53
Metascore
10 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 70The New York TimesRachel SaltzThe New York TimesRachel SaltzIf the movie feels old-school (with new-school production values), consider its pedigree. It's no wonder: Shaolin is a reimagining of the 1982 "Shaolin Temple," in which Jet Li made his debut.
- 67Austin ChronicleMarc SavlovAustin ChronicleMarc SavlovDirector Benny Chan has fashioned a visually sumptuous period wushu film with a strikingly contemplative and pacifist bent.
- 60Time OutKeith UhlichTime OutKeith UhlichFists fly furiously and much blood is spilled; there's a sacrifice via sword that's both cringe-inducing and cheerworthy. Even special guest star Jackie Chan gets in on the fun with a hilarious bit of food-jitsu. It's almost enough to make you forget that this entertainingly hollow film is populated entirely with toy soldiers.
- 60New York Daily NewsDavid HinckleyNew York Daily NewsDavid HinckleyJackie Chan's cameo as a monastery cook is a tiny joy. To see Chan use his once-great physical skill on a hunk of bread dough is to see a giant work in miniature.
- Shaolin is simultaneously regal and stilted, stirring and sluggish.
- 50Slant MagazineAndrew SchenkerSlant MagazineAndrew SchenkerOnly Jackie Chan, in a comedic supporting role as a Zen-trained cook who applies his culinary techniques on the battlefield (he "stir-fries" one enemy in a giant pot and "kneads" another like dough), provides any measure of relief.
- Directed with feeling for its richly layered protagonists, the film is elevated by its emotional complexity but simultaneously dragged down by the relative shortage of propulsive, hardcore action.
- 50New York PostV.A. MusettoNew York PostV.A. MusettoThis new movie features stylishly filmed and choreographed battles. But in between the set pieces is a lot of sentimental blather that slows down the film. More action, less talk should be the order of the day, but it isn't.
- 30Village VoiceNick PinkertonVillage VoiceNick PinkertonThis crude, overlong chunk of kung-fu kitsch lays its scene in a 1920s Republican China, torn by internecine fighting and weighed down by drably expensive production design.