SHAOLIN SOCCER
4 out of 5 stars

in honor of the world cup finale, this chinese classic came to mind... (even w/o subtitles, this one's pretty straight-forward) ;)


the plot: ex-soccer star and now coach golden leg finds himself fired and out on the streets after his "friend" and rival hung gets rid of him. as he's roaming the streets, he finds himself talking to a former shaolin monk mighty steel leg, and wonders if he could apply his technique to soccer. well... in order to play in the supercup tournament, he'll need to convince his other brothers to join his team to take on team evil coached by hung. (and you wondered where that reference came from- my statuses re: north korea) mighty steel leg also finds himself falling in love with another kung fu master mui who uses her technique to make sweet buns on the street. it's romance/action/comedy all rolled into one! will team shaolin BEAT team evil? you'll have to see for yourself...


really hilarious and esp, loved it when the soccer balls became these huge balls of fire aimed straight for the goal! (only if that'd happen in the world cup for real... :P) best scenes are when the brothers are learning the game of soccer, mighty steel leg randomly busting out into song/dance to that song celebration, when mighty steel leg and iron head are trying to entertain a club with their rendition of california dreamin', the ending, and of course the final match with team evil. the whole concept of incorporating kung fu to soccer is absurd, which i think makes this movie an instant classic... right?


so well... i guess this is the last world cup/soccer movie i'll review until the next one in...4 years? until then...GO NETHERLANDS!!!