Shaolin Soccer is a movie that sounds exactly like the title suggests. What would happen if you combine some Shaolin kung-fu, a sports story, and treat it all irreverantly and with a comedy-like wrapping. The result is a movie called Shaolin Soccer.
Shaolin Soccer follows the story of a down-and-out former player. Here, he joins forces with a bunch of former monks in order to compete in the soccer league. Their goal is to win the soccer tournament for money, recognition, and some revenge.
The movie is a comedy movie. The monks all have super-powers, the villain is cartoonishly evil, and the outcome is pretty predictable. However, this is a comedy and in this it succeeds. Taking its premise of super-powers in normal sports to its conclusion, the film is entertaining throughout.
There are also other side plots going on through-out the movie that tie together well. The movie never forgets that it is a comedy at heart. With this, it keeps a lighthearted tone right up until the end. Allot of comedies eventually take themselves too seriously, but Shaolin Soccer manages to avoid this pitfall.
This isn't to say you don't care about the characters. Or more accurately the team. One of the weak points of the movie is that, while you feel the monks should all be deep characters, only 1 or 2 of them are given any real fleshing out. The rest are just there to sort of fill in the super power numbers.
The other weak point is that if you don't like the semi-slapstick style of comedy in the movie, it is likely to fall flat. This type of comedy is often an acquired taste, but you can get a good feel of it by the trailers. This may limit the individual appeal of the movie. However, I found that the comedy hit and that the movie was very enjoyable.
4 out of 5 Shaolin Waffles.
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