Matrixiole
Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.
Brendon Jones
It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.
Gary
The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.
Kayden
This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama
Rooster99
If you can ignore the animal cruelty in the film, and just focus on the martial arts, this is truly an impressive film. Unfortunately, quite a bit of screen time is wasted while Jet Li accidentally kills a dog, and then proceeds to consume it. It is quite an odd scene, with other novices from the Shaolin Temple coming out of the trees to enjoy a good old German Shepherd kabob. There is another scene where a lamb's throat is crushed by a follower of the evil king, and his lackeys run around killing sheep with lances. I understand the setting was long before the existence of PETA, but it was nonetheless surprising (disturbing) to see actual animals butchered on camera.Nevertheless, the Kung Fu in this movie is spectacular. Jet Li and his co-stars have such incredible command of their movements, it is breathtaking. The action sequences pull no punches, there are no comedic Jackie Chan moments, instead it is all-out war to the finish. In my humble opinion, the fight scenes are some of the best ever filmed.R.
Reshep
Thinking back, I was very lucky to find this film when I was about 20 years old, in HMV in Birmingham of all places.Although bought at random it soon began to get regular viewings between myself and friends, and along with Gordon Liu's 36 chambers of Shaolin became one of my favourite films.Although the dubbing was dire in my opinion, it could be forgiven when weighed up against all the various styles shown and fight scenes, and light comedy moments.I will never forget the scene when Li is spying on the other monks, esp the guy with a dart on rope spinning it underneath himself with only the back of his head and one foot touching the ground at an insanely quick pace.
BernieK
"The Shaolin Temple" is the first Chinese martial arts film to use gongfu artists instead of actors. Initially, the Japanese investors hired actors, but didn't like the results, so they hired regional and national wushu champions. Although Jet Li is the main character and his wushu is exceptional, don't underestimate the other gongfu artists; they are just as good. The film was two years in the making due to injuries the cast received doing their own stunts. The credits state that the fight choreography was done by Pan Qing Fu, but this is not so. The cast choreographed their own fight scenes and deserve the credit they've been denied.
chris-836
This is Jet Li's first film as a lead actor, and it doesn't disappoint. The martial arts action is great and the scenery around the Shaolin Temple in Luoyang, China is breathtaking. There are a variety of weapons and styles that are showcased in the film, adding to the action. In particular, seeing the 3 sectional staff used in combat was really cool, and there's one guy who does flips off of his head!It is a rare one to find but if you can find it, I recommend seeing "ShaoLin Temple".