Shaolin Soccer Reviews

Wow, I was really surprised by this movie. It is totally unique, I've never seen anything else like it. There is a very charming love story, and the effects are really cool. The idea of combining kung fu with soccer is very original.... even though it's so bizarre, you'll find yourself asking why nobody has done anything like this before. I laughed constantly throughout this movie and went out and bought it a few days after I first saw it.

I would recommend it to everyone I know. This is the best Asian comedy since the heyday of Jackie Chan and "Fighting Benny"! Go see it, buy it, whatever, just make sure you do see this film.

I would be surprised if there is not a sequel. This film should have been released theatrically in the US; I've heard Miramax handled it. Sorry guys you lost millions of dollars, this film would have been a smash hit. They probably just didn't think that soccer would sell in America, but word of mouth would have sold this movie very well.

I remember when this movie came out in France, I saw the poster and thought 'Man, this movie looks so lame!' so, of course, I didn't watch it back then. But then, Stephen Chow made a few years later 'Kung Fu Hustle' which became a huge cult classic and I kept hearing that his previous movie was actually really good. As a result, I have to admit that I became definitely intrigued and I thought I should check it out after all. Well, eventually, I think it all depends if you like this kind of humor or not. I mean, there were indeed some funny jokes and some rather insane stuff (I remember something involving an egg which turned out to be rather weird) but, still, I wasn't really convinced by the whole thing though. Indeed, there were some big chunks during which I was honestly bored. It is like the acting, I think you either find it hilarious or completely obnoxious. Personally, this way of acting is funny for maybe 5 minutes but, during a whole movie, it just becomes seriously plain tiresome at some point. Still, to conclude, even if I wasn't completely sold, it was definitely not lame as I thought it would be, there were some hilarious stuff and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

I reluctantly watched this film with my brother, expecting it to be a vain attempt at a Kung Fu comedy. How wrong I was...

The storyline opens with a young man (Sing) who is determined to bring the importance of Kung Fu to the public’s attention, with every novel idea, including dance routines and songs, he fails.
Sing involves himself in a fight, where he single handedly quashes a gang who offend his Shaolin master.

Fung a retired and lucked out star football player, watches his impressive victory and offers to train Sing, using his devastating kick, to become the world’s number one football striker. Realising that this might be the perfect opportunity to show the practicality of Kung Fu he readily accepts the offer.
The duo then attempt to round up Sing’s old Kung Fu partners to form an unstoppable football team.

The team initially face little opposition, pummelling their opponents with their excessively outrageous acrobatic football skills.
Of course the road to victory is never smooth and soon a worthy challenge and matters of love present insurmountable obstacles.

The plausibility of this storyline is of course utterly outrageous but thoroughly enjoyable, as its special effects are surprisingly elegant and technical and well used.

Its structure, to me seems to contain remnants of ancient wise fables, competently updated and modified for an original and contemporary story. Its characters are heart-warmingly sincere and unique.

There is also a love interest that isn’t overtly ‘mushy’ and distracting from the main story line, but rather it compliments it, running alongside and helping to create the wealth of deeper meaning and substance that makes this film so much more than the action comedy I expected.