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Shaolin

Shaolin (2011)

tomatometer

67

Average Rating: 6/10
Critic Reviews: 9
Fresh: 6 | Rotten: 3

No consensus yet.

audience

68

liked it
Average Rating: 3.6/5
User Ratings: 5,986

My Rating

Movie Info

As feuding warlords fight to expand their power, the noble monks of the Shaolin Temple clean up the mess left behind, tending to the injured while trying their best to protect the poor and weak. General Hou (Andy Lau) has caused much of this mess with his violent and ruthless tactics that rarely discriminate between soldiers and civilians. When Hou is betrayed by fellow general Cao Man (Nicholas Tse), he is forced into hiding, and takes refuge with the monks (including Jackie Chan) at their

R, 2 hr. 11 min.

Drama, Action & Adventure

Alan Yuen

Oct 25, 2011

$64.3k

Variance Films

Shaolin Trailer & Photos

More Photos (16)
More Trailers and Videos (1)

Cast

Critic Reviews for Shaolin

All Critics (26) | Top Critics (9) | Fresh (19) | Rotten (7)

An ambitious, almost epic drama that devotes as much time to introspection as it does to combat.

September 9, 2011 Full Review Source: Dallas Morning News | Comment
Gary Dowell
Dallas Morning News
Top Critic IconTop Critic

"Shaolin" fits in the more somber kung-fu tradition. But it also finds room for the genre's comic strain.

September 9, 2011 Full Review Source: New York Times | Comment
Rachel Saltz
New York Times
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The epic feel to this Hong Kong action-drama helps balance a lack of hand-to-hand combat scenes.

September 9, 2011 Full Review Source: New York Daily News | Comment
Joe Neumaier
New York Daily News
Top Critic IconTop Critic

More action, less talk should be the order of the day, but it isn't.

September 9, 2011 Full Review Source: New York Post | Comments (2)
V.A. Musetto
New York Post
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Shaolin features a half-dozen impressive action set pieces, including an elaborate carriage chase and a battle inside the cages where Cao imprisons his workers.

September 8, 2011 Full Review Source: NPR | Comment
Mark Jenkins
NPR
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The kung fu itself is great fun to watch, from the discipline of balancing on one foot on a wooden pillar, the other in the air, for hours at a time to the confrontations that send fist and feet flying.

September 8, 2011 Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | Comment
Betsy Sharkey
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic IconTop Critic

One of those films that impresses you, even though it fails to set itself apart from other films in the genre.

December 29, 2011 Full Review Source: Movie Metropolis | Comment
James Plath
Movie Metropolis

Ambitiously staged set pieces fall victim to portentous technique, creating an ultimately irreconcilable chasm between how much one wants to like this movie and how much they actually do.

October 2, 2011 Full Review Source: Shockya.com | Comment
Brent Simon
Shockya.com Source: Shockya.com

Jackie Chan brings some warm energy to his supporting role -- a rarity for this big star -- and turns in a delightfully self-effacing performance.

September 16, 2011 Full Review Source: Common Sense Media | Comment
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Common Sense Media

Frequently gripping and featuring a surprisingly spry supporting turn by Jackie Chan, it's a sturdy if unremarkable effort.

September 9, 2011 Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | Comment
Nick Schager
Boxoffice Magazine

Shaolin is simultaneously regal and stilted, stirring and sluggish.

September 9, 2011 Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | Comment
Paul Clinton (Boxoffice)
Boxoffice Magazine

Large-scale melodrama is short on action and long on histrionics.

September 9, 2011 Full Review Source: Film Journal International | Comment
Daniel Eagan
Film Journal International

This rousing Shaolin is notable for the compassionate Buddhist philosophy that underpins what otherwise might have been just another Hong Kong period piece.

September 9, 2011 Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | Comment
Marc Savlov
Austin Chronicle

This is not a subtle film, and certainly not a great one, but it's made with bubbling brio and it's spectacular to look at. It's action filmmaking of the highest order.

September 8, 2011 Full Review Source: Honolulu Star-Advertiser | Comment
Burl Burlingame
Honolulu Star-Advertiser Source: Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Fists fly furiously and much blood is spilled; there's a sacrifice via sword that's both cringe-inducing and cheerworthy.

September 7, 2011 Full Review Source: Time Out New York | Comment
Keith Uhlich
Time Out New York

Benny Chan's kung-fu film Shaolin both benefits from and is ultimately defeated by its own epic ambitions.

September 4, 2011 Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | Comment
Andrew Schenker
Slant Magazine

"Shaolin" compares favorably with the biggest blockbuster Hollywood has to offer.

August 31, 2011 Full Review Source: ColeSmithey.com | Comment
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

With its mix of high octane martial arts and Eastern spirituality, Shaolin succeeds as a stirring anti-violence action epic.

February 4, 2011 Full Review Source: Matt's Movie Reviews | Comment
Matthew Pejkovic
Matt's Movie Reviews
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Shaolin

View All

Really good film. Lots of great choreography. Jackie Chan shows up in this, and he adds alot of humor. The only thing that took away from the movie was the foreign troops that show up to cause conflict...the lead soldier was a horrible actor. But that is such a small section, and it doesn't take away from this film.

February 6, 2012
itsjustme2004
Cynthia S.

Super Reviewer

Fantasy martial arts tale built on the simple story of a man who makes a terrible mistake, hurting everyone who loved him, and spends the rest of his life clearing his mind, rebuilding the way he sees the world and atoning for his sins by protecting the weak. A simple, solid story that was beautifully acted and really

September 9, 2011
Letitia Lew
Letitia Lew

Super Reviewer

Shaolin Quotes

View All

    1. Cook: [Shaolin Kids shouting to to Cook while he's taking on Cao Man's crooked soldiers] Stir fry them like vegetables. Knead them like noodle dough!
    – Submitted by Fascade F (23 days ago)
    1. The Abbot: From evil comes suffering. With justice they are gone. If neither are there you're so purified, nothing remains. Understand how to let go first, then you will have no attachments. Do this, and you can confront anything.
    – Submitted by Allison L (2 months ago)
    1. General Hou Jie: Namo Amituofo.
    – Submitted by Prince K (2 months ago)
    1. General Hou Jie: Why did you kill them?
    – Submitted by Chris P (5 months ago)

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Foreign Titles

  • Shaolin (Xin Shao Lin Si) (UK)
  • Shaolin (Xin Shao Lin Si) (CA)
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