Shao Lin dou La Ma

I've red many favourable reviews for Shaolin vs. Lama here and on different Kung Fu-movie forums and I have been recommended to see it when asking for good independent flicks that can compete with the Shaw Brothers and Golven Harvest productions of that era. Unfortunately, I'm vastly disappointed, but not to the point where I wouldn't watch it several times again, simply because it's so entertaining.

The English dub is horribly funny, and provides us with some nonsensical dialogue and Australian-sounding voice actors, which adds tons to it's charm. If you like this type of low-budget style dubbed Kung Fu movies, you'll be sure to get lots of laughs out of this one as well. The outrageous characters, especially the Shaolin and Lama monks with the longest white eyebrows you'll ever see and crazy hairstyles don't make the movie any less worth watching, trust me.

The problem I have is the fighting, which I was told would be amazing. I can easily say, it's not. It's very rough, stiff and repetitive, especially if you compare to contemporary Kung Fu movies from Lau Gar-Leung and The Venom Mob. However, there's a lot of talent involved, and many moves and blows are excellently executed. The action is plenty and has a certain cartoonish feeling about it, which together with the obsessive overuse of undercranking to speed up the already wacky choreography, makes the Kung Fu very watchable and entertaining. Bare in mind though that it's not good fighting per se. If you want to see really good fighting in an independent Kung Fu movie, look for classics like: 7 STEPS OF KUNG FU, HELL'Z WINDSTAFF, 7 GRANDMASTERS, DAGGERS 8, and SNAKE DEADLY ACT. I sincerely recommend Shaolin vs. Lama, mostly since in all it's cheesy glory, it's a good way to spend an hour and a half any given day.

I recently rewatched Shaolin vs. Llama (1983) on Tubi. The story follows a wandering martial artist seeking to expand his skills. After training in the ways of Shaolin, he becomes indebted to the school and is given a chance to officially join-if he can retrieve a stolen scroll. To prove himself, he sets out on a mission to track down the rogue monk responsible for the theft.

Directed by Tso Nam Lee (The Tattoo Connection), the film stars Shan Charng (Flag of Honor), Alexander Lo (Kung-Fu Commandos), Chi-Sheng Wang (Master of the Flying Guillotine), and Chi-Ping Chang (The Master).

This is top-tier martial arts cinema, delivering everything a genre fan could want. The dialogue is sharp, balancing humor with witty exchanges. It features classic kung fu training sequences, iconic background music, and phenomenal fight choreography. The school invasion scene is a highlight, and the film boasts an elite villain. The final battles build to a perfect crescendo, making for an immensely satisfying conclusion.

In short, Shaolin vs. Llama is a must-watch martial arts classic. I'd score it 9/10.

This is a low budget, by the numbers, been there done that, totally formulaic martial arts movie from Taiwan that came out when the entire genre of martial arts movies was starting to stink like old meat. Yet I find about ten reviews here all saying how much they liked it.

How is that even possible? I think it comes down to two things. The best of these movies are simply all about the martial arts. Here is a simple story about a guy on a journey to learn all he can about martial arts. The only other thing is pacing. Hardly two minutes go by before another fight breaks out. Yes, it is quantity over quality, but at least the fights all look different and have good power and focus. That's all it takes for an enjoyable and quickly forgettable 90 minutes.

A very enjoyable film to say the least. Certainly not the best Hong Kong has to offer, but it is still very good. I especially like the plot of the story. It's nice to a deviation from the typical kung fu movie, of "you killed my brother, now I must avenge him" or the "I'm the best there is, and I'm just going to get better."

I think the best overview of this movie was written by "robotman-2." He very accurately described the main points of the movie, especially the ending where he said "...(The evil monk) eventually turn(s) out to be human in two distinct ways: upon finding redemption, and just before death..." What I think he was trying to say about the movie was: The evil character found redemption just before his death, thus proving him human. The last line spoken by the evil monk was a great line. He said "I must die in order to prove Buddha's existence." This is really great, because earlier on in the movie, one of Buddha's teachings was questioned when a Shaolin monk asked why the Shaolin sect let evil exist, if it went against the teachings of Buddha. And the last line of the bad guy wraps up this question. Terrific!

The dubbing of the movie was slightly Australian influenced, and you could hear it in the voices. A little lacking in emotion at some points, but still very well done. The fight scenes were also well worth watching, especially the very first one between the hero and his Shaolin master before the monk would officially take him as a pupil. It was really goofy to watch a guy trying to learn kung fu from a monk master who wants to eat a whole chicken. Pretty cool stuff.

I really enjoyed the succession of this movie. Everything seemed to fall into place, right down to the last utterance of the bad guy right before he committed suicide. Only a slight hinderance with the dubbing leaves this movie a 6:10. I only give it a 6 because there are some movies out there that kick the pants off of this movie, but are of a different genre. That is why it is hard to give this movie only a 6. Good day gentlemen.

This film has good fast fighting as well as i good storyline which is rare for Kungfu films. The dubbing is really good. Ive watched this film over and over again and i've never got bored of this film. I have had this film for around 4 years and even to this day I regularly watch this film with my friends. All of the fight scenes in this film are really excellent, and i reccomend this film to anyone who is interested the Martial Arts.