Shaolin Traitor is an above average martial arts film from the early Eighties. The American video box claims 'More Moves And Weapons Than Ever Seen In One Film'. That's not quite true, but the fight scenes are well-choreographed and the composition and framing of shots are superior to most martial arts imports at the time. A fight between two women using a fan as a weapon is a standout. The plot concerns a traitorous monk at the often-celebrated Shaolin temple: the story is reasonably well thought out, but there are occasional holes that make it difficult to follow... not that one watches for the plot. A little more attention is paid to Buddhist tradition than in most Shaolin kung-fu movies. Low budget, but solid martial arts action.
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staxchedda22 October 2001
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gorthu19 April 2009I read a bad review of this awhile back, so I held off on getting it for years. Maybe it's because I went into it with such low expectations, but I had a blast watching this. Carter Wong plays a super tough dude just like he always does and he is framed for killing a bunch of Shaolin students. There's a warrant out for his arrest, and all tough people in the area are sent to kill him. This leads major Carter Wong a$$ kicking. Carter gives one of his best performances, as does Chang Yi. Polly Kuan and Doris Lung also star. The film has its flaws, but not many. Carter Wong's "escape" technique is funny. And the way he keeps getting caught with a dead Shaolin student in his hands is really funny. The third time he gets caught he actually goes to Shaolin to steal something called a Jade Censor for his master (Chang Yi), but somebody is already stealing it. So he does a super punch to the guy's neck and a bunch of blood comes out and of course now is when the monks show up and catch him again. At this point I was laughing outloud. Just when you think it can't get any worse for Carter, it gets a lot worse. So not only is it a good fighting movie but it also has some good unintentional humor. If you are a Carter Wong fan you need to see this. The story isn't't great or anything, but good for a kung fu flick. My only real problem with the movie is that it didn't seem like any of the fights were really long, except for the first major fight where Carter wong takes on about 50 monks. I needed more fights like that.
Favorite part of the movie- Polly Kuan makes her first appearance and goes up to Carter Wong after Carter had just been attacked 3 different times in 5 minutes and she asks if there's an inn nearby. Carter Wong just ignores her and goes on his way. -
ckormos111 January 2016These movies certainly are not known for stimulating your thought processes. Typically the only thoughts they stimulate are along the line of "How is that even possible?" or "Why did he do or say that?". I found my thoughts rather overstimulated after watching this one. Carter Wong is blamed for pretty much everything except dinner being late. There is no possible explanation for any of these false accusations. Yet none of that really matters because it is all about a jade scepter or is it a jade censor? Whatever, a jade object of importance for no reason. Then there is the twist at the end that is totally inconsistent with everything that happened previously. Yes, I watch this for the fights and I didn't see anything going on there to make any one fight different from any other or the least bit of creativity in choreography. The fight execution and power seemed so routine I was tempted to hit the fast forward even during the fight scenes.
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This is pretty routine stuff.
Like many kung fu movies, the plot really loses what little plot there is in the translation. It involves a traitor in Shaolin Temple. Of course, there will be more than one traitor, and everyone but the hero has an ulterior motive.
The kung fu movies usually have very comical, choreographed, stupid looking fight scenes, and this one is among the stupidest. Peple fly through the air like torpedoes, and other goofy looking stuff that make movies like this boring.
The better ones tone the goofy stuff down, and concentrate more on the fun aspects, and on camaraderie between characters. Here, there is one hero and a heroine, with another semi heroine added in, obviously just to be killed, seventies style.
So, we have "complete formula" at work here, and it makes for a very dull time. There just isn't much here. -
poe-4883328 December 2015SHAOLIN TRAITOR (which I saw under the title THE REBEL OF SHAOLIN) begins with the deaths of a number of Shaolin monks. This leads the Abbot to conclude that it's an inside job. An exiled monk, Ten Chi, wants his student, Fei (Carter Wong), to avenge the murders. Unfortunately, Fei invariably turns up with his hands quite literally on the latest deceased monk. Suspicions are aroused, and he must fight his way out of the Shaolin Temple (no easy feat... until he quite literally FLIES way!). It turns out that a valuable jade scepter is also missing. The Abbot sent to find Fei is found dead (try saying THAT one 3 times, fast). Fei then finds himself ambushed by a number of bounty hunters (of both sexes) at every turn. In a flashback, we see why his Master was exiled from the Temple: he had the annoying habit of challenging practitioners of various martial arts to duels and then crippling or killing them once he'd gleaned their secrets. THE REBEL OF SHAOLIN may just be Carter Wong at his very best. Worth a look.