The Shaolin Rescuers (3 Stars)

The film begins with a surreal fight against a red background. A Shaolin temple has been invaded by the members of the Wudang Clan. The Shaolin monks are slaughtered brutally. Only one of them, Hong Xiguan, escapes, heavily injured. He takes refuge in a martial arts school, but they betray him to the Wudang Clan, and he has to flee again. He meets up with his friend Qi Bao, a circus acrobat. 

This is a serious beginning, but after this the film degenerates into slapstick. Yang is a tofu maker who practises the Mantis fighting style. Chen is a waiter in a restaurant who practises the Black Tiger Clan style. They dream of being famous heroes. The Black Tiger Clan style involves fighting with chopsticks and a rice bowl. No comment. They rescue a young man called Chu who has been thrown out of a fighting school for disrespecting his master. That's something a martial arts student should never, never do!

The three men, Yang, Chen and Chu, meet Hung and Qi and help them take revenge.

The fights are absolutely ridiculous, the exact opposite of the realistic fights in "The Rebel Intruders". It's not just the fights with chopsticks and rice bowls. The fights with real weapons look like a well synchronised ballet, not like real fights. For instance, when a sword fighter is attacking, it's obvious that he's deliberately missing his opponents. I'm sure the swords used as props aren't sharp, but they'd still hurt if he hit his fellow actors. And then the deadliest member of the Wudang Clan is Gao Jinzhong, who strangles his opponents with his braided hair. Somehow I don't think that it's a very efficient way to fight.

In another scene the good guys interrupt the Wudang Clan while they're having a meal. They're so impressed by the quality of the food that they keep grabbing food in between punches. It's hilarious, and I don't say that in a good way.

Is there any reason they should be fighting on the top of wooden poles? But what makes the film even worse is its uneven style. In the middle of the fights, people die suddenly and painfully. This doesn't match the comical fights. Isn't the raid on a Shaolin temple something to be taken seriously?

I almost gave the film a 2 Star (poor) rating, but it was saved by the final 15 minute fight scene. It was finally a realistic fight, no laughs, and it even looked like a fight. The whole film should have been like this.