Review of Shaolin (2011) by Panta O — 28 Jul 2011

I wanted to see this movie with all my heart... and that's why I was so dissapointed at the end... I expected so much more! Shaolin, also known as The New Shaolin Temple, is a 2011 film directed by Benny Chan, starring Andy Lau, Nicholas Tse, Wu Jing, Xing Yu, and Fan Bingbing, with a special appearance by Jackie Chan. It is an updated version of Jet Li's film debut, The Shaolin Temple which I loved and I lived in hope that this new one will make even better...

The film is set in Dengfeng, Henan, during the warlord era of early Republican China. The warlord Hou Jie defeats a rival named Huo Long and seizes control of Dengfeng. Huo Long flees to Shaolin Temple to hide but Hou Jie appears and shoots him. Hou Jie ridicules the Shaolin monks before leaving. And the faith starts its role... things change quickly and the vilains have a chance to become good guys...

I won't go to the story too much, if you see it it can spoil some of the moments...

This carefully crafted film started in October 2009 with a jubilant ceremony held inside Shaolin Monastery. News first spread of the project when the film's co-star Jackie Chan announced on his official website that he was involved with the project but was not able to talk about it due to contract restrictions. Chan and his crew built their own "Shaolin Temple" in Zhejiang province that cost 10 million yuan (US$1.47 million) to avoid damaging the actual temple. The cast members shaved their heads bald for filming, whereas Chan, who wore a hat, shaved around his head where his hair was sticking out. I loved the final result of the whole effort but I was dissaponted with the lack of "spirit" in the actual feel of the movie... it was always something BIG lacking... on the edge most of the time... but I can't say it was a bad movie!

And if you like theme song, Wu (悟), it was performed by Andy Lau himself... (by the way his left hand was injured while he was filming a fight scene not signing).