Shaolin contre Wu Tong

The instant appeal of this film is that I was a fan of the Wu Tang Clan's debut album "Enter The Wu Tang" and the sound clips from the film that the gang used . " You really think your Wu tang style can defeat me ? " , "if what you say is true , the Wu tang and the Shao Lin..could be dangerous " and so forth , so for myself and the mate who I shared a domino's pizza with, we had the delight of hearing those famous quotes on screen and repeating them in true Shao Lin style.

The second major appeal of this cult classic was the star, Mr.Gordon Liu , you may know him better as Pai Mei in Kill Bill volume 2 (who was basically the hardest man in the world) . Gordon is in superb form and emerges from talented but gentle nice guy (if not a bit camp ) jun kip to bald Shao Lin warrior tat chi .

I have a feeling that this would be the 2 main appeals of most potential viewers and for my money they are the only reasons to watch , the Kung Fu is superb and the audience is given the treat of both highly skilled martial arts in equal dosage , it just seems a shame that it is poorly used in a bizarre plot , from point A to point B , it reads as simple , two friends , one of the Shao Lin school and one of the Wu tang school must eventually meet each other in a fight to the death , to determine who's style is best . What lies in between is a plot that can only be described as mesmerising , characters seem to vanish , objectives of characters change through out for no apparent reason , men are locked up in prison with shrieking women , it's all one giant bizarre mess to fill the cassam between the start and the finish .

Watch because you love kung fu (the kung fu is excellent) , watch because your a fan of Gordon liu, watch because your a fan of the Wu tang clan album "enter the Wu tang " but don't watch because you like a good story.

An excellent martial arts movie. My favorite part is the beginning sequence where the lone wu-tang warrior fights against a squad of monks. The beginning fight scene is worth every penny it costs you to buy the movie.

Using the classic martial arts storyline of the villain who wants to learn the secret style of fighting, SHAOLIN v WU TANG is dope! In this one, we get two friends, one from Shaolin school and the other from Wu tang. After a foul up that results in the murder of the Wu tang master, the two friends soon become enemies, then on a mission to seek acceptance to become monks and challenge one another.

The only disappointing thing about this flick is that it's fight scenes don't compare with the beginning of the film, And that's just a training sequence!!!! Still this is one of the masterpieces of Kung Fu film. Keep an ear out for some of the dialogue that was sampled on Wu Tang Clan's CD "36 Chambers".

I liked the classic plot of this one and didn't find it too convoluted or forced. There's not much elaborate choreographed kung-fu through most of the movie (you get little snippets and teases throughout), but the end fight sequence is elaborate (they saved all their choreography for here) and quite good and exciting to see the two styles get combined to overcome the main baddie. You can really feel the chemistry between the two opposing stars, friends with conflict, and when they fight, it's a lot of fun.

I'd love to see a better print of this, as I watched an old VHS copy with lots of scanlines and cropping that I'm sure take away from it all.

Grab it and see it if you have the chance and like kung fu movies.

5.7 stars!

I'm a fan of both Wu Tang and HK martial arts films.

This movie is good as a kung fu flick, great if you are a Wu Tang fan, just to hear the samples in context.

But as a standalone its quite uneven.

The costumes are pretty decent. Many other films of this era are less picky about such details. I don't know if any are historically accurate, but they at least fit the actors, and have some details.

Sets are not too bad either.

The lighting and cinematography are mediocre. So you have a strange circumstance where you are looking at pretty well dressed actors in a believable set, but the camera is barely in focus lighting seems to mostly be single point or available light. And its 4:3 aspect ratio further takes it down a notch in presentation.

The acting is nothing to write home about. But its really the story that stinks. Its just kind of meanders and there isn't a real compelling story arc or character development.

However the fight choreo is pretty decent.

Thought it might even be Yuen Wo Ping.

Its really one of those films where you are twiddling your thumbs while people are talking then a fight breaks out and it has your attention again.

I'm being a little hard on it because its an 80's film. But it comes off like a 60's or 70's film. It should have better production value. Look at Jimmy Wang Yu's Master of the Flying Guilllotine. It's from 1976 but had better lighting and cinematography. The story is a trite, but it at least has a B plot. And some great characters!

Despite all my quibbles Gordon Liu is great.