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Starring
:
Alexander
Lo Rei
William
Yen
Alan
Chui
Chang
Chi Ping
Yee
Yuen
Director
:
Robert
Tai
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SHAOLIN
VS. NINJA (1983)
A.K.A.
- Shaolin V Ninja
Reviewed
by Phil Mills
The
local Japanese inhabitants have long since craved the land
occupied by the Shaolin temple and are just waiting for an
excuse to snatch it from under the monk's noses. When a
Japanese monk arrives to advocate peace he is murdered,
seemingly by a Shaolin monk, so the Japanese seize their
chance to force an investigation upon the temple and demand
the guilty party is brought forward. To help pile the
pressure on the monks the Japanese hire a clan of Ninjas in
the hope that they will force them into combat, thus
condemning their good names. Unwilling to be brought
into such petty arguments the Shaolin organise a friendly
tournament within their temple so that the Ninja will be
taught a valuable lesson. Which side will emerge
victorious and will the Shaolin be able to restore their
reputation?
When
an original style of film makes it big, it is pretty much
expected that a thousand imitations will follow in an attempt
to cash-in on the current trendsetter. The Asian film
market is a particularly guilty party when it comes to this
process and 'Shaolin Vs. Ninja' is a prime example.
Displaying clear signs of a film rushed into production, it
relies heavily on the influence of Jet Li's 'Shaolin Temple'
and the whole Ninja mythos (which were in the ascendance at
this time) to provide a quick and easy claim to fame.
Sadly, it suffers from the same handful of flaws as the
majority of films produced this way; the budget is low, the
plot is poor (or non-existent) and it lacks decent direction.
Lo Rei's presence could and should have raised it's pedigree
but his part is limited to cameos during the action which
causes the film to plod along without a clearly defined hero
or main character/s. This leaves the fight sequences to
provide a certain saving grace which they do thanks to a well
choreographed tournament between the Shaolin and Ninja but
even this did little to lift my general opinion on 'Shaolin
Vs. Ninja'.
'Shaolin
Vs. Ninja' is a very poorly made film that is so badly thought
out that it is often completely unwatchable. The fight
sequences allow for a few distracting moments but they are not
enough to make it a worthwhile purchase.
Rating:
 
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