers & director ingeniously employed the Chinese martial arts athletes of provincial teams and one from the national team, Jet Li, instead of ordinary actors to perform, thus giving a very realistic view.

This is a very cool movie, I loved every second of it. Jet Li, in his first film, displays some of his most brilliant fighting moves and skill. It's no wonder this flick made him a superstar and martial arts icon.

The acting is quite alright, though the plot, which really no one cares about, is actually quite interesting.

All of the fights were totally massive and stylish, the pace was excellent. The weapons fight between Jet and the main bad guy general dude is awesome. Jet moves unbelievably fast in this bout and they repeat this excellent performance in the final battle. Jet shows true skill, just like the rest of the cast here.

No camera tricks. No high production value (even compared to the Hong Kong Kung Fu movies at that time). No stunt men/women. No wire. It is just pure Kung Fu. The location is real and so are the fighting. It belongs to the classic that we miss in today's Kung Fu movies. If you practice Kung Fu, you have to watch it repeatedly to learn a lot from the real masters. It is quite good for the first Kung Fu movie made in China (about 20 years ago).

Jet Li's first movie, and it set the stage for his future success. Really good kung fu, really good action, and not too many slow points. Pretty typical storyline; evil warlord kills boys father, boy escapes to Shaolin temple, improves his skill and fights a lot of people. But for a movie this old, the fighting is really done well. I'm sure that this is a pretty hard movie to come across, but if you ever get the opportunity to see it, by all means take advantage of it.