This film has also been released as "The New Legend of Shaolin". Don't you hate it when they change the names of films? I was caught out once. I bought "Kiss me, kill me" without realising that it was the same film as "Baba Yaga". In this case, consider this a warning to Jet Li completists. Don't buy the film twice!
Jet Li plays Hung Hei Kwun, a rebel against the ruling Qing dynasty. His wife is killed by government forces, and he takes revenge on Ma Ling Yee, the man who betrayed where he lived, but unknown to Hung he survives. Hung then wanders the country as a beggar, accompanied by his son.
At the same time there is a crackdown on the Shaolin temples. The monks hide their treasure, and they tattoo a map to its location on the backs of five young boys. Four remain in the temple, one returns home to live with his father. Hung becomes a bodyguard for a rich man in the same town. A female con artist called Red Bean moves in with Hung's employer, pretending to love him but only after his jewels. Hung sees through her, but says nothing. Then Ma arrives in town searching for the boys with the map, and Hung unites with Red Bean to fight against him.
A very good story with interlocking plots. It's amusing watching the young boys -- aged about eight? -- fight with one another. The only downside for me is the coldness of Hung Hei Kwun. He walks through the film showing hardly any emotion. It's deliberate, of course, but I don't like it. It makes it difficult for me, a very emotional person, to relate to him.
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