Bullet Points: Guards of Shaolin

In the first half of the 1980s, Alexander Lo Rei starred in several movies that bridged the gap between the Kung Fu movie craze of the 1970s and the Ninja movie craze that was picking up steam in a hurry.

One such movie was 1984’s Guards of Shaolin…

• The Bloodline: Guards of Shaolin tells the tale of four brothers who are tasked with getting the Shaolin Temple’s most prized possession, the Golden Sutra, to Tibet and far away from China’s new (and evil) Emperor. This all comes about after the Abbot of the Shaolin Temple is betrayed by his own brother Hung Gin (Eagle Han, Fist of the Golden Monkey). Hung Gin and his brother had opposing views on the new Emperor (politics claims another family), which opened the door for Hung Gin to work with some of the Emperor’s minions and oust the Abbot, so Hung Gin could assume the top spot in the Shaolin Temple, a Shaolin Temple that would support the Emperor, not rebel against him. The four brothers, led by Big Brother (Alexander Lo Rei, The Super Ninja) show up and get the Abbot out of harm’s way, but the damage has already been done… The Abbot has just enough life in him to tell the brothers what they need to do.

• The Four Brothers: I mentioned Big Brother… there’s also 4th Brother, 3rd Brother and my personal favorite 2nd Brother (played by Mike Wong of Duel of the Tough fame). And that is how the brothers refer to each other for the duration of the film. The brothers do have actual names, I know this because after the Brothers made it out of the Shaolin Temple with the Golden Sutra, Hung Jin addresses the other monks of the Shaolin Temple and rattles off their names before painting the brothers as the bad guys… who attacked the Abbot and stole the Golden Sutra… which leads to some fantastic hand drawn wanted posters being hung up all over the place… the four brothers are now four wanted men.
• The Family Tree: When the brothers realize they are wanted men, they decide to enlist the help of Ah May and her father (who frequently would go to Tibet on business). I should point out that 4th Brother had a thing for Ah May back in the day and she was actually the reason he went to the Shaolin Temple to become a monk. I should also point out that Ah May is the 4th Brother’s cousin… however she isn’t the cousin of the other brothers, which makes me believe that they aren’t blood brothers , but brothers of the Shaolin Temple… however I swear they all had the same surname when Hung Jin called them out by name. Speaking of Hung Jin, he is referred to as the uncle of the four brothers… is that by blood or by Temple?!?! I don’t really know and I suppose it doesn’t really matter.
• The Bounty Hunters: You throw up some wanted posters, it is going to get the attention of bounty hunters which means a steady stream of bad guys looking to take out the four brothers… First there’s the golden vest bounty hunter, who actually kills Ah May’s father which leads to her joining forces with the four brothers… Then comes the Archer, who successfully takes out the 3rd Brother (and nearly the 4th Brother) before he runs out of arrows and his taken out himself by Big Brother… There are four guys in Kabuki masks (who are revealed to be Shaolin monks looking to avenge the Abbot… There’s another bounty hunter who hid inside of a poorly crafted snowman… In addition to the bounty hunters, our heroes also have to contend with ghouls popping out of caskets in a graveyard and it isn’t long after that battle that 4th Brother finally succumbs to the damage he has taken on the way to Tibet. And then there were three…

• The Main Event: While Big Brother, Ah May and 2nd Brother are mourning the loss of 4th Brother they are attacked by a group of ninjas (because all Alexander Lo Rei movies in the 1980s required ninjas apparently). Ah May ends up getting captured by a White Ninja, so 2nd Brother chases after the White Ninja and Ah May… This leaves Big Brother to square off with all the other ninjas on his own and when he finishes with them, that’s when Hung Jin shows up, demanding the Golden Sutra and when Big Brother refuses to hand it over we get an epic final battle… that includes Big Brother spiraling through the air at one point and ripping off his vest for his big comeback like he was Jerry “The King” Lawler pulling down the strap at the Mid-South Coliseum.

Alexander Lo Rei is what drew me to Guards of Shaolin, but I was thrilled to find out that Mike Wong had a major supporting role in the movie. Like Alexander Lo Rei, Mike Wong is another actor that I have become a fan of in recent years… so getting two favorites for the price of one was a huge plus.

Unlike the full on ninja movies that Alexander Lo Rei would go on to star in, Guards of Shaolin seemed to make more sense (with the exception of the family tree) which may be a good or bad thing depending on your point of view. The main draw for these movies is always the fighting action and there is plenty of that in Guards of Shaolin, with both Lo Rei and Wong getting a chance to shine.

Seeing Alexander Lo Rei in a more traditional Kung Fu movie was a new experience for me and I look forward to delving into more of his “pre-Ninja” work. Now why don’t you delve into these Bonus Bullet Points…

• AKA: Guards of Shaolin is also known as Ninja vs. Shaolin Guards, The War Between Dragon and Tiger and Hero of Shaolin.
• If You Ever: …wanted to see Alexander Lo Rei punch a tree until his knuckles bled, then Guards of Shaolin is the movie for you.
• Bastard Check: There were at least three bastards uttered in Guards of Shaolin.
• If You Ever: …wanted to see a Shaolin Temple Abbot distracted by a pair of dragon titties, then Guards of Shaolin is the movie for you.