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Hong Kong superstar <B>Jet Li</B> is the villain in <I>Lethal Weapon</I> (as if you didn't know it already). Hopefully this otherwise un-needed sequel will spur some interest in Jet's older HK films ala' <B>Jackie Chan</B>. Li, whose popularity rivals that of Chan in Asia, is quite simply one of the most graceful, poised, and charismatic leading men in the history of cinema . Unfortunately while Chan's films are more universal in their plots, Li's best films are those which are so foreign that they may frighten U.S. audiences with their baffling creativity, originality, and "anything goes" sensibility. <I>The New Legend of Shaolin</I> is one of these.
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Directed by filmic madman (even by HK standards) <B>Wong Jing</B>, <I>NLOS</I> is a quintessential Hong Kong martial arts extravaganza. Jet is a stoic and peaceful Shaolin master who, despite his passive nature, is constantly forced to engage in hand-to-hand combat. His entire clan wiped out by a tyrannical baddie, Jet manages to save his infant son and vanquish his foe (aforementioned baby strapped to his back all the while). A man with no family and no land, Jet travels the countryside for years, training his son (the phenomenal <B>Tse Miu</B>, a ten year old kid who could kick the crap out of Mike Tyson) in the ways of Shaolin. In a typically twisting plot that swings wildly from comedy to action to tragedy and back again, Li must join forces with a mother/daughter scam artist team to defeat the resurrected bad guy (you see, he was almost dead but he took a healing potion that turned him into a scarred, poison-spewing demon/man with ten times the strength of a mortal . . . This is the kind of thing I'm talking about when I say HK films are "foreign"). Several jaw-droppingly spectacular fight sequences later, you turn off the VCR, heart pounding like you just got off of a rollercoaster, and say "Holy cow. That was the most insane, exhilarating cinematic experience I've ever had. Please give me more."
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<a href= "http://www.taiseng.com">Taiseng Video</a>
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