THE PLOT THUS FAR
A kid rushed into the Shaolin Temple and defeated some monks as proof he was qualified for being a disciple of Shaolin Abbot. Shaolin monks refused his request. The Shaolin Abbot was touched by seeing his knee down in front of the Shoalin temple for three days. The Abbot sent him to plant vegetable fields as a start of kung fu skill practice. Meanwhile, the kid was eager to learn kung fu skills. One day, the King of Chu visited Shaolin Temple and found out the kid was the man on his ‘wanted list’. What hatred behind those men, a battle between them was about to start.
WHAT WE THOUGHT
“Shaolin Warrior” is a pretty forgettable movie. How many times have we seen another serious film about how hard it is to be a Shaolin monk. Orphaned kids show up and learn the true meaning of Kung-Fu. There’s a twist, a villain and people have to learn out about how fighting is connected to a deep meaningful life. Maybe, I’m like this because I grew up on a steady diet of Shaw Brothers and Sho Kusugi movies.
As it is, if you’re some kid off the street and you can stand subtitles, this might impress you. The last third of the movie picks up as the King of Chu and the others fight over the wanted kid. That being said, the action picks up in a way that doesn’t fit with a young man being forced to go through the Gordon Liu style ropes. What looked like weeks is seemingly enough to turn the kid into a Martial Arts master overnight. I can suspend my disbelief, but not when I’m asked to accept something so dumb.
But, isn’t that the heart of most disposable martial arts movies? The willingness to accept that a wise teacher can finally reach a student? No, that’s “Stand and Deliver”. That was a good movie. Hell, South Park even got a decent parody out of it. The kid continues to learn and grow, then eventually saves the day. The DVD comes with a Digital Copy. The Dolby track sets a stage, but it only uses the back channels during the serious action scenes. I’m not sure of that was the purpose of it, but it works. Plus, the transfer isn’t too bad for standard definition. In the end, I’d recommend a purchase.
RELEASE DATE: 12/31/2013