Shaolin Temple Against Lama (1980)

Shaolin Temple Against Lama (1980)
Chinese Title: 紅衣喇嘛
Translation: Red Lama

 

Starring: Alexander Lo Rei, Alan Chui, Chang Chi-Ping, Miu Ho, Wang Hsieh, Lucifer Li Hai-Hsieng Yang Hsiung, William Yen
Director: Chang Chien-Chi
Action Director: Alan Chui, Wang Chi-Sheng

 

The move I'm reviewing is not Shaolin vs. Lama, which was directed by the great Taiwanese director Lee Tso Nam and is considered one of the all-time great kung fu movies. However, before we begin, let me point out that in both films, the evil Tibetan Lama villains are masters of styles that make their bodies impervious to any sort of harm (except for a few weak points). You know, if Tibetans today would stick to their martial roots and practice these styles, maybe they wouldn't have so many problems with the Chinese commies. That said, let's talk about the plot (such as it is).

In Ancient Tibet, the Lamas are divided into five factions and are ruled over by one emperor. The Tibetan prince (Alexander Lo Rei, the Taiwanese Michael Dudikoff who appeared in films like Shaolin Dolemite and the Ninja Death trilogy) is studying martial arts with the Red Lama faction and will soon assume his throne. At the same time, the leader of the Black Lama Faction, Cha Siu (Alan Chui, Kung Fu vs. Yoga and Last Hero in China, who's also the action director here) is trying to get the martial arts manuals from all of the kung fu schools in the country so that he may be all powerful and take over Tibet.

Unfortunately, there are two schools who haven't given in to him so far: the Ching school and the Shaolin Temple. So he sends his men to the Ching School and they kill everybody and get the manual. They are less successful, however, at the Shaolin Temple. One of the high officials tries to talk Cha Siu out of his quest for power, which Cha Siu responds to by sending his men to kill him. Luckily, he's protected by the Shaolin Monks and a drunken master (who's really a Shaolin monk in disguise).

At the same time, Cha Siu is sending his assassins to kill the Prince, who has just left the Red Faction monastery. One funny part is that the Red Lama leader tells the Prince to resolve the conflict between the Black Faction and the Shaolin Temple, telling him, "Not all Black Faction members are evil and not all Shaolin monks are good." Well, at the end of the film, all of the Shaolin monks were good and all of the Black Faction members are both evil and dead. Some wise leader you are.

Not being able to kill the Prince, Cha Siu decides to deceive the Prince into thinking that the Shaolin monks are evil, by staging assassination attempts by bald guys with white dots on their heads. The Prince goes to the Shaolin Temple to challenge the monks and gets his booty handed back to him, and is forced to stay at the temple and train. While all this is going on, Cha Siu hires the Persian Killers to kill off the Red Lamas and the Shaolin monks. Several high-octane throwdowns ensue.

Well, that's the plot. Before I talk about the action, let me mention that this film is a prime example of the cheap chopsockey film that was made in Taiwan. Cha Siu's lair is pretty threadbare with a silly multi-armed statue adorning his throne/altar. The costumes are these silly, bright, multi-colored kung fu outfits I can't imagine anyone in their right mind using, not even during the Ming Dynasty (or whenever the film is set). There are some nice exterior shots of Tibetan temples and people and stuff, although if you compare the Taiwanese actors to the people you see in the establishing shots, they look nothing alike.

Let's discuss the action. This is one of the most action-packed films I have ever seen. There are no less than 19 set pieces which take up more than half of the film's running time. Alan Chui's choreography is a lot better here than in a lot of other low-budget Taiwanese films. There is some occasional excessive undercranking which cheapens things a bit, although it gets less prevalent as the film progresses. The main problem is that the Alan Chui could have (and should have) made the action a lot more varied. It's kind of the same thing over and over again (and after 19 set pieces, it is a bit hard to remember one fight from the other). There is some weapons work (spears, poles, sabers, and assault blades), but none of it is particularly memorable.

Nonetheless, most of the actors are in top form. Alexander Lo Rei looks particularly good in this movie, especially in the last two fights (the best in the movie) when he starts pulling of some bootwork that'd make Legendary Superkicker Hwang Jang Lee proud. Alan Chui doesn't see much action until the end, but he's a talented onscreen fighter and makes the perfect villain for Lo Rei to fight. Everyone else is pretty solid, even if their fights aren't particularly memorable.

I do recommend this film for fans of the genre, although naysayers will probably be bored after the fifth or sixth fight scene.