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New Legend of Shaolin

New Legend of Shaolin

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: This video shows the real essence of Hoong Family(Hung Gar).
Review: This video is one of the kung fu hero movies. It relates to heroic stuff much different from European stuff. A must see movie. It's much about Hong Xi Guan(Hung Hei-Kwun)a layman follower of the Fujian Shaolin Monastery in Southern China, also creator of Hung Gar. In this movie, his whole family is killed except for his son, Hung Man Ting by his Si-Di(junior classmate), Ma Ling Yee who betrayed Hung Hei-Kwun and their master Chi-Sin. Seven years after Ma Ling Yee who was saved by The Monk of the Western District and was believed to be killed by Hung Hei-Kwun, Hung's big brother also betrayed him and got killed by him. He is now a fugitive. Man Ting is a kid now. Hung Hei-Kwun falls in love with Red Bean whom at first with her mother had tried to steal money from the rich Ma Kai-Sin, father of Ma Chiu-Hing, one of the five kids whom had a map tatooed on their backs which leads to the Ming treasure to finance their revolution against the government tatooed by Chi-Sin. Chi-Sin was then killed by Ma Ling Yee who became the Poisonous Man that practiced invincible kung fu. The government persues them firmly killing all of the guests and family members of Ma's Villa, Ma Kai-Sin's home just to capture the five kids after Ma Chiu-Hing put a message on a pigeon that flew to the Shaolin Monastery when the government burned the monastery. Red Bean's mother got killed, too by a poisoned dart thrown by one of the government officers. Near the end, Ma Ling Yee got killed by Hung Hei-Kwun when they were on a rope and Hung did the No-Shadow Kicks on him and sent him to a giant pot filled with boiling water. At the end, Hung Hei-Kwun, Hung Man Ting, and Red Bean, who was Hung's wife now went to the "South" and washed the tatoos off of the five kids' backs. I didn't actually by this at Amazon, but had this video already. This is a very bloody and tight movie.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One of his best!!!
Review: Jet Li has been China's brightest star for years, and if you've never seen his movies this would be a excellent choice to begin. The martial arts scenes, his signature in all his movies, are top notch. He even fights with his son for double the martial arts fun. You will also witness Jet's charisma and witt. Which make him as fun to hear as to watch. I've fell in love with his work much like one does a writers style or a musicians body of music. This movie is one of his best! END

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: This is not a Book this is a movie.
Review: This is story about a map thats is been drawn at the back of kids. Jet Li has a son that he has to chose between and a wooden horse which is death or the sword which is to be with his father. See it for youreself. END

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: awesome
Review: Kung-fu artist, Jet Li, is well known for his "Once Upon A Time In China" series, in which he plays legendary character Wong Fei-Hung. Few people know that Wong Fei-Hung used a kung-fu style that derived from another legendary character, Hong Hei-Kwun. Jet Li portrays Hong Hei-Kwun in "New Legend of Shaolin."

World-known Corey Yuen adds to his impressive list by directing (along with Jing Wong) and choreographing for "New Legend of Shaolin"'s kung-fu sequences. Among Corey Yuen/Yuen Kwai's other works are "Fong Sai Yuk 1&2", "Lethal Weapon 4", "Romeo Must Die", "Kiss of the Dragon", "Warriors of the Magic Mountain", as well as "My Father Is A Hero."

Hung Hei-Kwun (Jet Li), and his son, Hung Man-Ting (Miu Tse, who also played Jet's son in "My Father Is A Hero") work together against a corrupt government that has killed their family and Shaolin Temple brothers.

The plot is well-developed in most aspects, for a series of small plots are weaved together beautifully to make a rather successful outcome.

Jet Li and Miu Tse both give some of the best performances in their careers to the screen. To heighten their performances, supporting actors/actresses including Chingmy Yau and Lung Wei Wang bring the film comical effects and seven stunning kung-fu sequences that are packed with wirework, impressive performances by Miu Tse (acting as Jet's son), and some of Jet's most notable moves. With a creative choreographer, Corey Yuen, kung-fu scenes in this kicking film are unpredictably shocking. Jet Li and Miu Tse's collaboration are both touching and electrifying. To heighten kung-fu performances, sound effects, cinematography, choreography, sets, dialogue, and costume designs practically define perfection.

"New Legend of Shaolin" is one of Jet Li's most breathtaking performances when it comes to his kung-fu scenes. This is a must-see.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Great movie, bad villain
Review: Whose idea was it to put the villain in a space ship/car from the Jetsons? This was a very good movie, and I liked it a lot, loved the characters and story line, but I definitely had beef w/the "Poison Man." I guess they needed a super villain to match up w/Jet Li's character, but that villain was just a bad idea, and almost ruins the movie. It was Jet Lie vs. Swamp Thing and his space ship.

They also obviously stole the beginning idea (about choosing between the rocking horse and sword) from Lone Wolf and Cub, but it quickly goes away from that theme (which I was extremely happy to see). I also loved the mother and daughter characters of the movie, it reminded me very much of Fong Sai Yuk, but of course the mother in New Legend of Shaolin was not as good in this movie as the mother in Fong Sai Yuk. They also brought Jet Li's father-in-law in Fong Sai Yuk to this movie to play a rich man who hires Jet Li to be his body guard. His house gets ruined in Fong Sai Yuk, and again in New Legend of Shaolin.

The relationship between Jet Li and his son was painfully funny. Nevertheless, the fighting scenes w/his son were choreographed to perfection. As a whole this is definitely a movie worth owning, that you can buy w/o ever seeing it. There is one tiny flaw (the villain) but as a whole, it's a great movie, great story, great plot, great action, and fight scenes choreographed to perfection.

Grade: A-

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Jet Li is the man, but this movie is pretty AWFULL!!
Review: I tried to watch this film again, but it's still bad.
Well, lets see.... where does the madness begin!? Well first I have to say that I bought this movie way back when Fist of Legend first came out in 1994.(Which was a great film.)

By the looks of the cover, I thought this would be a good film, but this one was garbage. I am a HUGE Jet Li fan, he is one of the most talented martial artists to date, but the movie was awfull. First I do not like all the flying around stuff,so that turned me off, but I can deal with it. The fights scenes were too unrealistic, and the Villian had a metal car!?? Yes a METAL CAR!..Man..What is that about!!? That was so cheesy. The movie was More like a fantasy cartoon, that I could'nt wait to end. The movie was Very disapointing! The film has the same kid in it as in "My Father is a Hero" and is very similar to Fung Sai Yuk. Sai Yuk was much, much better. This one is as bad as "Kung Fu Cult Master". no, Actually that movie was better. This one was pretty bad.



Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Jet Li vs. The English Patient
Review: Last night, after kung fu class, I watched Legend of the Red Dragon. Chop socky is just the way to end a night of hard training!

The movie very loosely tells the tale of the Shaolin massacre, when almost all of the monks were murdered in an all-out attack. The survivors consist of a hidden kung fu master and five child monks with map portions tattooed on their backs and the legacy of Shaolin in their minds. Jet Li plays the ubiquitous Hung Hei-Kwun, hero of 90% of all kung fu flicks.

Legend of the Red Dragon is the sort of movie that fuels parodies. It is filled with surreal ridiculous elements which make me pause the movie frequently so I can laugh hysterically. From its piggyback baby battle to its miniature chrome Batmobile, to the revelation that Jet Li is going commando, the film is filled with classic WTF moments. I swear the bad guy in Legend of the Red Dragon is the English Patient. Check him out, and you'll know exactly what I mean.

The movie is filled with sped-up wire fu, but this doesn't detract too much from some truly spectacular fight sequences using darts and collapsible staves. Jet Li kicks some serious butt, and so does Miu Tse in his film debut; he's the little boy with a miniature Mohawk who plays Jet Li's son. I'll be on the lookout for his subsequent movies!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One of the most enjoyable martial arts films of recent years
Review: As a relatively new martial arts film addict, I have to say that I loved this movie. American martial arts films pale in comparison to Hong Kong originals such as this, and Legend of the Red Dragon proved to be a great little detour from the road of hand to hand kung fu action I have been following for some time now. The main weapons of choice here are spears and darts, and the many fight scenes are simply incredible. The laws of physics get swept right out of the window, but that's okay be me; only one or two moves here struck me as patently ridiculous, but even these were exciting and thrilling. The dubbing was indeed rather bad, but I came to this movie for action, and that is what I got.

Jet Li stars as the warrior Hung Hei-Kwun, a loyalist to the Ming dynasty; as the movie opens, we see him return to his village to find everyone there slaughtered by the Manchus - everyone except his infant son Man Ting (Miu Tse). Vowing revenge, Kwun lets his toddler (and fate) decide whether the boy lives to join his father's fight or joins his mother in death; the boy chooses wisely. A betrayal of grand proportions soon finds Kwun surrounded by enemy fighters; many a martial arts hero has wiped out a troop of baddies all by himself, but Kwun does it with his infant son strapped to his back all the while. When we next meet up with Kwun and his son seven years later, young Ting is the baddest little dude in town - a kung fu fighting machine, an incredibly disciplined young warrior, and a serious lad who probably has more self-control and wisdom than even his father. Now penniless, Kwun agrees to serve as bodyguard to a wealthy merchant, and it is in his service that he gets to know Red Bean (Chingmy Yau), half of a mother-daughter con artist team currently plotting to rob Kwun's employer. As all of this is going on, a master at the threatened Shaolin school is busy tattooing a map to the Shaolin treasure on the backs of five of his pupils in an effort to keep the treasure safe (although the fact the boys always seem to be together sort of defeats the purpose). An old enemy of Kwun's, one whom he thought he had killed, wants that treasure, and he especially wants to kill Kwun. This dude looks like he stuck his head in a pot of boiling water for about half an hour, but he is strong and invincible thanks to a witch's spell. He also drives a metal super-car, something you just don't see everyday in films about the China of the distant past. The Batmobile thing pushes the envelope way too far, but the movie is good enough to make up for the filmmaker's indiscretion.

Anyway, Kwun and Ting must fight to defeat the evil man from Kwun's past, protect the tattooed boys and in doing so save the Shaolin treasure, and deal with his feelings toward the lovely Red Bean. For the most part, he just fights. All of the action sequences in the film blew me away (but of course I'm not hard to impress when it comes to this type of action); you've got claws and darts being flung pell-mell out of nowhere, sword fights galore, and a little bit of kung fu thrown into the mix. Li and his fellow performers are lightning quick in their movements, the main female characters are a force to reckon with, and young Ting is just a joy to watch. Not only can he lick five boys his own age without breaking a sweat, he is basically an equal partner with his father, fighting right alongside him when the moment arises. Their weapons are a little on the souped-up side, but, boy oh boy, it makes for some spectacular fight scenes.

The biggest mystery to me when it comes to Hong Kong films such as this is the comedy aspect. As this movie progresses, an initially grim, sober tale is injected with increasing doses of comedy (only a small part of which can be attributed to the less than perfect dubbing). Some of it is funny, but the movie suffers a little bit in the process. Still, though, the amazing fight scenes alone make this a film that any martial arts fan should enjoy, and I might add in closing that the cinematography is also quite good, boasting one particularly beautiful scene midway through the film.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Over the Top--On Purpose
Review: Before Jet Li became the mainstream Hollywood icon of LETHAL WEAPON fame, he was simply another of Hong Kong's chop socky martial arts stable of fighter actors. Li was originally a Wu Shu champion of China who early in his life made his first action film. His incredible athletic ability made him a fan favorite in both Beijing and Hong Kong. For years, he made dozens of movies that were designed for the local Chinese market. In THE LEGEND OF RED DRAGON, directors Jing Wing and Corey Yuen present Jet Li in another film that defies Western standards of criticism. In order for a Western audience to appreciate a movie like this one, they have to forget not only a non-Oriental sense of hammy-faced acting but the laws of physics as well.

The plot is merely a flimsy hook upon which to permit some truly incredible special effects that are so over the top that we can assume that they are by design rather than incompetence. Jet Li and his infant son are the only survivors of a village that has been slaughtered by an evil regime that is looking for a treasure map that has been tattooed on the backs of five young boys. This map is often referred to but figures in not at all during the working out of a paper thin plot. Li has a romance with the daughter of a mother-daughter con team that seeks to marry rich men and then rob them. The five survivor boys team up with Li's son to battle not only the minions of the regime but also a reincarnated metal-man who incredibly has been magically rendered immortal. Most of the action scenes defy the laws of physics and gravity, but I think that is the point of this genre of cinema. For all the killing, there is remarkably little gore. What you see is a sanitized version of a universe in which the inhabitants exist only to fly Tinker-Bell like with no one really getting hurt. Once a Western viewer adopts the requisite mind set, then films like this one can be enjoyed on their own terms, which have more to do with the faded memories of his own childhood than with the rigidly defined constraints of current Hollywood filmmaking.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: wow!
Review: This movie was astonishing. I laughed until it hurt at several points while watching it, the result of awful subtitles (obviously never reviewed by an english speaker) translating bizarre dialogue. For me, the plot and action were subsumed by the humor-intentional and not-of most scenes. This movie must be seen to be believed.


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