Shaolin Wooden Men (Shao Lin mu ren xiang, 1976)
For a Lo Wei directorial piece, this one isn't half bad! In fact I'm going to admit that I like it quite a bit. This is sort of my favorite old-school type movie, set mostly at a Shaolin Temple and following Jackie's poor little mute character through his struggles to master kung fu. That's right, Jackie plays a mute character here, who gets picked on by the other young guys at the temple but manages to win the interest of a few of the monks--as well as a Shaolin Nun and a cranky old prisoner the monks keep in a cave. The prisoner turns out to be a very important and deadly man, though Jackie doesn't learn who he REALLY is until near the very end.
The actual Wooden Men are pretty cheesy, but there's some nice stuff to be found here and some decent demonstrations of different styles. Jackie's really sweet through it all, and I was impressed with how well he was able to express the mute character's emotions and thoughts without saying a word--and without hamming it up. A decent helping of angst and suffering that should please those fans. Nothing very slashy about it, though.
SUMMARY:
Overall rating: B- It's not a GREAT movie, but it's good if you like more serious old-school stuff.
Droolworthiness: B+ Jackie's sweet and gets sweaty a fair amount. No one else to really catch the eye.
Slashiness: D Nothing that made any lasting impression on me.
Action: B- Fair amount of it, as should be expected in this kind of movie, but it's not all that memorable.
 | Silent but deadly. |
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