Review of Shaolin Soccer (2001) by Stuart K — 06 Feb 2015

Written and directed by Stephen Chow (Kung Fu Hustle (2004) and CJ7 (2008)), this Hong Kong action comedy is one of the most insane sports films you will ever see, and you can't believe a film like this was dreamt up.

But, you have to hand it to Stephen Chow for having the balls to make this film, he definitely has a peculiar and wonderful view on the world, but an entertaining one at that. Sing (Chow) is a Shaolin master who wants to put his talents to good use, and make people do Shaolin as a past time, but he isn't having much luck.

That is until he meets ex-footballer "Golden Leg" Fung (Ng Man Tat), who was a brilliant player back in the day until he was betrayed by businessman and football coach Hung (Patrick Tse). Sing gets together his brothers, Iron Head (Wong Yat Fei), Hooking Leg ((Mok Mei Lam), Iron Shirt (Tin Kai-Man), Empty Hand (Danny Chan Kwok Kwan) and Light Weight Vest (Lam Chi-chung) to form a football team, which Golden Leg will coach, and they use their Shaolin skills to play football, but it's done their way! Stephen Chow's films defy all laws of physics and they defy any sense of logic, and that's what makes them good, this is absolutely bonkers, and it's definitely a film for those who hate football, as it puts a better spin on the sport.

You simply can't believe what you're seeing with this film, but you won't forget it in a hurry!