Kids From Shaolin (1984)

Overrated

Just so...so bad

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Shaolin Temple 2 follows 'Shaolin Temple', the movie that debuted Jet Li and shot him into super-stardom. The only real links between Shaolin Temple and Shaolin Temple 2 are that they both have Shaolin monks and feature a cast of real life Wushu champions. Many actors from the original appear again, playing different characters.As opposed to the first Shaolin Temple movie, the tone in this one is that of a lighthearted, funny, family film. The movie itself is about two rivaling family on opposite sides of a river, a Shaolin family of all boys and a swordsmanship family of all girls. The father of the sword family despises the other family. Jet Li, still a teenager when he made this film, is at his absolute prime and looks simply amazing. He plays the eldest son of the Shaolin family. He demonstrates some amazing skills, mainly his staff-work and 3-sectional staff-work.Jet Li may be the main attraction, but he's not the only one. Another amazing aspect of this film is the children from both families. The children cast were from the junior national Wushu team, and it shows. Everybody knows how to fight, and all of the children have tremendous talent. It's a real shame none of them grew up to be action stars. Just like in the first Shaolin Temple, the actors choreographed all of the action scenes themselves, and all the fight scenes are done in long shots to make it look more realistic.Do be warned before letting real young ones watch this, though. There is some comedy revolving around private parts, and certain personal parts are briefly exposed in the movie. Other than that, a pretty awesome movie and an excellent job by Jet Li. 9/10.

When my father introduced me to the Jet Li movies I choose 'Shaolin Temple'. The second movie I choose was 'Kids From Shaolin'. I like this movie and I think the Kung Fu is great especially Jet lo and the other children's. It has a lot of comedy and great action. I like the end where the good guys and the bad guys fight together. The bad guys look scary especially the part where one of them stabs the other one with a spear on the other and his not dead! When Jet Li's sister drys to stab the bad guy his not dead. But jet lo's brother shoots the bad guy with a rock and the bad guy is dead. It was a tough fight between the good guys and the bad guys but at the end the good guys won and i like the part where the good guys throw the bad guy at the river. it was really funny.

The problem with so very many Chinese martial arts films is their tendency to be cheapo junk. Kids of Shaolin, starring Jet Li back when he was a Chinese action film star is not cheap looking at all! Honestly though, nobody sees a martial arts film for the production value. They see it for the martial arts. This film's emphasis isn't so much on people beating the living daylights out of each other. Instead it's the acrobatics that are most on display. Of course, Jet Li as the oldest brother is a brilliant athlete, but he isn't the main attraction by far! The kids in the title are DAZZLING!!! There are a few scenes where the clan of Shaolin boys compete with the clan of Wu-Tang girls, trying to show each other up. These scenes are some of THE MOST IMPRESSIVE acrobatics I've seen anywhere. During these scenes, the background is filled with the beautiful and dramatic steep mountains and winding rivers of China. I really can't say enough about these scenes, which easily make the movie great. Don't get me wrong, it's not a perfect film by a long shot, but these kids are so impressive that they make this film a must-see.

Like the first Jet Li's movie, the Shaolin Temple (1979), this movie is also excellent in that all actors are professional martial arts athletes of Chinese national and provincial teams, including the boys and girls from the national/provincial junior teams. Hence, all moves are realistic and there is no stunts, no cranes, no cable, no fakes, and no special effects like Jet Li's later works such as Lethal Weapon 4. As martial arts flicks in China developed, it inevitably took the similar road to that of Hong Kong and Taiwan with increasing fakes, and earlier flicks like this is thus really a masterpiece in comparison.