Shaolin Dolemite

This is one of the most over-the-top films I have ever seen. The great Rudy Ray Moore has taken an already-bizarre martial arts film and redubbed it with topically humorous dialogue, and added a couple scenes featuring himself as a monk and his old friend Jimmy Lynch as a drunken master. The newly-dubbed story has the evil martial artist 2Pac stealing the Dolby Digital death bell from the Wu-Tang Clan, and teaming with evil ninjas, including a female who likes to take her top off and use her breasts as weapons. The Wu-Tang must get help from the Shaolin, a Japanese prince, the Lost Tribe of Shabazz (two white guys who speak in ebonics), and Davey Crockett. Yes, Davey Crockett. The film parodies everything from chop socky clichés to Hip-Hop's East Coast-West Coast beef, and it's all hilarious. It's great to see that Rudy's stll got it after all these years.

As I was watching this movie, I found myself in constant mental anguish trying to figure the damned thing out. However, it was the most fun I've ever enjoyed during a spell of mental anguish. Rudy Ray Moore really struck gold this time on making people ask "Why in the Hell?!?!" Like "Why in the Hell did someone make this Kung-Fu movie?" "Why in the Hell did Rudy Ray Moore buy this Kung-Fu movie and dub himself into it?" "Why the hell is Davy Crockett a gay guy wielding a sword?!?" It just really doesn't make any sense, but it's hilarious. That's about it. -over and out.

Rudy Ray Moore was an ultra-cheapo filmmaker whose crazy exploits made an exceptional bio-pic starring Eddie Murphy. It's a fun film and is much like a Black-American version of "Ed Wood". As for Moore himself, his movies, like Ed Wood's, are among the worst of his generation...cheap, disjointed and really, really dumb. But like Wood, there is something fun and funny about the films and a lot of people have enjoyed them. However, "Shaolin Dolemite" is, frankly, such a terrible film even his fans might want to pass on this one.

In the case of "Shaolin Dolemite", Moore didn't even bother to make his own movie. Instead, he bought the rights to an Asian martial arts film, "Ren zhe da"("Ninja: The Final Duel"), chopped it apart, re-dubbed it and inserted himself into the movie. It is so cheap, so lousy that it might be in the same category as "The Room" and "Birdemic" in badness!! Or, perhaps even worse!

When it comes to plot, well, there really isn't any. There's just a lot of fighting from the original film interrupted occasionally with Moore doing his Dolemite routine...complete with all the usual language that would make most sailors blush. It's all very cheap, disjoint and dumb. However, it might make for a good party film so you and your friends can watch it and make fun of it...like your own personal episode of "MSTK3000". I DON'T recommend you watch it alone, as it is just too boring AND might just make you stupider!

By the way, I am pretty sure that the makers of the great cult film "Black Dynamite" saw this film andnthis would explain their including the Fiendish Dr. Woo and his evil minions on Kung Fu Island!

Okay, first of all, I'd like to send a warning to every Dolemite-fan out there: DO NOT WATCH THIS MOVIE! Rudy Ray Moore is only in the movie for a total of maximum 5-10 minutes, and only delivers dialogue like "Shiiiit", "Mothafuckaaa" and stuff like that, very uncreative by his part. Sam the Spliff (Jimmy Lynch) also appears in new footage and briefly fights two Asian Ninjas, who are totally unrelated to the rest of the movie.

Also on the DVD is a short (and very poorly filmed/written/delivered) introduction by Rudy, which is mind-numbingly awful and should not be seen by anyone either. I can't believe how low Moore has sunk to milk more money out of his loyal fans, it's really quite sad.

But, now on the good part: Somehow, Moore has found the original lost footage from "Ninja: The Final Duel", which was not released on the DVD-version of that movie (There was allegedly more than 10 hours of footage for a mini-series about Ninjas). He has added his own silly dubbing, which tries to modernize the story and move it forward to some sort of conclusion at the end, although his own footage makes no sense, which his ugly mug popping up every 10 minutes and saying "Wow, there's Ninjas!" and stuff like that.

Apart from the spliced-in footage of himself (actually dubbed worse than the old movie), the movie is quite entertaining, with many creative fights and mysterious objects flying around, like two bells fighting it out, breaking the sound-barriers and what the human mind can take (The original scene went on for more than 5 minutes with Eugene Thomas and a female Ninja ringing their bells constantly.. a good way to lose your mind if you turn up the volume to the max!)

The movie features Eugene Thomas as the bad guy with a gold-paper crescent moon on his forehead, and Alexander Lou as the hero who is trying to stop his evil ways, along with his helpers, two orange-clad hare Krishna-monks played by the martial arts legends Toby Russell and John Ladalski, and the gay Davey Crockett wielding a sword, played by the hilarious Silvio Azzolini, who along with Thomas and Lou also played a major part in the Ninja-classic "Mafia Vs. Ninja", which also was directed by the legendary Robert Tai, who plays "Abbott White" here, who does some really amazing fighting.

Things to look for: Ninja's flying out of the ground, digging underground tunnels faster than moles; a topless female Ninja who uses her "talents" to embarrass her opponents; blankets flying around almost living their own lives; guys spitting out so much blood that you shouldn't think their stomachs's were healthy; and a golden and a silver super-fighter who cannot be beaten by anything other than small beads!

So, all in all, I give the "Ninja: Final Duel"-footage 9/10 points, and the new footage of Moore and the atrocious new dubbing 1/10, for a total of 5/10 stars.

P.S: On the DVD (I got it along with "The Black Samurai" on a double-pack) there is fortunately a lot of extra scenes from the original movie, with the original Asian dubbing! These should not be missed!

Moore is in the movie for about 15 minutes, the rest is a re-edited generic kung-fu movie. Has a few funny moments, but after the novelty of the foul-mouthed dubbed-in voiceovers wears off, you're stuck with an old dumb plotless low budget cookie cutter martial arts movie.