I'm going to come out and say this on the record. There isn't a man on earth, that can take on twenty people. I don't care if you're the next Bruce Lee or Batman himself. You could spend as much time training as you like, but some things just aren't possible.
Don't get me wrong though; you can fight off a couple of guys and live to tell me tale. If you put a serious beat down on a few, the rest of them will think twice. But that isn't to say you can keep it up forever. If they know you're good and they're not afraid to get hit, you've got nowhere to go but down.
If there's a blade involved that's a different story. A swordsman can take out dozens, if he's alert and lucky. Don't give the aggressors any weapons though; for each one that's armed, your chances for survival drops significantly. We should know all this, but for some strange reason we can't get enough of these movies.
Classic Movie Trailers - Shaolin Temple 3: Martial Arts of Shaolin (1986)
When doing creative work, there is no such thing as a right or wrong answer. Nevertheless, each decision has an outcome, and one of those results could be the end of a career. In principle however, there is a lot of freedom. The only thing that matters is the audience reception.
The "one man against many" choice has been filmed so many times, I can't say that people don't like those scenes. I also can't deny that kind of entertainment, has positives and negatives just like everything else. "Martial Arts of Shaolin" is at its best, when it shows off the advantages. The disadvantages that are inherent in its style, may be more apparent today.
In other words, this probably played better in 1986. After decades of Bond films and Van Damme action movies, the question for us now, is have they run their course. Every one of us has to respond to that, and our answers should determine how we spend our time. If you're like me, you've seen dozens of "invincible heroes", taking out cannon fodder over the years. The bad guys always seem to be horrible shots, and the protagonist is always a step ahead.
If you still want to see heroes win against impossible odds, there's plenty of that here. Jet Li is accompanied by two other fighters, and both of them are as good as ten men. They also show the beauty of their respective styles and why the word 'art' is associated with fighting. If there is a reason to have a one man army, that's a pretty darn good one, and it's hard to argue otherwise.
Action movies can be a rollercoaster ride. They get your adrenaline pumping, and a counterattack can feel like an explosion. Sometimes, realism is way too restrictive. If it takes away from the fun, why put it in at all?
If you're curious, the answer is that without believability, you will find yourself to be disengaged or disinterested. The novelty of an unstoppable force is a troublesome bore after a while. You recognize it immediately and eventually you'll want something else. Unfortunately, it's become an overused cliché.
I wouldn't do the subject justice, without noting a few more benefits. If the hero isn't hurt, the pace and the mood are maintained. It's hard to keep the show going with the lead actor in a hospital. That kind of turn is sobering, and the fall down to earth is hard to forget.
I wish I could go back in time to see this movie on opening day. It would have caught me before similar films dominated my screen. For what it's worth, Jet Li's acting is excellent; even the language barrier doesn't mask his skill. This film presented an environment that benefited his comedy. I don't know if the rest of the magic worked, but the fights were cool regardless.
Trailer here.
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@ChannelSeals
See "Martial Arts of Shaolin" on Netflix!
Next week: The start of a new month and back-to-back double features.
CMT - Love & War begins, with "The Great Gatsby", followed by "People Will Talk".
Add them to your watch list!
-B.A.S.
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