Shaolin Soccer

Rating:
Summary: Wow, just wow
Review: I very rarely (if ever) review movies. So why start now? Sometimes good things go unnoticed due to them being strange or not promoted right. Shaolin Soccer definitely falls into those categories. Movie is old by industry standards since it was made in 2001. It was recognized and wildly played in Asia and Europe but got none of the publicity in North America. Just like the title suggests Shaolin masters of Kung Fu are playing soccer. It's not another non stop Jackie Chan fighting movies. It has a decent plot; it has a fight between good and evil, greed and humbleness, lies and honesty. It teaches about friendship, being loyal, dedication and positive look on life regardless of the circumstances. And of course the special effects: amazing stunts and Matrix like action make it stand out from other Asian productions. Movie is well paced with no down time. Everything that happens, leads to more and more action. We have our share of baseball and football movies which all of them containing their dose of drama. Now it's time for a soccer movie. It's a bit of comedy mixed with action. Even if you've seen 1000 martial arts movies, even if you are sick and tired of sports genre flicks, see Shaolin Soccer. It is different and you will be glad you did.

Rating:
Summary: Funniest movie of the last decade!
Review: If you like Mangas, The Matrix, Crouching Tiger, Austin Powers humor, then you'll definitely need to watch this movie. It reminded me of old comedy movies, where the simplest things, if put in the right place will make you laugh till you cry.
The plot is quite simple, a bunch of shaolin masters who got lousy jobs since their master died, will team back again to win a soccer grand prize of 1,000,000$, and each one of them has his own "Super Power". The best part is when they start facing stronger and stronger opponents; you get the best showdown ever in martial arts and special effects.
Long story short, go and watch it, you won't regret it.

Rating:
Summary: Love Sports? Then Watch This Ultra-Funny Action-Comedy
Review: In the summer of 2001, this hilarious comedy-action film was released in Hong Kong, and it immediately became the biggest hit there, even beating the previous box-office record of Jackie Chan's "First Strike." The craze went on, and when it was released in Japan in May, 2002, it again became an instant smash hit even though Stephen Chow's name, before that release, had been known only among the small number of devoted Hong Kong film fans. How the movie is received in US and other regions, I don't know, but as those facts testify, "Kung-Fu Soccer" is an incredibly funny movie.

[STORY}] You need one? OK, it is about a young man Sing (Chow) who wants to promote the usefulness of kung-fu he learned at Shaolin Temple, and an ex-star soccer player "Golden Leg" Fung (good supporting actor Ng Man Tat), who is now down and out, living in misery. However, when Fung meets Sing on the street of Hong Kong, and sees how he kicks an empty can miles away (literally), Fung realises that here is a golden opportunity for him to regain the dignity and pride he lost long time ago. Combination of Kung-fu and soccer! Invincible!!

So, Sing recruits the old pupils he knew when he was training at the temple to make a soccer team. They are no longer what they were; one is a businessman busy with a cell ohone, another totally unemployed, and so on.... And they seem to have lost the skills they had once until, of course, one day, suddenly, they come back in good shape, ready for fight, game for more. Meanwhile, Sing meets a girl named Mui (Vicki Zhao), and a romance (but very unusual one) starts to bloom. My overall impression is, in short, Austin Powers with sports and martial arts.

[WHO IS STEPHEN CHOW?] Chow has been very popular in Hong Kong since the year 1990, about two years he made his film debut, and he is 40 years old at the time of writing this, but looks much younger and very agile. His comedies are always filled with incredibly stupid and ridiculous things, often under the very unique situations. Some of his movies include "With Love from Beijin" (1994) "The God of Cookery" (1996), and many others, and I hope those titles would tell you what you see in those funny films. Always stupid and powerful, often with extraordinary parodies, his films give you dynamic gags with improvised atomosphere. Though the film often lacks a coherent story, and his character is not always amiable, finally you come to like him.

[ABOUT THIS FILM] As I said, "Kung-Fu Soccer" is a funny comedy, and it also uses first-rate wire-actions and CG images to create its original world. The soccer players jump (to the height of more than 10 meters), kick a ball (to make a hole in a concrete wall, or sometimes catches fire, becoming a roaring puma-like shape!), and ... well, about the rest you should see for yourself. Some of the CGIs are intentionally (and aptly) cheesy (see how villains fly in a browl), but some are surprisingly effective, especailly in the final game scene. Not "Titanic" class, but its use is well-regulated and most importantly, makes lots of funny scenes.

[AND ... TRIVIA] 1) As Stephen Chow is a great fan of Bruce Lee, he makes a reference to this legendary hero in the character of the goal keeper whose orange-colored uniform is that of Lee in his last film "Game of Death." 2) Vicki Chao is a famous, very popular idol singer/actress in mainland China, but she never shows her real face. Three time she appears, but each time she is wearing some make-ups. This is an in-joke for those who know her, but to some audience Chow's joke may seem to have gone too far. 3) If you're a Hong-Kong film fan, check out the special appearances of Karen Mok with a strange make-up (regular of Chow's films like "The God of Cookery" and also seen in Jet Li's "Black Mask") and Vincent Kok (also seen in "With Love" and director of Jackie Chan's "Gorgeous").

[AND FINALLY...] The film has first made with the running time of 102 minutes, and then two additional sequences are made to make it 109 minutes (I saw the latter one in Japan). However, it has been reported that for the US release Miramax decided to cut extensively the Asian version, so you may keep that in mind. But, though I hate those changes done to the films, I think, as far as this case goes, the cuts would not affect the total effect of the film very much (I admit some parts of the original version was, to me, a little unnecessary or ineffective) because the film itself is way too funny. Well, anyway, that's for the record.

I love the film. Hope you enjoy it.

Rating:
Summary: Shaolin Soccer rules
Review: Stephen Chow has made one of the finest comedies ever to come from Hong Kong. A supreme blend of Kung Fu action, excellent special effects, cracking gags, visual hilarity and lets not forget soccer! It all adds up to Grandstand meets Matrix meets Tom & Jerry.

Although it is heavily laden with special effects these in no way hinder the movie, they only serve to add and reinforce it. This is a rare occasion where they could have had more special effects.

If you want to see a unique comedy, then look no further than Shaolin Soccer! PS. See the directors cut on DVD, for some reason some of the funniest jokes were cut out?

Rating:
Summary: Stephen Chow The King of Comedy
Review: Terrific! I saw this movie 2 times and I really think is a GREAT movie... you have a lot of fun but also some dramatic moment... well, drama is in Stephen's way, so you can imagine... To really appreciate this movie you have to watch it in chinese; anyway, you can't watch a Stephen Chow's film in any other language or you will miss the best! The movie is also filled with cool special effects... totally worth the money!

And no wonder that for this movie Stephen won for Best Director, Best Actor and Outstanding Young Director at the 21st Annual Hong Kong Film Awards.

Stephen Chow is so hot!

Rating:
Summary: grreaat
Review: This movie is funnay!It employs some great martial arts techniques and kool computer effects. It begins with a group of former Shaolin monks that have chosen to embark on different ways of life. They reunite through one student that is down on his luck poor, but still positive. Another man was once a soccer legend and loses that prestige through an injury. He takes abuse from the coach. He then meets the former shaolin monk and they decide to form a soccer team.
It sums up the sense of honor and respect that the martial arts emanate. It does this lightly and humorously. The part in which stephen chow and his other monk brethren dress up and sing and dance...very funny. I nearly choaked on my popcorn and collapsed on the floor of my room laughing. It has the contrast of the basic yin and yang of evil, hence the "evil team"(a bad soccer team that the shaolin monks must compete against)It brings the martial arts timeless ideals of honor into the 21rst century, With style and substance.

Rating:
Summary: My new fascination with Stephen Chow
Review: While I like to think of myself as an internationalist when it comes to watching films, I had never heard of Stephen Chow before deciding to take a chance on 'Shaolin Soccer.'

Shame on me. Chow turns out to be a hilarious and creative star. Who could have dreamed of something as goofy, infectious and, at the same time, as technically brilliant (the special effects are eye-popping) as Shaolin Soccer? Now, I'm reading through the comments left here by Mr. Chow's longtime fans and I realize I'm going to have to check out some of his "better works" (as judged by these aficionados) like 'God of Cookery' and 'From Beijing with Love'.

Not knowing what to expect from Shaolin Soccer, I found myself delightfully convulsed with laughter at two early points in the film:

- An impromptu synchronized 'street' rendition of the Kool and the Gang hit 'Celebration.' This is almost impossible to explain. When it took shape in the movie, I literally mouthed the words "What the...?" Truly inspired.

- A second muscial number, in which two of the Shaolin 'brothers' take to the stage in an ill-fated cabaret act. While I'm sure this was even funnier in Cantonese, even the wonderfully descriptive subtitles demonstrated the amateur campiness of their performance (which was exactly Chow's point).

Plus, for any soccer/football fan the depictions of the in-game events are a joy. All in all, Shaolin Soccer was a unexpected treat.

Rating:
Summary: The King of Comedy's finest work.
Review: Words fail me when trying to describe this movie to those who have not been fortunate enough to see it. Imagine if the Matrix took place inside an 8-bit NES Super Dodge Ball cartridge, or if "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" were crossbred with "Solarbabies." Stephen Chow, the director and star of this film, is a comedic genius on the level of David Cross during the Mr. Show days, or Ben Stiller at his top cinematic form (Mystery Men, for example). In it, he plays an ever-optimistic kung-fu student who is desperately trying to reintroduce the ancient arts to a jaded world of cellphones and jetliners. A chance meeting with a once-famous soccer star, now elderly and crippled, sets up the plot for one of the most well-executed and hilarious kung-fu movies of all time: the two conspire to combine kung-fu with soccer, creating a nigh-invincible team of superhumans. This was obviously Chow's largest budget movie to date, as the special effects are on par with American films, but even without that extra boost the story would carry on just as well as it does in his other films (such as "God of Cookery"). I won't try to explain any further, as my pithy language skills could never do justice to the ever-increasingly preposterous scenes they would attempt to describe -- instead, I'll simply say: see it, and see it now!