Shaolin
Well Go | Release Date: September 9, 2011 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
53
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 10 Critic Reviews
Positive:
2
Mixed:
7
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
70
The New York TimesRachel SaltzSep 8, 2011
If the movie feels old-school (with new-school production values), consider its pedigree. It's no wonder: Shaolin is a reimagining of the 1982 "Shaolin Temple," in which Jet Li made his debut. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleMarc SavlovSep 8, 2011
Director Benny Chan has fashioned a visually sumptuous period wushu film with a strikingly contemplative and pacifist bent. Read full review
60
Boxoffice MagazineNick SchagerSep 9, 2011
Shaolin is simultaneously regal and stilted, stirring and sluggish. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsDavid HinckleySep 9, 2011
Jackie Chan's cameo as a monastery cook is a tiny joy. To see Chan use his once-great physical skill on a hunk of bread dough is to see a giant work in miniature. Read full review
60
Time OutKeith UhlichSep 6, 2011
Fists fly furiously and much blood is spilled; there's a sacrifice via sword that's both cringe-inducing and cheerworthy. Even special guest star Jackie Chan gets in on the fun with a hilarious bit of food-jitsu. It's almost enough to make you forget that this entertainingly hollow film is populated entirely with toy soldiers. Read full review
50
New York PostV.A. MusettoSep 9, 2011
This new movie features stylishly filmed and choreographed battles. But in between the set pieces is a lot of sentimental blather that slows down the film. More action, less talk should be the order of the day, but it isn't. Read full review
50
Slant MagazineAndrew SchenkerSep 6, 2011
Only Jackie Chan, in a comedic supporting role as a Zen-trained cook who applies his culinary techniques on the battlefield (he "stir-fries" one enemy in a giant pot and "kneads" another like dough), provides any measure of relief. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterMaggie LeeSep 6, 2011
Directed with feeling for its richly layered protagonists, the film is elevated by its emotional complexity but simultaneously dragged down by the relative shortage of propulsive, hardcore action. Read full review
50
VarietyRussell EdwardsSep 6, 2011
Well-mounted Chinese-Hong Kong martial-arts co-production Shaolin elevates enlightenment above brute strength, but weak helming undercuts the pic's punch. Read full review
30
Village VoiceNick PinkertonSep 6, 2011
This crude, overlong chunk of kung-fu kitsch lays its scene in a 1920s Republican China, torn by internecine fighting and weighed down by drably expensive production design. Read full review
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