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Shaolin

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Shaolin (2011)

September. 09,2011
|
6.8
|
R
| Drama Action
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China is plunged into strife as feuding warlords try to expand their power by warring over neighboring lands. Fuelled by his success on the battlefield, young and arrogant Hao Jie sneers at Shaolin's masters when he beats one of them in a duel. But the pride comes before a fall. When his own family is wiped out by a rival warlord, Hao is forced to take refuge with the monks. As the civil unrest spreads and the people suffer, Hao and the Shaolin masters are forced to take a fiery stand against the evil warlords. They launch a daring plan or rescue and escape.

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Reviews

SunnyHello
2011/09/09

Nice effects though.

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GazerRise
2011/09/10

Fantastic!

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CommentsXp
2011/09/11

Best movie ever!

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Onlinewsma
2011/09/12

Absolutely Brilliant!

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Kevin Lea Davies
2011/09/13

Chinese compounded traditional martial arts is a fantastic and rather historic form of fighting, more commonly known as Wushu. This is a quite phenomenal mix of literally hundreds of forms and functional techniques in self defense. It of course is exceptionally popular in Asian cinema, and there is always that real sense of watching something unbelievably beautiful that has been passed down from generation to generation.'Shaolin' brings much of the same fighting styles from previous martial arts films of the last decade. It's hard to compare it to anything I have seen in recent years. I found the movie to be quite enjoyable, if a rather typical ride for most fans of Chinese Cinema. There is the typical overuse of wired stunts, which gives that somewhat graceful 'float' effect on their jumps and movements. When it's just left to the choreography of Jackie Chan and Andy Lao it is actually quite breathtaking to watch the seemingly effortless way they move their bodies in a whirlwind of fists and kicks.The story line is a rather serious topic for most films that come out of most successful communist country in the world. Most movies that come out of this part of the world are written, and re-written as to represent history in such a way that the government would approve of. This usually leads into a lot of fictionalization, just like any Hollywood drama. For example they leave out a lot of the history related to how many Shaolin Temples were destroyed over and over again in China's history, from the 16th century to even more modern times when rural warlords/generals set fire to monasteries throughout the country. The religious persecution during the communist cultural revolution still affects what can and cannot be shown in Chinese cinema, especially with religious themed films.Anyways, it is a beautiful movie to watch, some excellent dramatic moments through the whole thing, and very well acted. Most definitely one of my favorite movies out of China in the last decade.7/10

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Leofwine_draca
2011/09/14

I admire the effort and thought that's gone into the making of this movie. The producers obviously wanted something set at the much-revisited and revered Shaolin Temple, but in the meantime had to work in a storyline that's a bit different to the usual "novice monk training" style stuff. What we get is the tale of a very bad man (a glacial Andy Lau) who undergoes something of a crisis of conscience before being reborn as a pacifist fighter. Yeah, the motivations don't make a whole lot of sense, but in the end this is an action flick and it's absolutely packed with battles and that's what counts.Director Benny Chan is an old hand at this sort of stuff, of course, although he's more familiar with contemporary fight flicks (INVISIBLE TARGET etc.). Still, he acquits himself well with the historical backdrop, throwing in elaborate chase scenes, some genuinely impressive and explosive set-pieces, and of course all manner of hand-to-hand combat. The entire film builds up to one massive, sprawling set-piece at the climax which mixes large-scale combat with fights on an individual basis, and it really works. The special effects are exemplary.The story I'm less enamoured with. Lau seems slightly disinterested in the material, and I never felt much sympathy for his character's plight. The non-violence message is a bit preachy and faintly ridiculous when played out over two guys beating the hell out of each other. Nicholas Tse feels a bit uncomfortable in a role that's a far cry from the usual fresh-faced hero types he usually plays, and Jackie Chan doesn't get much of a look in at all. Nonetheless, action fans will be in their element, and I just wish I'd been able to catch myself up in the storyline a little better so that I actually cared about the characters involved.

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craemac
2011/09/15

The story line is really good and presented very well. The actors make the movie believable and entertaining: Five Stars to the cast. I am not sure of the historical context but it appears to have been based loosely on actual events...need to do some research. Violence was, in my opinion excessive...and was not needed to the degree presented to get the story across. While the movies disclaimers state that no animals were injured during filming, I have severe doubts of that claim. There are three scenes in which horses are tripped - one down a flight of stairs - and having raised horses, I know there is no way the animals could have survived those falls uninjured. Rating a 4 because of the violence.

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myloveincruz
2011/09/16

It's a martial arts movie with impressive special effects but the plot and dialog of a cartoon, which is just fine so long as you remember this is a Jackie Chan movie and suspend your disbelief. You will be invited to believe this film has depth but that's just window dressing played up by convincing actors. I felt like I was watching a grammar school production of King Lear since the directing kept on insisting it be taken seriously.Relax it's just a flick so eat your popcorn and have fun. I had to give it a 5 because of its inability to decide what kind of movie it wanted to be, a Kurosawa or a Jackie Chan with high production values.

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