China in the 1910s and 1920s is torn apart by warlords, and General Hou Jie is one of the most arrogant of them, sweeping into the Shaolin temple to hunt down a rival. When his ambitious lieutenant Cao Man turns on him, Hou Jie loses his power, his family and his pride, and the only people who will shelter him are the monks he insulted. As he learns humility and kung fu, Cao Man's forces and foreign profiteers threaten both the temple and the starving villagers it protects. Shaolin takes its inspiration from the 1982 Jet Li classic Shaolin Temple but tells a new story. Andy Lau leads, Nicholas Tse plays the villain, and Jackie Chan has a warm supporting role as the temple cook who has never thought of himself as a fighter. Wu Jing, himself a trained martial artist, plays a senior monk.
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