Customer Reviews

Shaolin Soccer

5 star:		(95)
4 star:		(42)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I had heard about Shaolin Soccer (2001) a couple of years ago from a friend, as he had recommended it to me, knowing the particular way some of my tastes ran, and I am glad he did, as it's a heady mix of the wacky, the absurd, and the just plain fun. The movie starts off with a flashback, showing an extremely popular Chinese soccer player named Golden Leg Fung accepting money to throw a game from a lackey, and the consequences of his actions, including a severely crippling beating by the crowd after purposely missing a rather easy goal scoring opportunity. Now, it's many years later, and Fung now works for the gangster organization that had originally paid him off, in a completely demeaning position. He dreams of coaching, but the once lackey who owns the current champion soccer team and is also chairman of the league, finds this notion completely humorous, and heap further degradations upon Fung. Despondent, Fung ends up meeting a vagabond/shaolin follower called Steel Leg, and formulates a plan to build a new soccer team around this exceptional martial artist. Fung also finds out Steel Leg has enough brothers, all once trained in martial arts, to make up a team. Each brother has their own, unique ability, and soon they begin to practice. During their first practice, the men suffer a fairly brutal beating (this whole pain, beating, and humiliation factor seems to be a constant theme throughout), but soon find their shaolin training coming back to them, and turn the tables on their opponents. They enter the tournament, sweeping through the ranks, until finally the meet with the current champions, the Evil Team (I'm not kidding, that's their name), and meet the ultimate challenge, as the chairman gives his team a decidedly unfair advantage. Will the shaolin players be victorious, or will they suffer the crushing defeat at the hands of the chairman and his evil team?

The special effects here are truly amazing and inventive, making for the most insane soccer playing I've ever seen. Imagine someone being able to kick a soccer ball with the same force of shooting it out of a cannon, and with pinpoint accuracy. There is not really a lot of actual soccer playing, in the traditional sense, as with the abilities of the players, the ball mainly zooms around in a very cartoonish manner. Mixing kung fu and soccer is certainly and interesting concept, and provides some really spectacular visuals. The English captioning is really bad, but certainly gave me much to laugh about, along with the seriously outlandish overacting.

Special features include an option to watch the film with the deleted scenes, the deleted scenes by themselves, a trailer, biographies, a featurette on the making of the film, a photo gallery, and behind the scenes featurette on how the special effects were made. All in all, Shaolin Soccer is an unsane, over the top comedy steeped in outrageous action and definitely worth a look if you care to expand your horizons.

Cookieman108

Stephen Chow has proven himself to be one of the world's finest directors with "Shaolin Soccer" (aka "Kung-Fu Soccer"), which was Hong Kong's biggest-ever box-office success when released in 2001. The simple story of a family of brothers who use Shaolin kung-fu to win the national China soccer tournament against The Evil Team (who use "American medicines" to win their games) is
bolstered by some hilarious comedy, spirited performances and
very creative special effects. Outside of the comedic scenes--
which are among the funniest I've seen in a foreign film in a long time--the film's mystical element comes through most uniquely, as during the fabled hypnotic scene involving Mui's steamed bread making. The part where the brothers are getting beaten to death on the field and then suddenly "freeze" revert to ancient kung-fu forms was also startling and wonderful.

Although banned in mainland China because it was released in Hong Kong before given official certification, this film also works as a glimpse into what the modern-day country looked like in 2001. "Shaolin Soccer" was primarily filmed not in Hong Kong but in Shanghai, and uses that city's futuristic-looking new skyscrapers and hip, youthful citizens as a slick, glittery backdrop to its story. Never before has communist China looked this modern, confident and vibrant in a movie. The special effects, too, are very cutting-edge, and work particularly well during the final soccer match where flying soccer balls become ferocious black tigers, and some kicks are so powerful as to rip the skin right off of the players. At no point is this movie ever dull or uninteresting, and most of the time it moves at a roaring pace. The director's cut on the foreign DVD is even better, as it features two lengthy scenes that were cut out of the original, but add to the subplot between Sing and Mui.

Whether you are a fan of martial arts, comedy, China, or just
plain good old fashioned filmmaking, this film is for you, and when it is released here in the US this August I hope it becomes
a phenomenon. Very highly recommended--I have seen it three times now and it continues to grow on me.

I was first introduced to this movie when my girlfriend demanded that we watch it. I've never been a fan of martial arts movies, so I was extremely iffy about it. I also am not a fan of subtitles, so this movie was in the trash as far as I was concerned, but being the good boyfriend I am, I decided I could tough through a two hour movie and maybe catch a couple of z's while I was at it. But after the movie started, my opinion almost immedietely changed.

From the opening scene this movie grabs you and doesn't let go. It is easily one of the funniest movies I've ever seen. It is creative and the effects aren't as cheesy as you might think. I sat with my jaw dropped for two hours, thinking to myself "How many other movies have I blown off that might be great?"

I can't wait for the theatrical release where it will be dubbed in English. I hope they come out with a DVD with an English dub too.

One in a long list of films that have been butchered by Miramax in an effort to make Hong Kong films more palatable, SHAOLIN SOCCER suffered doubly due to shifting release dates (it was pushed back for over a year and a half). In its native country, SHAOLIN SOCCER was one of the most successful films and for good reason. It takes the typical "ragtag underdogs teaming up to fight against insurmountable odds" adding Shaolin kung fu and special effects to the mix for a perfect combination.

When the formerly formidable soccer star Golden Leg Fung (Man Tat Ng)--now a limping lackey thanks to his teammate Hung (Patrick Tse)--loses his job, he hopes to start his own soccer team. He happens upon Sing (Stephen Chow), a cleaner who has been charged by his former master with spreading the techniques of Shaolin kung fu. Sing has been searching for a way to repackage Shaolin in a new, exciting, and socially viable form. It takes a bit but Sing finally realizes that his "Iron Leg" technique would be a perfect fit in Golden Leg's dream soccer team.

Golden Leg and Iron Leg set out to convince Sing's five other brothers to join in their venture. They discover that Iron Head (Yut Fei Wong), Empty Hand (Kwok Kuen Chan), Weight Vest (Lam Chi Chung), Hooking Leg (Chi-Sing Lam), and Iron Shirt (Kai Man Tin) have let their confidence and skills lapse. Can they regain the spirit from their idealistic days of youth? You better believe it! After some hilarious training sequences, the brothers come together as a team and begin to make their way through the ranks of the soccer championships until their showdown with Hung's appropriately named "Evil Team."

Along the way, Sing meets Mui (Vicki Zhao), a master of Tai Chi and bread making. When the two meet, Sing's infectious optimism and singing create chaos in the streets and results in a dance sequence highly inspired by Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video. This moment is typical of the uproarious tone of Chow's film. As much as it took from other "losers banding together" films like THE BAD NEWS BEARS, REVENGE OF THE NERDS, and THE REPLACEMENTS, Chow's film helped pave the way for other Asian "extreme sport" films such as Fumihiko Sori's PING PONG and Yudai Yamaguchi's BATTLEFIELD BASEBALL.

A word of warning: in all, nearly twenty-two minutes of the film were eliminated for the long-delayed, limited US release. Things missing include the backstory between Fung and Hung. Avoid this version at all costs. Region free NTSC versions with English subtitles are readily available via innumerable web vendors. Shun this (and any other) Miramax re-cuts like the plague.

This movie was friggin hilarious. The plot basically goes down like this: An former soccer player (who is now a coach) recruits a kung fu master who believes that using kung fu to play soccer would be a smart thing to do. They go on to recruit other kung fu masters and the coach then teaches them the fundamentals of soccer. The movie then progresses to show them developing into an indestructable soccer team. The scenes worth watching are the definitely the soccer scenes which involve "Matrix" like special effects. This is one of the best foreign films I have ever seen. If you can get your hands on this movie, I suggest that you don't pass it up.

I rented and watched the original Chinese version. Five minutes before I rented this movie, I heard the video store clerk telling a customer next to us that this was the worst movie he'd ever seen. This is an important fact. Because for anyone without my kind of sense of humor, - which is to say, a love of spoof, parody and utter nonsense - this movie just might be too stupid to enjoy. All of that aside, I cannot remember laughing out loud this hard in the grip of a movie in years!

Folks, this is parody at its best... taking anything even remotely serious about kung-fu movies and turning it into utter comic gold. The best way I can compare this movie would be to call it the "Airplane" or "Top Secret" of kung-fu movies. The actors are hilarious. This is more than a slapstick - it's the dialogue that really pushes it over the edge! The cgi animation is so over-the-top, it's impossible to care enough to be put off. Everything is perfectly preposterous, out of line and bizarre. And so, I have to say, it's as if they made this movie just for me.

I loved it. Every single ridiculous moment.

I first saw the trailer for Shaolin Soccer while surfing around the internet, and thought it might be a fun film to watch with the kids-sort of a live action cartoon. When it arrived, I was stunned to see the brilliance with which this film was put together. Yes, it does capture zany cartoon magic I expected, and my kids loved it, but there was so much more there than met the eye.

There are two versions of the film on this DVD. Although it's tempting to watch the "Americanized" version, you'll be doing yourself a grave injustice if you do. The original Chinese version, subtitled, is a far better experience. Yes, my kids prefer the Americanized vesion, since it's dubbed, but the Chinese version is a much more complete and enjoyable film. (It makes me wonder what happened to the original Chinese language versions of other films, like Rumble in the Bronx.) Watching the film the way Stephen Chow intended it makes it clear why it was the biggest film ever outside of the United States.

In the summer of 2001, this hilarious comedy-action film was released in Hong Kong, and it immediately became the biggest hit there, even beating the previous box-office record of Jackie Chan's "First Strike." The craze went on, and when it was released in Japan in May, 2002, it again became an instant smash hit even though Stephen Chow's name, before that release, had been known only among the small number of devoted Hong Kong film fans. How the movie is received in US and other regions, I don't know, but as those facts testify, "Kung-Fu Soccer" is an incredibly funny movie.

[STORY}] You need one? OK, it is about a young man Sing (Chow) who wants to promote the usefulness of kung-fu he learned at Shaolin Temple, and an ex-star soccer player "Golden Leg" Fung (good supporting actor Ng Man Tat), who is now down and out, living in misery. However, when Fung meets Sing on the street of Hong Kong, and sees how he kicks an empty can miles away (literally), Fung realises that here is a golden opportunity for him to regain the dignity and pride he lost long time ago. Combination of Kung-fu and soccer! Invincible!!

So, Sing recruits the old pupils he knew when he was training at the temple to make a soccer team. They are no longer what they were; one is a businessman busy with a cell ohone, another totally unemployed, and so on.... And they seem to have lost the skills they had once until, of course, one day, suddenly, they come back in good shape, ready for fight, game for more. Meanwhile, Sing meets a girl named Mui (Vicki Zhao), and a romance (but very unusual one) starts to bloom. My overall impression is, in short, Austin Powers with sports and martial arts.

[WHO IS STEPHEN CHOW?] Chow has been very popular in Hong Kong since the year 1990, about two years he made his film debut, and he is 40 years old at the time of writing this, but looks much younger and very agile. His comedies are always filled with incredibly stupid and ridiculous things, often under the very unique situations. Some of his movies include "With Love from Beijin" (1994) "The God of Cookery" (1996), and many others, and I hope those titles would tell you what you see in those funny films. Always stupid and powerful, often with extraordinary parodies, his films give you dynamic gags with improvised atomosphere. Though the film often lacks a coherent story, and his character is not always amiable, finally you come to like him.

[ABOUT THIS FILM] As I said, "Kung-Fu Soccer" is a funny comedy, and it also uses first-rate wire-actions and CG images to create its original world. The soccer players jump (to the height of more than 10 meters), kick a ball (to make a hole in a concrete wall, or sometimes catches fire, becoming a roaring puma-like shape!), and ... well, about the rest you should see for yourself. Some of the CGIs are intentionally (and aptly) cheesy (see how villains fly in a browl), but some are surprisingly effective, especailly in the final game scene. Not "Titanic" class, but its use is well-regulated and most importantly, makes lots of funny scenes.

[AND ... TRIVIA] 1) As Stephen Chow is a great fan of Bruce Lee, he makes a reference to this legendary hero in the character of the goal keeper whose orange-colored uniform is that of Lee in his last film "Game of Death." 2) Vicki Chao is a famous, very popular idol singer/actress in mainland China, but she never shows her real face. Three time she appears, but each time she is wearing some make-ups. This is an in-joke for those who know her, but to some audience Chow's joke may seem to have gone too far. 3) If you're a Hong-Kong film fan, check out the special appearances of Karen Mok with a strange make-up (regular of Chow's films like "The God of Cookery" and also seen in Jet Li's "Black Mask") and Vincent Kok (also seen in "With Love" and director of Jackie Chan's "Gorgeous").

[AND FINALLY...] The film has first made with the running time of 102 minutes, and then two additional sequences are made to make it 109 minutes (I saw the latter one in Japan). However, it has been reported that for the US release Miramax decided to cut extensively the Asian version, so you may keep that in mind. But, though I hate those changes done to the films, I think, as far as this case goes, the cuts would not affect the total effect of the film very much (I admit some parts of the original version was, to me, a little unnecessary or ineffective) because the film itself is way too funny. Well, anyway, that's for the record.

I love the film. Hope you enjoy it.

I very rarely (if ever) review movies. So why start now? Sometimes good things go unnoticed due to them being strange or not promoted right. Shaolin Soccer definitely falls into those categories. Movie is old by industry standards since it was made in 2001. It was recognized and wildly played in Asia and Europe but got none of the publicity in North America. Just like the title suggests Shaolin masters of Kung Fu are playing soccer. It's not another non stop Jackie Chan fighting movies. It has a decent plot; it has a fight between good and evil, greed and humbleness, lies and honesty. It teaches about friendship, being loyal, dedication and positive look on life regardless of the circumstances. And of course the special effects: amazing stunts and Matrix like action make it stand out from other Asian productions. Movie is well paced with no down time. Everything that happens, leads to more and more action. We have our share of baseball and football movies which all of them containing their dose of drama. Now it's time for a soccer movie. It's a bit of comedy mixed with action. Even if you've seen 1000 martial arts movies, even if you are sick and tired of sports genre flicks, see Shaolin Soccer. It is different and you will be glad you did.

First off, the movie is about an ex-soccer player--who was permanently wounded when he was younger--that wants to coach his own soccer team. He finds an enthusiastic guy who's alias is Steel Leg; this guy is one of five Shaolin Kung Fu students who really wants to incorporate what they learned with a popular thing in order to make it popular. The main plot focuses on getting the team together then entering a championship that's worth $1 million to them if they win.

What was so great about Shaolin Soccer is that the story was captivating. You just are pulled into it. There's humor, drama, and even a drop of romance. The special effects were amazing--not in a new way, but how uniquely they used it (Imagine using The Matrix type of FX in a comedy). The comedy was varied: satirical, physical, stupid, etc. There's even a few short song numbers and one dance number (copied, respectively, from MJ's "Thriller"). There are wonderful camera angles and such, too.

Of course, it wasn't perfect. Some of the editing was bad, and a few gags were repetitious. The US version seemed to do well for those parts, but they also took out some very wonderful gags that only make the Chinese version better. Since I mention the US version I'd like to say this: the dubbing is like usual dubbed Chinese films (you won't like it as much). Also, only watch it if you're in the mood to compare the two versions--I watched both versions back to back. Another thing, and it's more to do with the dvd, is that the Chinese version's sections that are cut out of the US version aren't dubbed (i.e. scene of "explosion" to dance where the guy talks, but no words are up to hear it).

Overall, I loved this movie.
+ Wonderful special effects and action
+ Encapturing story
+ Awesome variety of humor
+ Beautiful cinematography
- A few unneeded repetitious gags
- Chinese version edited too little (US's edited too much)
? Where are the captions?
? What, no extras besides both editions?

Closing thoughts: If you enjoyed the creativity of Hero or Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, but thought either the story lacked or the action was uninteresting, you'll definitely find an interest in Shaolin Soccer. You should at least view it once whenever you get the chance. It's definitely worth buying even if there are no extras on it. 4.9/5__(Movie) 4.6/5__(Dvd)