Shaolin (2011)

Overrated

Nice effects though.

Good concept, poorly executed.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

The first hour of this movie is great and brings out a solid emotional story mixed with kung-fu. But the second half it starts to become pretty darn ridiculous with poor development. And loses the emotional value it started out with. The story is basically about a warlord Hao Jie(Andy Lau) that starts off as a man that angry full with ambitions of power and wealth but also lacks compassion. And don't blink an eye even when taking lives. And his right hand man is Cao Man(Nicholas Tse). Hao Jie chooses his ambition and tries to wipe out his own sworn brother in war. And Cao Man uses it as an opportunity to overthrow Hao Jie. And Hao Jie becomes a wanted man and ends up in a shaolin temple. And Hao Jie starts to learn the ways of the shaolin temple. Hao Jie also meets one of the head monk by the name of Jing Neng played by jacky wu who looks like the Korean actor Chun Jung-Myung a lot. Andy Lau did a good job of playing the cold character and also a sympathetic one. Nicholas Tse tries to pull off that drunk don't give a crap looking like high all the time type of villain. But he doesn't quite seem to pull it off like how Lee Byung-hun is able to pull off. The problem is with this movie is that there just isn't enough development where it's needed. Hao Jie makes a 180 degree change way too drastically and some of the characters you don't get attached to at all. Although they take up some screen time. This is mainly do to a lot of the deleted scenes that is added on to extras for the DVD. In fact I think some deleted scenes should have been added onto the movie. Cause some parts has some character development so it adds to the value of those characters. So when they die it actually leaves a bit of an impact. But that isn't the case for this movie, I honestly didn't care who lives or who dies just which side wins as the end. I usually always like Jackie Chan in movies but his over the top kung-fu takes away from this movie. Since this is a serious kung-fu flick and not a fantasy one. If this carried the flare it had for the first half with the second half it would have been a great film but as it is. It's a pretty mediocre flick.6.6/10

Once again I hadn't read anything about the movie going in to watch it. Though I knew that Andy Lau was in it and with a title like that ... well what can one expect? A movie about Shaoling of course and one with quite a few stunts and fight scenes. And the movie delivers in that regard. It also had a "surprise" star (though again he is named here and can be seen on the poster and everywhere else) for me.On the other hand someone like Tse seems to almost bring the movie down. His character is laughable and there does not seem to be a big motivation behind some of his doings. But sometimes you need characters like that I guess. Overall, a decent movie that might entertain you, if you are into that sort of movies.

I almost skipped this flick when I saw the low 6.8 rating on IMDb. And to be honest, that would've been really unfortunate! Remember the kind of movies that leave something behind in your hearts long after they've finished running? Well, this is most certainly one of those. The background score and soundtrack will linger in your head, I guarantee you that. But most importantly, just when you THINK you've figured it all out and stamped it 'just another Kung Fu flick'; all ready to be discarded and disregarded, wait for the kicker...!A simple yet significant moral, getting to know the Buddhist way, beautiful locations, and commendable direction to top it off; This movie truly had the potential to be an epic. Almost...!I thought I'd go with an 8 at first...but finally decided on a full 10; forgiving its small flaws to make way for the bigger message this movie delivers..!

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.