Solemplex To me, this movie is perfection.

BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment

Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Billy Ollie Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

callanvass *Minor Spoilers*I love Jet Li and I love Martial Art films. The first Shaolin Temple is not one of my favorites, but at least it was proficient in its approach. I have no idea what they were going for here, but it's one of the stupidest martial art films I have ever seen, and I wasn't able to finish it all. What was with all the singing? This is not a musical, this is martial arts. It also was a little too weird for me. There are some traditions here that really raised my eyebrows. The kids encourage spankings from their Father, and a Mother gives birth continuously from what I saw. I realize that may be part of a tradition of sorts, but it didn't fly with me, and tuned me out even further. I'll continue. Jet Li's character is extremely silly. We do get some fight scenes, but I was so angry at what I was seeing, I wasn't able to enjoy them. Not everyone will feel the same way, but this is just too crazy for its own good.Final Thoughts: I'm not a big fan of the first one either, but it's at least proficiently done. I can't say the same for this one. One more sequel to go, and I'm not looking forward to it. Hopefully it's better than this crud3/10

zzmale Like the first Jet Li's movie, the Shaolin Temple (1979), this movie is also excellent in that all actors are professional martial arts athletes of Chinese national and provincial teams, including the boys and girls from the national/provincial junior teams. Hence, all moves are realistic and there is no stunts, no cranes, no cable, no fakes, and no special effects like Jet Li's later works such as Lethal Weapon 4. As martial arts flicks in China developed, it inevitably took the similar road to that of Hong Kong and Taiwan with increasing fakes, and earlier flicks like this is thus really a masterpiece in comparison.

timbarclay What this film lacks in plot, cunning script and subtlety, it more than makes up for in stunning Kung Fu action and amazing acrobatics from every member of the cast (however young). It's 'Romeo & Juliet'-esque storyline is cliched and quite predictable but the the film is worth a watch simply in order to wonder 'How did Jet Li do that?'.

rachdragon i found Kids of Shaolin to be a light-hearted film, with some very funny moments. Jet Li's natural charm & cheekiness shine through, ably supported by fellow wushu team members. He doesn't perform as much wushu as he does in Shaolin Temple but it is still beautifully performed BY HIM. On alot of his later films (especially after Born to defence, where he hurt his back severely) he has substituted stunt men for the more intensive and dangerous fight choreography, which is fair enough considering he is not a trained stunt man. Therefore i relish watching this movie to see this gorgeous man do that wushu that he do so well!