Review of Shaolin Soccer (2001) by Campbell P — 16 Jan 2016

Shaolin Soccer follows the story of a group of brothers and a retired famous soccer player that are trying to bring down the evil head of the Japanese soccer league and win a million dollars. The outcast brother, Sing, has a powerful leg that can make the most powerful cringe, but can it help them take down the many soccer teams in their way to get to the championship? This comedy is lead by famous comedic actor Stephen Chow who gives a solid performance as Sing.

He gives light and brightness to the movie and I felt his charisma on screen. The acting as a whole was just... good. Not anything special or great, just fine. In a comedy like this, you don't really expect the best acting, but just to laugh at really cheesy moments and the slapstick.

In fact that's pretty much all I cared about in the movie. The characters were likable but kinda forgettable; I can't remember most of the casts' names besides Golden Leg and Sing. I cared for those two characters simply because they were the only characters that had a background and portrayed a likable character.

Nothing against the rest of the cast, but again they were just kinda forgettable. The story was really just a by the numbers sports movie. They have to achieve a goal and they do it with ease until the last battle.

It plays out like a cliche sports movie with the whole buildup for the final battle, they're on top until the VERY end, there's a throwaway love story, and the main character is a rags to riches story.

It's a creative premise, I'll give it that; and it did make me laugh more than a few times due to the cheesy dance scenes, bad special effects, and character antics. It's a fun movie for its comedy, but there's nothing special about Shaolin Soccer.

It's a by the numbers, cheesy sports movie with some good laughs. C+.