The Shaolin Temple (1982) - A Review

 

Not only was this Jet Li's first movie, but it brought the Shaolin Temple back into prominence in China and around the world.

The Shaolin Temple is a Chinese/Hong Kong martial arts movie released in 1982 starring Jet Li, Yu Hai, Yu Cheng-Hui, Ding Lan, Hu Jian-Qiang, Sun Jian-Kui, Ji Chun-Hua, and Yan Di-Hua. It was directed by Cheung Sing-Yim, with martial arts directed by Ma Xian-Da, Yu Hai, Pan Qing-Fu, and Wong Seung-Hoi. The Shaolin Temple was Jet Li's first starring role in movies.

A young Jet Li plays Jue Yuan, a man filled with rage and bent on vengeance.

In The Shaolin Temple, Jet Li plays Jue Yuan, a young man who is a prisoner of war along with his father under the drunk with power General Wang Ren Ze (played by Yu Cheng-Hui). Yuan's father stands up to the General, who is abusing a slave, and pays for it with his life. Yuan helped his father in the fight, but his father tells him to escape. Reluctantly, Jue Yuan leaves, badly injured. He makes his way to the Shaolin Temple, where the monks find him and nurse him back to health. Sifu Tan Chuang (played by Yu Hai) is in charge of Jue Yuan and the other young monks there that have escaped from General Wang's tyranny.

When Jue Yuan recovers, he helps out with the chores at the Temple. He catches the monks training in Shaolin Kung Fu and is in awe. He becomes determined to learn Shaolin Kung Fu in order to avenge his father's death and kill General Wang. One of the head monks (played by Yan Di-Hua) doesn't want Yuan there, as Yuan has murderous intentions (which is against the monks' Buddhist beliefs). After Jue Yuan leaves the Shaolin Temple to kill the General, and incidentally saves Sifu Tan Chuang's daughter (played by Ding Lan), he returns to the Temple in shame. Sifu Tan then decides he is ready to learn Shaolin Kung Fu.

The year-long training sequence might be the best part of the movie.

After becoming extremely proficient in Shaolin Kung Fu, Jue Yuan helps out an escaped political prisoner, Li Shinmin (played by Wong Kwong-Kuen). The General is on the search for Li Shinmin and Yuan, and the path leads him to the Shaolin Temple. As you can guess, a major battle occurs at the Shaolin Temple, and the Shaolin monks have to make a decision about defending themselves and the Temple, which is at odds with their beliefs...

The Shaolin Temple is Jet Li's debut role in a movie, and a majority of the actors were members of the Chinese Wushu national team. Because of this, the martial arts have an authentic feel to them. Adding to the authentic feel is the fact that this movie was filmed on location in China and at the actual Shaolin monastery. This movie has some beautiful scenery! Also, this movie is the true story of how thirteen Shaolin monks helped Li Shinmin capture General Wang Ren Ze (dramatized of, course).

Authentic Wushu is displayed in The Shaolin Temple.

The  martial arts/fight scenes are plentiful in The Shaolin Temple. Jet Li was 19 years old when he filmed this movie, and he was in the prime of his martial arts prowess. Jet is just perfection in this. The scene where Jet Li fights the General at his residence is really good! It's Jet Li's version of the Drunken staff against the General's Drunken Sword style. Awesome stuff. The final battle at the Shaolin Temple is where all the monks show off their specific skills. The choreography is good. No, it isn't as perfect or as fierce as the choreographed fights of Yuen Woo-ping, Sammo Hung, Lau Kar Leung, or Jackie Chan, but you get an authentic look at how the techniques would be applied in a real fight. There are no wires or stunt doubles in these fights, either! Really good stuff. Also, things can get brutal: at the beginning a bad guy pierces a hanging corpse's torso, pulling out his intestines! When characters are stabbed, blood spurts out! 

To me, the best scenes are not the fight scenes, but the scenes where the monks are training (which Jet Li watches secretly) and the scene where Jet Li practices multiple styles over a year. Those scenes are not only classic in martial arts movie history, but in movie history in general. The way Jet Li's training scene is shot is pure perfection. You have to see those scenes.

In conclusion, I feel The Shaolin Temple is required viewing for martial arts movie fans and Asian cinema fans. This was the beginning of Jet Li's rise to stardom. It is cool to see such a young Jet move with such precision and grace. A lot of people are down on this movie because of it's basic plot, but I think it's really good. The Shaolin Temple also had a cultural impact with its' release. After it came out, a lot of people from China (and around the world) went to the Shaolin Temple wanting to become monks! At that time, Shaolin was not the preeminent place for people wanting to learn kung fu or practice Buddhism. The Shaolin Temple changed that. One of my goals is to visit the Shaolin Temple, and this movie helps give me a glimpse of what it's like there. Anyways, watch this movie for the legendary Jet Li, the fight scenes, the training scenes, and the gorgeous scenery!

The slip case and cover of the DVD I watched for this review. I need this movie on Blu-ray!

Back of the slip case and DVD case. 

The DVD disc and the inner artwork of the DVD case. It's promoting other classic Hong Kong movies.

Reviewed by David Williams