Shaolin

For some reason I passed on watching this a few times. Very glad I chose it to watch tonight. I think the story and message is so amazingly well portrayed as well as the choreography and quality of movie making extremely tasteful and well done. If you've seen Ip Man, or Fist of Legend, or any movie on those levels, and have any appreciation of this genre of martial arts movies...I completely and whole heatedly suggest watching this movie. I was going to suggest to see the trailer, but I think it is best to watch without seeing the trailer. The production and direction of story telling, acting, and showmanship is top notch and I believe anybody can become a better person after seeing this movie.

I'm not a big fan of Asian movies, however, it captivated me most of the time. It has plenty of action, intrigue, beautiful scenery and some humor, especially in the scenes played by Jackie Chan. The film is one that condemns greed and thirst of power, which eventually lead some characters to self-destruction. It also has parts that I didn't like, such as the floating through the air of shaolin fighters (exaggerations like this are still found in Chinese movies) and the soundtrack copied from the one in the movie Braveheart. All in all, a good action movie.

A competent and action pack Shaolin movie… It is of a moment of distinction to proclaim that Benny Chan's latest blockbuster, not only revisited the glory days of Jet Li's first ever movie, but also reunited two of the biggest Hong Kong actors ever. Mr. Andy Lau and Mr. Jackie Chan appears on screen together for the first time since 1994's Drunken Master 2. The moment they appear together, the screen goes on fire. It is a special little segment that excites HK cinema fans, including myself. However, Shaolin fails to exceed the audience expectation and the result is a competent and efficient movie that contains wonderful action sequences, but nothing more.

The real problem of director Benny Chan is not direction, but rather the criminal under usage of Fan Bing Bing and Nicholas Tse respectively. Tse for one, should be critical of his own performance. His villainous turn is neither convincing or menacing. In fact, he should take a leaf out of Mainland's actor, Liu Ye – book of acting. His evil laugh is more cheesy than imagined and his overacting is far too laughable than villainous. A poor effort from someone who have improved immensely in films like Beast Stalker and Pigeon Stool. As for Fan Bing Bing, she performs wondrously in her extremely limited screen time. Her teary eye caught my attention, but with just two significant scenes, she is officially wasted.

All in all, Benny Chan improves from his previous Aaron Kwok's endeavor – City Under Siege. From cheesy to competent action blockbuster, Chan perfectly casted superstar Andy Lau in a role that allows him to go through the motions. At the end of the day, this is a highly effective film for what it is. Unfortunately as with most Benny Chan's movies, the film entertains, but fails to delivers anything special or original to make a good film, great. Basically, Shaolin is a good film, but not great……(Neo 2011)

I rate it 7.5/10

• www.thehkneo.com

Shaolin is an action packed, dramatic epic in the same vein as the Tom Cruise vehicle The Last Samurai. It also takes place on around the same time period, but in a time of turmoil in China where warlords fought over the land much at the expense of the masses. Warlords, which Andy Lau also appears in is great as well and I highly recommend that movie also. Anyhow, Andy Lau gives an outstanding performance here as Hou Jie. Hou Jie is a ruthless warlord general. His unscrupulous actions catch up with him that result in him taking refuge in a Shaolin temple he once disrespected. His second in command (played by Nicholas Tse) picks up where Hou Jie left off, exceeding his predecessor in immorality and cruelty. The legendary Jackie Chan appears as a lighthearted support role as cook for the Shaolin monks. This tale of redemption is a very well crafted film by HK veteran director Benny Chan. The film looks beautiful and is very well performed, shot and directed. Jet Li's preferred fight choreographer Corey Yuen set up the action, which of course is awesome and there are large helpings of it as well. Shaolin should please most action fans and has the potential to win over viewers who normally stay away from this sort of stuff, as this is very well made and an excellent dramatic film in its own right.

I almost skipped this flick when I saw the low 6.8 rating on IMDb. And to be honest, that would've been really unfortunate! Remember the kind of movies that leave something behind in your hearts long after they've finished running? Well, this is most certainly one of those. The background score and soundtrack will linger in your head, I guarantee you that. But most importantly, just when you THINK you've figured it all out and stamped it 'just another Kung Fu flick'; all ready to be discarded and disregarded, wait for the kicker...!

A simple yet significant moral, getting to know the Buddhist way, beautiful locations, and commendable direction to top it off; This movie truly had the potential to be an epic. Almost...!

I thought I'd go with an 8 at first...but finally decided on a full 10; forgiving its small flaws to make way for the bigger message this movie delivers..!