Entertaining
Summary
While The Shaolin Plot may not be original plot-wise, it has some terrific fight scenes and features Sammo Hung in a hilarious villainous role.
Plot: When an evil prince (Chan Sing) infiltrates a Shaolin monastery to get his hands on some martial arts manuals, he gets opposed by Little Tiger (James Tien), who’s father was murdered by the prince.
Review: There’s something to be said about the reliability of Hong Kong martial arts flicks. They don’t always hit, and they’re not always memorable, but there’s usually at least some good action scenes. When I heard about The Shaolin Plot, which features the always entertaining Sammo Hung, I was intrigued. I mean, martial arts and Sammo Hung, where could you go wrong?
Luckily, this movie delivered on my assumptions. A lot of people say that the plot of The Shaolin Plot is not original and follows the premise of a lot of other movies. That may be; the fact is, I obviously haven’t watched those other movies. When the evil prince disguises himself as a deaf-mute monk and infiltrates the Shaolin monastery, I was floored. “How devious!” I murmured. He even made himself up to have a protruding eyeball. Who does that? A devious, evil prince, that’s who!
There are lulls between the action scenes, but when they do come, they deliver. I love the sound effects in these older martial arts movies; every punch sounds lethal, every kick sounds deadly, even the parrying sounds like titans colliding. This one features a memorable fight in an underground cave, and the final confrontation is stellar; the only gripe I have is that the main hero was absent from the fight. This movie delivers the fights, though, and they happen at any moment – even entering a monastery can lead to a prolonged confrontation.
Sammo Hung is hilarious in this movie. He’s so over the top, even with his look – bald on top, long hair in the back, and mutton chops! Mutton Chops! He looks evil without saying a word. Plus, he fights with razor-edged cymbals. I repeat: Razor-edged cymbals. They act like frisbees, and yes, he decapitates at least one person. Cymbals…whoever thought that up is a genius.
If you like blood, there’s plenty in here. It’s not enough that a character gets his ass kicked in one of the movie’s many fights; they also usually sustain some severe injury. There’s even a very graphic immolation that I was surprised to witness. Not sure what the rating of this movie is, but I would be surprised if someone hadn’t slapped an R on it.
As for the costumes and sets, they are terrific. Very bright colours, you can tell who everyone is just by looking at their costumes. There’s a simplicity in this that isn’t captured in most modern movies, where it seems they’re striving to have everyone look the same. The sets and cinematography really show the lushness of the South Korean environment in which the movie is filmed, and the sets are as magnificent as you would expect. They definitely knew what audiences expected with this sort of film, and they delivered in spades.
So, there you have it. Is it a classic? Sadly, no, but it’s surprising that more people don’t know this movie. It’s pretty solid and features some crowd-pleasing fights and blood-letting. I ask you, how can a movie where Sammo Hung laughs evilly and declares that evil is ten times more powerful than good be bad? You want more? Fine – the main villain uses batons as weapons with blades hidden inside the batons! Who thought of that? ‘Nuff said.