SHAOLIN (Benny Chan)
It has been decades since the original Shaolin film, "THE SHAOLIN TEMPLE" starring Jet Li came out. At present filmmaker Benny Chan gives a new take on the shaolin story while maintaining (and even improving) the moral representation of the the shaolin discipline. Andy Lau plays a warmongering general, while Nicholas Tse is his second-in-command; a power struggle paves the way for a role reversal, and Lau finds himself in ruins. He is humbled and joins those he once considered enemies, the shaolin. Jackie Chan would not appear until about forty minutes or so, and as a good-natured, lowly cook, we believe him. Just seeing him in those martial arts moves brings me joy. There is an undeniable reverence to the shaolin discipline; the monks show restraint even when provoked, and courage in times of need. The fight scenes too are well-choreographed, the shots breathtaking; even Xiong Xin Xin who's a great stuntman, and who played one of Van Damme's assailants in DOUBL...