BoardChiri Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

Breakinger A Brilliant Conflict

Clarissa Mora The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

Edwin The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

IkhwanArif These were the days when story line, choreography, acting, direction, production were all simple. However, even during this era of simplicity, films such as The Return To The 36th Chamber does a lot of things right that modern action flicks don't. The paramount example would be, relying on mostly good ol' fashion elbow grease instead of special effects.The fight scenes though dated, still looks good and this is due to the players knowing theatrical wushu. A fight has to look like 2 guys are fighting to be convincing, even though we know that Scaffolding Kung Fu is ridiculous. Not much else to say other than, it holds up to time okay with all things considered, but don't expect some mindblowing dialogue or story.

sfstendebach I was disappointed my this movie. I wasn't expecting it to be better then the first one, but the comedic element definitely hindered it.Gordon Liu once again stars, but his time he plays an actor impersonating his character from the first one. It is an interesting concept. Basically the plot is the same. The manchus are oppressing a dye factory and hire someone who looks like San Te to fool the manchus. Gordon gets his butt kicked so he goes to Shaolin to actually become a shaolin master. Once he learns kung fu he goes back and frees the dye workers.Its not a bad film, but all the comedic parts got really annoying. I am a big Gordon Liu fan, but a consider this one of his weakest roles.

wanderingstar I thought this would be a sequel to the original "36th Chamber of Shaolin" but actually it's more of a light-hearted "sister" to the original. Gordon Liu still stars as a would-be hero on a quest to learn kung fu to defeat those pesky Manchus... but this time around it's lighter and more comedic. The film centres around the local dye mill, where wages are cut due to the hiring of 10 new Manchurian bosses. Liu plays "Chao", who is able to fool the mill bosses into thinking he is a shaolin monk possessing almost magical kung fu skill. But his luck runs out, he is exposed as a fraud, and he promises the mill workers that he will go to the Shaolin monastery to learn kung fu, and return to protect them.The comedy really begins at the monastery where Chao makes several bungling attempts to get accepted. This sets up lots of really funny moments, and lots of great fight choreography. Continuing in the "36th Chamber" tradition we see all kinds of neat and interesting (and supremely hokey) training methods at the monastery as well as creative uses of wooden benches as weapons.Also unique and of note is the blending of kung fu and the craft of bamboo scaffold building. Chao is not accepted as a student at Shaolin but is made to build bamboo scaffolding for the "10 year restoration" of the monastery. On the DVD I bought there is a special on bamboo scaffold building and the inspiration that director Lau Kar-Leung drew from it. This is a craft many hundreds (perhaps thousands) of years old, and in Hong Kong scaffolding is still built of bamboo even on large high-rises, though the West exclusively uses steel tubes and clamps. As a result of his scaffolding work, Chao develops a special style of kung fu... when asked what kind it is, he hilariously replies "scaffolding kung fu!!" which he first tests during a dust-up with the monastery's Abbot. In the final confrontation with the Manchus, there is a dazzling array of creative uses for bamboo poles and ties.From a comedy perspective, I think it's one of the best of the kung fu genre. As a kung fu film in general, it also stands out... I recommend it to anyone!

peterworrall This film is absolutely awesome. I saw it with my brother when we were kids, and we found it hilarious. I'm not sure if it's supposed to be funny, but by god we were hurting by the end! Like the bit where he showing the bad guys what he's learned at the Shaolin temple, and he's working his way up from showing them a mere 50% of his new powers, to "the full 90%".... What happened to 100%?And the bit where, in order to show his pals what he's learned, he beats them all up! He whacks his best mate in the stomach, and his mate (who has teeth that are literally about two inches long sticking out of his mouth), bends over and exclaims; "eeeeuuuuurgh, GREAT KUNG FUUUUUU". It's a classic movie moment! If you have chance to see this film, do it. It's brilliant!