Shaolin Soccer

Stephen Chow writes, directs and stars in probably his funniest and most accessible (to Western audiences, at least) film to date.

Sing (Chow) is trying to find a way to encourage his countrymen to re-embrace their Shaolin kung fu heritage. When he meets down-at-heel ex-soccer coach Fung (Ng), the pair hatch a plan to form a soccer team with Sing's Shaolin brothers. Unfortunately, these guys have lost their kung fu skills. Sing resolves to help his brothers regain their dignity, then lead them into a championship showdown with the seemingly unstoppable Evil Team. He also finds time to fall in love with Tai-Chi baker Mui (the usually lovely Vicki Zhao), who gets some of the funniest scenes in the movie.

As a non-Chinese speaker, my experience with Chow's previous films is patchy, his wordplay humour rarely making a decent transition to subtitles. The comedy here though is mostly physical, possibly even deliberately geared more towards a Western market. The plot - however clichéd - is a pleasing tale of underdogs made good, and the movie has a definite feelgood feel and uplifting ending. Even the CG is impressive and well used. It's the most entertaining movie I've seen in ages.

I was watching the Universe DVD. Subs are decent enough, without too many typos, and the 'making of' and other extras have English subs also.

This has to be one of the goofiest, dumbest, strangest - and funniest - films ever made! It made sound like a cliché, but you truly have to see this movie to believe it. It's that outrageous, far-out: a slapstick film containing martial arts, supernatural power and the sport of soccer.

We get the usual misfits-make good story, which is nothing new, but how it happens in unlike anything I've ever seen. I can't recall how man times I literally laughed out loud watching these ludicrous scenes. The climactic soccer game at the nd got carried away, of course, but it was still fun to watch.

Earlier in the story, the bizarre dialog, odd encounters with different characters and the humor is stupid many times.....but so stupid, it's comical! I just shook my head in amazement at what I was seeing and hearing. Be prepared, as I said, for some incredible dumb things, but also for much weird but definitely entertaining stuff.

Note: I watched the short "English theatrical version" which runs 89 minutes. You can also view the 112-minute Chinese version. From what I've heard, read, and witnessed, the 89- minute is sufficient. Any more of this insanity would be too much.

Or: the funniest movie I've seen this decade! I was expecting a moderate little asian comedy worthy about an IMDB 7 TOPS, but at the end, I was forced to give this 9 points! See, no other comedy has actually brought me to tears laughing in recent history! Either mr. Chow is a genius or he's one lucky sonova. See, "Shaolin soccer" just happens to press all the right buttons, and in right places! In the little "relief" spots it's as dramatic as it's supposed to be, and the rest, it's big, big, BIG laughs all the way. HIGHLY recommended! P.S. If you don't like this movie, your heart must be made of stone and you have absolutely NO sense of humour. My condolences.

This is a ride, more than a movie. And well, if it is a movie, it could be many more movies also. It has a story about a soccer tournament, like in a sports movie. It has a story about love, a really good one, like in a romantic movie; and it has a story about friendship, like in many kinds of movies. It surely has some other stories which I won't tell. Here, Stephen Chow took the amazing work of creating a story involving real characters in not so real, but agreeable situations. He has given each character a personality of its own; just to create comedy, with a humor that is sometimes honest and others rough. It has some great comedy moments although, coming from the characters, very peculiar ones.

It basically all comes from the characters. You have different persons, united by one thing: Shaolin Kung-Fu. And then you have one man, with one passion: Soccer. This premise helps to create human emotions in the characters. They all have a past that, for some reason, want to forget. Except one of them, who could be living in the past, and still thinks in the goodness of Shaolin Kung-Fu. He believes in it so much, that he gives speeches to people about the qualities of his culture, and the improvement it could do in society. He is right, and sooner or later, she will remind these things to some people, and they will all remember. They will all be prepared to get together again.

What a good-hearted film this is, and how it is filmed, it's beyond imagination. You will find special effects from other world. In occasions, these will seem slow for you, and you will think they are not well managed or handled; but then you will watch. Watching will make you connect all the elements of the story, to make it one. In elements I include special effects, and say again: they couldn't be done better, especially in a movie like this one.

The actors do a great job, the entire cast. They give their characters, the personal development they need. They are not playing the most complex people in the world, but they still know what characters they're playing.

You will probably find something you've seen before, I can't deny that. You will find the ending you expect, the situations you imagine, the resolutions you anticipate, or not. You'll have the old coach, the person with the dreams and the heart, the girl; it's just that you'll have them differently (you'll realize what I mean).

The truth is, that in a world full of clichés, this is another type of cliché. A very different one. So different that I would say it is not a cliché at all.

Although the Sports Comedy genre is often plagued with cliché and is usually only for the most strict of fans, you definitely don't have to be a Soccer/Football fan to enjoy Shaolin Soccer, It helps if you enjoy the idea of a silly (but not stupid or bad) Martial Arts Flick.

Compared to films of director Stephen Chow's past (King of Comedy, God of Cookery), Shaolin Soccer is a much greater visual treat. Although he's not exactly from brilliant yet, the direction has improved vastly. And the new CG scenes are often amusing and visually interesting demanding repetitive viewings.

While the film is fun and generally smart, it falls prey to a bit of an obvious story, of course this is one of those little-plot high-laugh comedies, One can't help be feel bogged down by some of the love plot, which unlike a lot of the soccer field action, it's totally predictable and at times is a bore.

If you must see Shaolin Soccer, be sure to watch it with it's original language and subtitles. The American English version had many of the films funniest scenes cut to make the film more PG-13 rating. Watch it in it's uncut version to see one of the funniest and most enjoyable Sports-Martial Arts-Comedy of the 2000's.