Synopsis
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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Cast
- Andy LauHou Chieh / Chingchueh
- Nicholas TseTsao Man
- Fan BingbingMadam Hou
- Jackie ChanWudao
- Wu JingChingneng
- Yu ShaoqunChinghai
- Xing YuChingkung
- Hai YuAbbot
- Xiong XinxinSolungtu
- Bai BingSinger
Recommendations
- 70
The New York Times
If the movie feels old-school (with new-school production values), consider its pedigree. It's no wonder: Shaolin is a reimagining of the 1982 "Shaolin Temple," in which Jet Li made his debut. - 67
Austin Chronicle
Director Benny Chan has fashioned a visually sumptuous period wushu film with a strikingly contemplative and pacifist bent. - 60
Time Out
Fists fly furiously and much blood is spilled; there's a sacrifice via sword that's both cringe-inducing and cheerworthy. Even special guest star Jackie Chan gets in on the fun with a hilarious bit of food-jitsu. It's almost enough to make you forget that this entertainingly hollow film is populated entirely with toy soldiers. - 60
New York Daily News
Jackie Chan's cameo as a monastery cook is a tiny joy. To see Chan use his once-great physical skill on a hunk of bread dough is to see a giant work in miniature. - 60
Boxoffice Magazine
Shaolin is simultaneously regal and stilted, stirring and sluggish. - 50
Slant Magazine
Only Jackie Chan, in a comedic supporting role as a Zen-trained cook who applies his culinary techniques on the battlefield (he "stir-fries" one enemy in a giant pot and "kneads" another like dough), provides any measure of relief. - 50
The Hollywood Reporter
Directed with feeling for its richly layered protagonists, the film is elevated by its emotional complexity but simultaneously dragged down by the relative shortage of propulsive, hardcore action. - 50
Variety
Well-mounted Chinese-Hong Kong martial-arts co-production Shaolin elevates enlightenment above brute strength, but weak helming undercuts the pic's punch.
