A very enjoyable movie, Jet Li is phenomenal, his movements really sell the action.

This surprise instalment in the Jet Li franchise sees Shaw director Liu Chia Liang decamping to the mainland to shoot some impressive, immersive, large-scale brawling. The story is as negligible as ever and the comedy so-so, but after half an hour this turns into an action-packed romp that depicts a running battle between our three heroes and the endless bad guys. Great choreography as you'd expect and wonderful scenery make this a joy to look at.

Zhi Ming (Jet Li) weasels out of the north Shaolin temple to assassinate a despotic ruler at the ruler's extravagant public birthday celebration.

This film is notable as the only collaboration between film director Lau Kar-leung and actor Jet Li. It is the third part of the successful Shaolin film series which began with "Shaolin Temple" (1982) and was followed by "Kids From Shaolin" (1984). Although it stars many Mainland actors from either or both predecessor films (Jet Li, Yu Chenghui, Yu Hai, Hu Jianqiang and Huang Qiuyan),"Martial Arts Of Shaolin" uses a Hong Kong production crew from Shaw Brothers Studio, in contrast to the other two films (which are Hong Kong-funded but are shot by a Mainland director with a Mainland crew).

The production values, especially the set, are a dramatic improvement over the old Chang Cheh films. So, for that, the film is to be commended. But is there much new to offer? For me, not so much. Also, the movie really drives home the theme music. I like the idea of using the music over and over in different ways, but they seem to have used the same melody for almost 75% of the film, which is a bit obnoxious.