KIDS FROM SHAOLIN (Japan Version) DVD Region 2

Divided by a river, the Pao family live on one side, practising their Wu Tang sword. On the other side live the poor, single-parent Lung family, all tonsorially-challenged boys who promote Shaolin. The Lungs want a girl, and the Paos want a boy, but cranky old Papa Pao forbids all contact between his butt kicking daughters and the rambunctious Lung boys. The kids can't even sing at each other (although this doesn't stop them from trying). Things heat up as Jet Li breaks from his grueling daily exercises (the kind of physical fitness routine that involves hanging upside down from a bamboo rack and doing hundreds of toe touches) to romance Pao's tomboy daughter.

Lest one relax too much, there are no fewer than three clandestine romances in this film, one cross-eyed bad guy in disguise who tries to set Pao against Lung, and a gang of disfigured baddies who hang around the margins exploding with lust. With a plot this complicated it all requires a final brawl featuring some of the most amazing aerial kung fu ever committed to film to straighten everybody out.

Like Shaolin Temple, it took almost a year to shoot Kids From Shaolin, and during the summer months temperatures approached 105 degrees. Cast members were blistering their hands on the scorching ground, and the crew finally had to resort to soaking it repeatedly in order to film the final fight scene without burning anyone. The strenuous conditions barely show, however, as Jet Li is, once again, so charming that he occasionally ignores gravity entirely, performing more of the kind of wu shu stunts that made Shaolin Temple such a jaw dropper. Inspired by Jet, the rest of the cast (mostly kids) do an exceptional job of acting between bouts of mind-bending martial arts games.

by Grady Hendrix