Review of Shaolin (2011) by William W — 26 Jan 2011

My heart sank when they first rumored that a remake of Jet Liâ(TM)s 1982 great classic â~The Shaolin Templeâ(TM) is going to be filmed and will be directed by Benny Chan of â~Who Am Iâ(TM) (1998), â~New Police Storyâ(TM) (2004) & â~Rob-b-hoodâ(TM) (2006). Those three was a box office hit but it doesnâ(TM)t come close to represent the golden era of eastern movie industry and Iâ(TM)m not a fan of any of it. Later â~Shaolinâ(TM) director corrected the rumor saying it was influenced and inspired by the original â~The Shaolin Templeâ~ and my head says, here comes another martial art flick. Thereâ(TM)s nothing wrong about martial art flick but you canâ(TM)t follow the 70â(TM)s or 80â(TM)s recipe of success which blatantly all kicks but zero on story. Thatâ(TM)s why I like the first â~Ip Manâ(TM) compared to the second that had better fight scenes but the the first have a story to support the action which make it more impact.

Entering the cinema with almost zero expectation, 5 minute into the movie I have my full attention on the screen & ignoring Stitch at my side. Boy am I wrong, Benny skillfully construct the whole movie and finish it with a big bang of emotional journey. He brilliantly intertwined hatred, betrayal, repent, action, revenge, forgiveness & sacrifice and I was hoping the film duration will be longer!

Power crazy army warlord Hou Jie (Andy Lau) & his sworn brother Cao Man (Nicholas Tse) confronted the Shaolin Temple which opens itâ(TM)s door helping the wounded who suffered from the feuding warlord battle to expand their power and their lands. When a planned betrayal goes awry and almost got his whole family wiped out, Hou Jie seek refuge in the Shaolin Temple. Hou Jie who was filled with anger couldnâ(TM)t accept the tragedy that befalls him until he met Wu Dao (Jackie Chan), a long-time resident of the templeâ(TM)s kitchen.

The sub plot of disciples Jing Neng, Jing Kong and Jing Hai (Wu Jing, Yanneng, Yu Shaoqun) also makes the audience felt close to this 3 character who will do anything to help the villagers and refugee of war. I couldnâ(TM)t say the same for Nicholas Tse, who tried so hard to be the bad guy but turn out to be a confused and lost warlord wannabe.

Even though the cinematographer didnâ(TM)t successfully catch the beauty of the massive undertaking to replicate Shaolin Temple until few final scene, it took 100,000 square foot lot to built real-life replica of the real temple in Song Shan . Recreating the big Buddha itself took 50 workers to built 10 meters high and weigh 10 tons, hoisted piece by piece. All the hard work paid off for the remarkable touching scene at the end of the film that successfully make the audience in the cinemas sobs loudly.

Personally, for a very long time I couldnâ(TM)t felt the spirit if Chinese New Year movie before â~Shaolinâ(TM). It has a mix of everything with a bit of religion which concentrate on the result of resentment and ended with repent. I also notice thatâ(TM)s many scene didnâ(TM)t make into the movie, hopefully it can be included in the DVD. Congratulation Benny, itâ~s a relief it's not about martial art & stunts filled movie after all.