REVIEW: ‘Shaolin Soccer’ (2001)

Six hard-luck, former Shaolin monks join an aging, former soccer star to compete in a soccer championship using their martial arts skills.

Hong Kong film comedian Stephen Chow directs and stars in Shaolin Soccer which deserves the distinction of being one of the outright funniest and most entertaining Hong Kong films ever seen by this reviewer. Its an instant classic that should have filmmakers worldwide taking notes.

This comedy spoof begins as “Golden Leg” Fung, a once great soccer star is disgraced and deliberately made a cripple after missing a crucial shot. Years later, Fung meets “Mighty Steel Leg” Sing, a former Shaolin monk with an incredible kicking ability. They strike up the idea of forming a soccer team and entering a championship, allowing Fung to regain lost glory and Sing to spread his love of kung fu to the masses. Sing enlists the aid of his Shaolin Brothers who resist initially but soon join the team, each adapting their own special kung fu skills to the game. They work their way to the final match versus the chemically-enhanced “Evil Team” owned by Fung’s nemesis, resulting in an effects-laden game resembling an epic supernatural battle of superhuman skill.

Stephan Chow has starred in dozens of comedies in Hong Kong including parodying Bruce Lee in Fist of Fury 1991 and lampooning American films such as The Matrix and American Pie in The Tricky Master (1999). Some viewers have found Chow’s humor too verbal and therefore hard to translate, yet this is probably his most accessible film to Western audiences because it focuses mostly on physical stunts and widely recognizable references such as Bruce Lee imitations. Other viewers find Chow’s humor to be juvenile but its undeniable that Chow has a gift for mockery, thanks to his brilliant timing and his ability to merge unrelated subjects seamlessly onscreen. Such is the case for Shaolin Soccer that takes the Shaolin monk and his kung fu skills, seen in countless martial arts films and combines it with the game of soccer. It turns out to be a perfect combination that appeals to a broad audience, thanks in part to the liberal use of computer effects to enhance the action.

Half of the film’s budget went towards digital effects created by Centro, the Asian company responsible for the impressive eye candy seen in Hong Kong fantasy films The Storm Riders (1998) and A Man Called Hero (1999). From a soccer ball morphing into a flaming tiger in flight to players butting heads like rams, eye-popping CG effects are found everywhere in this film. While the complaint in many of today’s American films is that digital effects are overwhelming a film’s story and characters, Shaolin Soccer is rooted firmly in the old fashioned tale of a down-and-out team of misfits regaining their confidence by beating the odds. Chow never loses sight of this either in the effects or in the humor.

If anything is wrong with the film it would be the rapid pace of the story that had to give way to the numerous action sequences. But these scenes will not disappoint and the plot remains easy to follow. Sports fans, kung fu fans, Adam Sandler fans, and just about anyone looking for something invigorating and different will get a real kick out of Shaolin Soccer.

Related Topics: Shaolin Soccer (2001), Stephen Chow