Martial Arts of Shaolin

Martial Arts of Shaolin (南北少林, 1986) — watch online on iFILM. A Hong Kong action-comedy directed by Lau Kar-leung, the film stars a young Jet Li as Zhi Ming, a Northern Shaolin monk with a score to settle.

The magistrate who had his parents killed is throwing himself a birthday banquet. Zhi Ming teams up with two monks from the Southern temple — each carrying the same grudge — and they make their move together. It goes wrong. All three are arrested, and their only way out is to escape disguised as newlyweds, a running gag that fits the era's comedic sensibility perfectly.

Lau Kar-leung choreographed and directed, which means the fights have form and intention, not just speed. Jet Li was in his mid-twenties and already extraordinary to watch. Stream Martial Arts of Shaolin (1986) on iFILM.