| This is a terrific old-schooler starring a young Jackie Chan, with more training sequences than you can shake a stick at. How many people did Jackie get training from in this film, anyway? I lost count. He trains in Shaolin Temple officially; he also trains in Shaolin Temple under a couple of Shaolin monks without each other's knowledge; he secretly trains under a mysterious prisoner in the temple's dungeon; he trains outside the temple... By the end of it, he's gotta' be either the world's greatest kung fu master, or thoroughly confused.
"Shaolin Wooden Men" is more or less in the vein of some of our favorite Shaw Brothers movies, with some fun kitschy gimmicks to make it original--like the awesome (but, let's face it, ridiculous) automated wooden fighters of the film's title. All in all, a very fun flick, which should absolutely fit the bill for old school fans. Just don't come in here expecting "Police Story" or something, because this is a different Jackie Chan. |
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