Shaolin Temple

In the Tang period a general betrays the emperor and sets up his own throne in the eastern capital. Under his cruelty a blacksmith is killed. His son escapes and reaches the Shaolin monastery wounded. The monks heal him. He wants to stay and to learn to fight. The monastery has rules: monks do not enter politics, do not eat meat, do not kill. The young man accepts the rules but his intention is plain. He trains for years. Then soldiers come to the gate and the monks have to decide. Cheung Sing-Yim directs. Jet Li plays the lead; Yu Hai and Yu Chenghui are in the cast. It is a Hong Kong and Chinese co-production. It is Jet Li's first film; he was a national champion in martial arts competition and moved into cinema with it. Most of the cast are not professional actors; they were chosen from real wushu athletes and no doubles were used. It was shot at the actual Shaolin monastery and around it. It was a large commercial success in China and helped revive interest in the monastery. The fights rest on technique rather than display; each athlete shows his own discipline. The matter it treats is the tension between revenge and faith. Its limit is the script; the plot is simple, the characters are types and the dialogue weak. Who it is for: viewers who like martial arts cinema and Jet Li. Who it is not for: the story is thin, the acting weak, and the pace drops outside the fights.