New Shaolin (新少林寺)

How's your Chinese New Year holiday last week? Did you managed to watch the CNY movies? I started the CNY movies quite early this year. First I watched Homecoming and then thanks to Nuffnang Malaysia Glitterati Plus I got to watch New Shaolin (新少林寺) starring Andy Lau and Nicholas Tse featuring Jackie Chan.

Basically New Shaolin is a remake of the old film Shaolin. The story is basically after the fall of the Qing Dynasty, different warlords came into power and they will fight with each other to control the territory. Andy Lau's character is a powerful and merciless warlord general, he is later betrayed by his right hand man potrayed by Nicholas Tse. He then took asylum in Shaolin Temple. Nicholas Tse whom learned from his former general of course will stop at nothing to hunt him down. So, after finding out that his former general is hiding in Shaolin Temple, he launched a major attack at Shaolin Temple.

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The story is darker than of the old Shaolin Temple. Andy Lau's acting is nevertheless very good. He's acting is now more from inside out and back from external to internal rather than acting all out. While I think that Nicholas Tse is a bit overboard portraying the character, which I think should be deeper in thought rather than like an arrogant brat.

The choreographing of the fighting scene is not too bad. Also, most of the shaolin monks seen in the movie are real shaolin monk from the real shaolin temple. Of course the shaolin temple that is to be destroyed in the movie is a replica of the real one. My friend told me he almost cry when Andy Lau is giving the speech to among the monks after he became a shaolin monk and Nicholas Tse is attacking them.

Clearly a worthy watch in cinema during this CNY season.

Rating: 8/10