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
'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