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SHAOLIN
SOCCER (2001)
Reviewed
by Phil Mills
Once
a proud member of the soccer hall of fame, Fung (Man Tat) was
crippled due to his own stupidity which in turn destroyed all
of his hopes and dreams. When he stumbles upon a street
cleaner by the name of Sing (Sing Chi), he sees a superstar in
the making. Sing is a student of the Shaolin Martial
Arts and longs to bring his gift to the masses in a new and
improved way. Realising that they can combine the two
activities, they enlist the help of the Shaolin brothers to
form a soccer team that possess some extremely advanced
skills.
Few
films actually deserve the critical acclaim they receive or
live up to the hype that surrounds them but 'Shaolin Soccer'
certainly falls into a category that only an elite few occupy.
The outcry from fans of all genres has been so great that even
Hollywood movie companies have taken notice of the shining
star that is Chow Sing Chi. Maybe it's the combinations of
styles or just that Chow Sing Chi has finally crossed that gap
into true mainstream pictures but whatever it is, this film
has certainly been a hit worldwide.
First
and foremost, this film is a comedy. Despite the fact
that it has gained recognition from the special effects, it is
Chow Sing Chi's unique humour and blend of unusual criteria
that make this a front runner for his best film so far.
For international audiences he has always been something of an
acquired taste because comedy cannot bridge the language
barrier easily, especially when a lot of it relies on word
play or verbal wit. Slapstick can be appreciated world
wide with no explanation or adequate translation required so
this is always the best form of attack for a foreign film with
this kind of material. 'Shaolin Soccer' has to be
the first of Chow's films that contains an equal amount of
visual and verbal humour which has allowed it to expand the
appeal and make it more enjoyable for all cultures.
Although
theoretically this is not an action driven film, the
choreography for the Shaolin martial arts is superbly
executed. Much of the inspiration has certainly come
from Chow's true to life idol, Bruce Lee, with 'Fist
Of Fury' style street brawls and a goalkeeper with an
uncanny likeness to the great man himself. You also find
that with the aid of the advanced CGI effects and some crafty
wirework each of the unlikely looking Shaolin brothers are
given physically astounding ball skills that look as
impressive as most intricately created kung fu fights.
Sadly, as with 'Storm
Riders' and 'A
Man Called Hero', the computer work is never seamlessly
integrated and it is generally quite easy to spot an object or
person that has been artificially inserted but in this comic
book world it doesn't seem to matter as much as it does for
the serious action pieces.
The
one true criticism that has been hurled at this film is the
lack of characterisation. Previous films from Chow like
'King
Of Comedy' and 'God
Of Cookery' ran along the same lines but certainly took
the time to explore the characters fully. However, this
film is pure eye candy and not meant to be a deep and
meaningful drama by any means. The money has been
invested on the special effects and the script is crafted with
the intention of squeezing as many soccer matches in as
possible. The love story and relationships between the
Shaolin friends do enough to hold your attention and, despite
lacking real emotion, it still manages to serve up a portion
of entertainment greater than a lot of other films.
Comedy is where the heart lies and with this as the intended
outcome, Chow has certainly scored a real winner.
It
doesn't seem to matter if you go into this film with or
without high expectations, you are always bound to walk away
with a positive reaction. This is certainly one of the
best films I have seen in the last couple of years and one
that every self respecting movie fan should add to their
collection today.
Rating:
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