Shaolin Temple - Jet Li’s Coming Out Party

Mar

19

Shaolin Temple - Jet Li’s Coming Out Party

≡ Category: Action, Comedy, Hong Kong, Martial Arts, Movie Reviews, Recommended |
≅ Written by: Michael Kydonieus

Country: Hong Kong
Genre: Action/ Martial Arts/ Comedy
Director: Cheung Yam-Yim
Year: 1982

Rating:

TRASH CINEMA RECOMMENDED MOVIE

Shaolin Temple, Jet Li’s first starring vehicle, is unusual in that it doesn’t really concentrate on one hero. For this flick, the producers hired an amazing number of competent martial artists and four martial arts coordinators, so the movie has an insane amount of martial arts. The fighting style is somewhere between the acrobatics and forms of the typical Shaw Brothers product and the hard-hitting Hong Kong style of the 80s. There are plenty of times when fighters obviously make contact, but it lacks the brutality of the later style. The emphasis is still on forms, with a minimum of wire work. Dramatically speaking, the fights aren’t as thrilling as they could be, but they’re undeniably beautiful to watch.

Jet Li himself is awesome, especially when he’s demonstrating martial arts forms. He’s lightning quick and precise and I’m sure there was no chicanery involving speeded up film. He’s also quite charming and full of the energy of youth.

There’s a surfeit of compelling performers in Shaolin Temple, all of whom can fight, including such welcome faces as Yue Hoi (who also pulled duty as one of the action directors), Yue Sing-Wai, Woo Gin-Keung, Sun Jian-Kui (who demonstrates drunken boxing), Ji Chun-Hua, and the delightful Ding Laam, who plays a shepherdess who has a yen for our hero Gong Yuen (Jet Li).

If there’s a flaw to Shaolin Temple, it would have to be the plot, which is dirt simple. A warlord, General Wang Ren Ze (Yue Sing-Wai) has been enslaving the local population. When Gong Yuen’s father objects and is promptly killed, Gong Yuen flees and collapses at the Shaolin Temple. Of course, Gong Yuen must have revenge. It doesn’t get much more complex than that.

However, director Cheung Yam-Yim wasn’t trying to make a melodrama. He doesn’t really take the plot all that seriously, so why should we? Instead, he focuses primarily on kung fu, with occasional detours into comedy, which work a surprising amount of the time, thanks to the high spirits of Jet Li, the deft comic stylings of Yue Hoi, Woo Gin-Keung, Sun Jian-Kui, and the amusing and adorable Ding Laam. There’s some dubious business involving the barbecuing of someone’s pet dog, but somehow, with this cast, and the light touch of director Cheung Yam-Yim, it isn’t as offensive as it could have been. (For that matter, a frog is chopped in half onscreen and some sheep are graphically slaughtered. If any of it was faked, the filmmakers did a good job. It’s quite bloody. Animal lovers have been warned.)

As a bonus, the filmmakers shot on location instead of using sets for the most part, so we’re treated to some spectacular scenery, especially waterfalls.

Really, Shaolin Temple is nothing more than a high-spirited romp, packed with martial arts choreography performed by excellent martial artists, but I enjoyed it on that level.