The New Legend of Shaolin

Rating:

out of

Directed by:

Wong Jing

Cast:

Jet Li Lian Jie

Hung Hey-Kwun

Xie Miao

Man Ting

Chingmy Yau

Notorious Daughter

Deannie Yip

Notorious Mother

Wong Jing

Fong Sai Yu

Action Director:

Corey Yuen Kwai

DVD:

I don't remember where I got it, but it is Tai Seng which would make it easily available.

Zone:

All

Video Signal:

NTSC

I've read a lot of snide things about Wong Jing but I've enjoyed every one of his movies I've seen and that includes The New Legend of Shaolin.

The film begins with Wong Jing's riff on the Lone Wolf and Cub movies, family slaughtered, Hung Hey-Kwun offers his infant son Man Ting a choice of the knife or the toy horse. The kid opts for the knife and they go off to bury their dead and bring down the Manchus. Jump seven or eight years to the future, Man Ting is now a martial arts ace, too. They are pursued by Ma Ling Yee who has made himself a poison man and rides around in a chrome batmobile. Humor is provided by Man Ting, five other kung fu kids, with a treasure map tattoed on their backs, and the con artists, the Notorious Mother and Notorious Daughter.

It is hard for me to judge the action sequences because of the grainy picture but they seemed fine, notable mainly in Hung's weapon of choice, a spear, and small boy fu.

When I originally reviewed this movie it was on VCD and the picture was terrible. I now have it on DVD and there have been only slight improvements. I suspect they used the Laser Disk file instead of creating a new DVD file.

Random Remarks:

I watched this as soon as I got home from work and I was continually interrupted by child and husband. So rude!