Released: February 1986(Hong Kong)
Director: Chia-Liang Liu
Rated R
Run Time: 94 Minutes
Distributor: Shaw Brothers/Celestial Pictures
Genre: Action/Martial Arts
Cast:
Jet Li: Zhi Ming
Jianqiang Hu: Chao Wei
Qiuyan Huang: Sima Yan
Hai Yu: Master Shi Ren
As someone who grew up watching Kung Fu movies like Enter the Dragon, I’ve learn to appreciate all forms of the martial arts. I even dabbled in the arts myself with styles like American Kenpo Karate and Wing Chun Kung Fu. There’s something alluring about training your body to move in ways that most people aren’t aware of. The genre of the martial arts flick goes back nearly a century with its origins in the Far East. You see, back in the day of the old Shaw Brothers and Golden Harvest production companies, you had to have a background in the martial arts if you wanted to be a part of a Kung Fu movie. Whether you were a part of a traditional Kung Fu school or a member of the Peiking Opera House, it was mandatory that you needed to know martial arts in order to pull off some of the wild techniques that you see in these older movies. Yeah, you could have stunt doubles, but actors like Gordon Liu and Jackie Chan didn’t really need them. The Shaw Brothers production was the oldest and most well-known in Hong Kong, at least until Golden Harvest showed up. Most people don’t know that the Shaw Brothers are the reasons why we have actors like Gordon Liu and Cheng Pei-pei, who played Jade Fox in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. There was one actor who showed up towards the tail-end of the Shaw Brothers dominion of the genre. You may know his name: Jet Li.
Jet Li stars as Zhi Ming, a monk training in a northern Shaolin temple in ancient China. He continues training until he learns that a birthday party is being held for a particularly corrupt official who was responsible for the murder of Zhi’s parents. Defying his Shaolin masters, Zhi makes his way to the city when he encounters a group of assassins from a SOUTHERN Shaolin temple who are also out to kill the same official. After failing to kill the official, Zhi, Chao Wei, and Sima Yan escape to regroup and try again. That’s the story in a nutshell, and it’s been the basic formula that these movies have used for decades. It’s more or less a reason to show off the martial arts prowess of the people and actors involved in the film. Thankfully, the industry and genre have evolved a great deal since the Shaw Brothers era in terms of writing and story telling. You still see these stories being told today in different forms, though. It’s a tried-and-true plot that when well executed, never ceases to entertain.
Generally speaking, most people don’t go to Kung Fu movies for the story, although films of the last 20 or so years have proven that a Kung Fu movie CAN have a great story to go with it. No, most people watch Kung Fu movies for the action and the fighting. If you want martial arts, you came to the right movie. There is rarely a moment where you are NOT seeing martial arts employed in some fashion. There are some training sequences at the Shaolin temple which are incredible to watch. You really do see that these guys know their stuff and it’s incredible. A lot of these folks really are Shaolin monks and have spent years, even decades, training. But you also get to see Jet Li at an early stage in his career. This guy is fast. He’s an expert in wushu and other styles and you really buy him as a monk. A lot of Kung Fu movies prior to Martial Arts of Shaolin have employed wires to one degree or another, in order to exaggerate certain moves. I’ve seen two, MAYBE three instances where a wire was used in this movie. Outside of that, all the action and martial arts are grounded. Yeah, there’s high-flying acrobatics, but that’s because of the stunt team and again, not much wire-work there. But the fight choreography is second-to-none. It’s one of the best choreographed movies I’ve ever seen, especially for an 80s Kung Fu flick. You also get to see different styles used here. From certain animal styles like the praying mantis to various weapons like the spear and the three-section-cudgel, you get a lot of bang for your buck here.
Acting-wise, everything here is about what you would expect from a Kung Fu movie of this era. It’s fairly over-the-top, especially the villain. I think they just want you to know that the villain is a bad guy with his over-the-top evil laugh. I will say, though, that Jet Li was pretty good here. He even had some funny bits when he dressed up as a sheep-herding woman. It was actually pretty funny, mostly because you really don’t see Jet Li doing a lot of that anymore. He’s clearly having a good time here, and it’s pretty goofy. It works, though. It keeps the tone light and not super-serious. That’s the kind of thing that people tend to go to movies for. The set and costume designs are excellent. The cinematography is something to behold. I have to give serious credit to Hong Kong’s cinematographers. They really know how to showcase the Chinese countryside and landscapes. There’s some really beautiful shots in this movie. They even shot some of the film on the Great Wall of China. It’s mostly on location. I didn’t see a lot of moments that were shot in a studio. That’s a real testament to the film-makers involved here.
The film is well-directed and well-shot. You can see the action, which is a rarity these days, because film-makers have a tendency to use shaky-cam or extreme close-ups to hide their ineptitude in action sequences. This is the third film that Jet Li had ever made, and he would go on to become one of the most well-known martial arts actors in the industry along side Jackie Chan and Donnie Yen. Martial Arts of Shaolin would also be one of the last big film productions that the Shaw Brothers would have before switching to TV. The moment Golden Harvest Productions entered the picture, that was pretty much it for the Shaw Brothers, at least in that particular form. As far as Kung Fu movies go, Martial Arts of Shaolin is definitely worth checking out. If you’ve got Netflix, it’s on there as well as Amazon Prime. If you are a fan of the genre, there is no reason for you NOT to check this one out. It’s fantastic.
My Final Recommendation: This is a must-see for Kung Fu and Jet Li fans. 9.5/10