Zhang San Feng du chuang Shao Lin

This middle-of-the-road kung fu and swordplay flick will never go down as a classic, but its far from boring and quickly gets in on the action. The dub on this Amazon Prime release slips into German about 20 minutes in, so who knows what I missed for 10 minutes!

Adventure Of Shaolin has a lot of very recognisable faces and some decent action - really kicking off in the tea house fight. The arrival of the great Polly Shang Kwan adds to the excitement, delivering in both the action and acting department. Her co-stars are just as good, with each star getting their fair share of kung fu action.

Ultimately, this is about a fighter (who has read many books in the Shaolin library in record time) escaping from the bad guys who are after him, with the help of every monk in the area and Polly of course. While I can see why it could lose some viewers in not offering anything new, it does have some fun moments and is decently shot.

The lengthy end fight has some great moves and makes up for the rest of the films hiccups throughout. Look out for the kung fu grandma who gets to join the fun!

Overall: I wouldn't rush to see it, but it's quite watchable when you do...

Another day, another cheap Taiwanese-made kung fu movie. ADVENTURE OF SHAOLIN is based on a true-life character and for once it's not Wong Fei Hung. Instead the film's subject is Chang Zhang Fong, the man who invented Tai Chi, although if you're looking for an exploration of that particular style you're likely to be disappointed because this is very much an ordinary basher in the kung fu mould.

There's very little plot of sorts, other than an evil baron who goes around with a huge bounty on his head. The protagonists are an assembled bunch of heroes, each with their own particular skill set or style; one of them is a female fighter, played well by Polly Shan. Part of the film is a running battle between heroes and villains, but it's all very routine; watchable enough at the time, but forgettable instantly afterwards.

There are some fun stylistic elements in this film, including a Japanese influence with claw hand weaponry and the like. One character seems to be wearing a Spanish conquistador helmet. The best part of the movie is the big fight climax, set in an old quarry by the looks of it. The baron has a withered black arm which is pretty deadly whenever he hits anyone with it, so the heroes must team up to outwit him. There's a twist of sorts and it all gets pretty violent and frenetic. ADVENTURE OF SHAOLIN is no classic but I liked it all the same.