My new favorite movie (yes, I realize I have a new fave movie every week these days) is “Shaolin Soccer”. At first, I thought this thing was crap. I didn’t really get it, and I thought it would be a little more…dramatic.
But come on, how can you make a dramatic movie about a bunch of former kung fu students who form a soccer team? I mean, this has “Jamaican Bobsled Team” written all over it!
After watching this thing more than 3 times over the past week, it has joined the ranks of “Office Space”. Yes, folks. I said it. I put “Shaolin Soccer” in the same league as “Office Space”. May the gods of comedy strike me down where I sit.
OK, the plot of the movie follows: Sing is a Kung Fu master who has studied the Super Kick of his hero, Bruce Lee. Sing sees Kung Fu all around him, and he feels that humanity would be better served if everyone could embrace Kung Fu in their lives and see how it is simply everywhere.
Sing struggles to find a way to spread the gospel of Kung Fu to the masses, and stumbles upon Iron Leg, a former soccer great who is now crippled and working as a servant for the nefarious coach of Team Evil, who is also the one who crippled him yrs ago. Desparate to make his mark on the world of soccer once again, Iron Leg is astounded when he witnesses Sing’s awesome kick.
Sing becomes convinced that soccer is a good vehicle to get Kung Fu out to the masses, and he and Iron Leg set out to recruit his now-out-of-shape Kung Fu brothers. Hilarity ensues…
The special effects can be kinda “Matrix-y” at times, which most people seem to love. I think my only gripe is the fact that the ball is SO obviously CG at times. I mean, some of that stuff can’t be done with a soccer ball, and I guess I should be thankful that there’s technology that can get the job done. Also, some of the effects are very “Power Rangers” in caliber. Don’t get me wrong, PR effects have improved by leaps and bounds over the years, so we’re talking more PR: Wild Force than we are MMPR.
Anyway, go out and rent this movie. It’s definitely got an absurd bent that I do so love. I guess it’d be more fitting for me to put it in the same category as “Napoleon Dynamite”, but I figured I needed to name a movie everybody loved, like “Office Space” to convice you to check it out. So check out “Shaolin Soccer” now, bitch!
