Shaolin contre Lama

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.

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.

SHAOLIN VS LAMA is a fabulous kung-fu film, complete with an excellent plot involving a stolen Shaolin manuscript detailing all the 72 techniques. The thief, a Tibetan Lama masquerading as a Shaolin student, becomes a master fighter and criminal, gaining power through murder and manipuilation of the fighting clans. A young street fighter, seeking higher knowledge of

kung-fu by challenging any teaching master he meets, in order to find a master he cannot defeat, is drawn to the Shaolin temple and put at odds with the murderous Tibetan monks.

In rapid, but logical succession, a series of fights occur, escalating to operatic heights. The villain is a vicious, unstoppable monster; the young hero is loyal and determined. There are no extraneous kung-fu fight scenes, everything plot-wise is tight and staccato, with each confrontation revealing volumes of character. As in the best of the genre, the fighters, who have conditioned their bodies to absorb and deliver incredible amounts of punishment, eventually turn out to be human in two distinct ways: upon finding redemption, and just before death. An excellent film.

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.

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.