MyRating: YYYY1/2
Director: Benny Chan
Cast: Andy Lau, Nicholas Tse, Jackie Chan, Fan Bingbing, Wu Jing, Xing Yu, Yu Shaoqun, Xiong Xin Xin, Yue Hoi
There are at least two things that make this movie special and well worth to wait. First, this movie was said to be the updated version of the 1982 The Shaolin Temple, that launched the career of Jet Li in his debut cinematic role. Second, the involvement of two Hong Kong megastars, Andy Lau and Jackie Chan, in their collaboration together in the silver screen after 17 years. Their last movie together was in The Legend of Drunken Master (1994), where Andy Lau appeared as cameo and Jackie Chan reprised one of his most legendary roles as Wong Fei-hung, the same role that also shot Jet Li to stardom in Once Upon A Time in China (1991).
This new Shaolin was directed by Benny Chan, a director who has collaborated so many times with Jackie Chan, Who Am I? (1998), New Police Story (2004) and Rob-B-Hood (2006). This movie is actually not a remake from the old version, as it took a totally new characters, new background story, new plots, and new settings of the Shaolin temple. The story was set in the era after the fall of the Qing dynasty, when China was torn apart by the feuding warlords, battling each other to gain power and territory over the lands. At the same time, the country was also threatened by the Western powers who try to take benefits on top of the chaos and dissension in China.
One of the warlords is Hou Jie (Andy Lau), an arrogant, ruthless and power-thirsted General, who have enjoyed lots of success in the battlefields. He has no mercy for the enemies and nor afraid of the heaven, as he chases and beats his enemy up to the Shaolin temple, challenging the monks and humiliating the sacred temple. He also treats his closest ally as an incoming danger. His fear also makes him plan to wipe his ally out, as he has his famous saying, "Before I see them dead, then I cannot sleep well at night." But everything has its karma. And it comes to Hou when he is being betrayed by his trusted protege, who leads him and his family into a tragic fall. 
Unexpectedly, which no man can plan, Hou is forced to take refuge into the Shaolin temple, where he meets Wudao (Jackie Chan), the Shaolin cook monk, who provides him with food, a place to stay, and teaches him about the meaning and harmony of life. And there, Hou's hatred and uneasy heart slowly begins to melt, as he learns about peace and forgiveness, that finally makes him want to become a part of the temple himself. But outside, his betrayer, who now becomes an even more ruthless and evil warlord, will never stop and sleep well before seeing Hou dead, and he plans to ambush the Shaolin temple and wipe them all, once and for all. So, Hou and the monks have to stand up and fight, not only to protect the dignity and existence of the temple, but also for the sake of humanity and righteousness.
This is a very good revisited and fresh retelling of a Shaolin Temple story, with a big budgeted production of around US$ 29 Million, including building a new set of Shaolin temple in Zhejiang Province costing 10 million yuan (around US$ 1.47 million), in order not to damage the real temple. This movie also involved many special effects, especially in the scene when they destroyed the temple. Even though I have to say that the special effects looked rough and the set of the Shaolin temple itself looked a bit bleak, low profile, and smaller than what I have in mind (except when we see the overall temple in the bird-eye-view when it was being destroyed), in overall this movie gave the right vibe as a Shaolin movie, and it did look grand. And what made this movie stand out was the splendid cast, excellent performances, enjoyable and thoughtful story, and the great Shaolin martial arts showcase, with action sequences directed by the experienced Corey Yuen. This movie was not all about actions though, but also brought a gripping and moving drama with a lot of heart, that captured the spirit of humanity and Buddhism. As the director, Benny Chan did a great job in making this one a first class movie. 
Andy Lau gave a terrific performance as General Hou Jie, who has to go through a phase of life that transforms him from a cruel warlord with a heart full of anger and hostility, to a repentant monk who has to learn humbleness and forget about his past. This seasoned actor, who is also my favorite Hong Kong actor, was a perfect choice for the role. Despite of not having the real martial arts capability, not like Jackie Chan or Jet Li, his charisma and impressive dramatic performance here, with lots of emotions, was just flooded the screen. Lau is known as a professional and perfectionist actor. In this movie, he really shaved his head to become bald in one scene, despite actually the makeup artists could fake his head with cosmetics. He just wanted the film to look real and authentic. Lau is also a box office guarantee (in the past, his name was there with the other four big names, Jackie Chan, Chow Yun-Fat, Jet Li and Steven Chow, who used to draw big bucks in Hong Kong and other Asian markets). Unarguably as one of the greatest entertainers Hong Kong ever has, he is also one of the Hong Kong's Four Heavenly Kings (the other three are Jacky Cheung, Leon Lai and Aaron Kwok), which title was crowned to them in the earlier 1990's due to their superstar status as the most popular cantopop singers at that time. In real person, Lau is a humble guy, very good with people, extremely hard worker, and has a heart of charity. And as years go by, he is just getting better and better in all what he does. Needless to say, he is already the living legend in the industry now.
As the supporting actor who shared lesser screen time, Jackie Chan gave a comedic and comical performance as the cook monk, who doesn't like to fight, but when he is forced to, the way he fights is like the way he cooks. His appearance was fun to watch, as his character, with his strange accent, was a smile teaser, which just fitted well with Chan's happy and easygoing personality. Loved his interaction with Andy Lau, which contributed some good moments in the movie. Nicholas Tse also gave a pretty nice performance to match his seniors, as the cunning Cao Man, Hou Jie's right-hand man, whose villainous traits and face will definitely make audiences detest him. While the beautiful Fan Bingbing sweetened the screen as Hou Jie's wife. Another interesting appearances were Wu Jing, Xing Yu and Yu Shaoqun as the three 'big-brother' disciples of the Shaolin temple, and Xiong Xin Xin as Cao Man's fierce henchman. As soon as these guys fight, it was a delight to watch.
This is a hugely entertaining Shaolin movie that we have not seen for a very long time, with well choreographed martial arts and fighting sequences. The movie was also a reflective and introspective one, as shown in the ending. Well, the ending may not satisfy all audiences. It was not exactly a perfect ending, but in overall, this is a great Shaolin Temple movie. Many real Shaolin kid monks, who took parts in this movie, also shared their joys, as well as their fists and kicks in some fun fighting scenes. Shooting together with these two big stars, who are known to be always kind with their film crews and other casts, must be a delightful for these little monks, as they felt sad and crying when they realized that the shooting was over, and they have to say goodbyes to Andy Lau and Jackie Chan. In one article that I read, Andy Lau even have to comfort them and said, "Don't cry! Don't cry! We will meet again! I will buy you all tickets to come to Hong Kong to see my concert, okay? We can meet again there!" What a nice guy. And I somehow believe I will see these little monks sitting in the front row in his next concert, or even take parts by performing in the stage. It will surely be the best and unforgettable moments in their lives. Who won't? I know I will. (MJ)THEME SONG: (Vocal & Lyrics by ANDY LAU)
- SHAOLIN SOUNDTRACK (Short Version)
- SHAOLIN SOUNDTRACK (Long Version)
(To not quit this blog, select with "Right Hand Click")
