not horrible nor great

Let's be realistic.

Just so...so bad

If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

Li is a Shaolin Monk who comes to the States to care for his nephew after his brother and sister-in-law are killed in a car accident. A noble act I grant you. The story goes off-enter from the moment Li arrives in the states. A former student, Dave, offers to open a school with Li. a great idea, as it would be income to support Li's nephew, Michael. However, after seeing how pathetically Dave fights off predators who assault Mei, a waitress at a local restaurant, I'd have serious second and third thoughts about the deal. Nonetheless, Li still opens the school. Sarah, Michael's CSW, at first has no use for Li. She even calls him pathetic when discussing him with her boss. It isn't until Li stops thieves who are cutting through their yard, the Sarah suddenly sees his value. Sarah develops serious Hero worship. She sees Mei as competition for Li's affections, though Li as a Monk, is oblivious to both women. When it comes to light that Dave got the school funding from the Russian Mob, all hell breaks loose. Li has to work a Fight Club in order to save Mei and regain control of his school. The end fights are good. It is slow at times but the action more than makes up for it.

MY quick rating - 3,8/10. I suppose the fighting scenes were OK but completely unbelievable (and not in the good neat looking wire effects) but overall the story was boring. Same old Asian guy from out of town to beat up the dumb Americans thing. Could be fun but here is some of the worst acting in a long time. I have seen actors that look afraid to say their lines in front of camera, but this movie found EVERY single person afraid to say their lines. This major flaw is coupled with the worst editing possible. Think of how your home movies look and you use the fade button on your 200 dollar camera, that is what this whole movie is for any scene change. It reeks of low quality all around minus Li Zhang who obviously has been trained well. Maybe if this movie was a documentary or based on someone who went through this, it may have been a bit better off, but stand alone fiction, nope, I suggest passing on this one.

This is a low budget Kung Fu flick...but it's really not that bad - I've seen much worse! This movie had the typical "good guy out to avenge his family and help others along the way" kind of story...not as good as others, better than some. Some of the acting was OK...others were pretty bad and some hilarious! The story wasn't going to win any awards, but was good enough to keep me interested. The punch/kick sound effects were reminiscent of the arcade game "Mortal Kombat" and bugged me a little...but the choreography and fight scenes were done very well and sated my ninja bone. Which brings me to one thing that really bugged me...the man who wrote, directed, choreographed, and starred in this movie (Peng Li) doesn't even get top billing or proper credit! I had to search for him and his name on this page! Really? Give the guy a break!

In China, Shaolin monks are shown training to fight. Everything is blue. I'm not quite sure what is going on.Li Long finds himself in New York City, quite confused. We soon learn his brother and sister-in-law were killed and their son Michael needs someone to take care of him.Social worker Sarah, who is attractive and really nice, has been staying with Michael at his large suburban New Jersey home. But she will have to leave. Li Long doesn't seem quite up to the task, but he is willing to try. Sarah will stay longer because Li Long is not ready, but her bosses won't let her stay indefinitely, even though Michael would really like that.Li Long seems incompetent in this modern world, leading to some comedy, and he will need to make a living. He meets Dave, a former student, and they decide to start a martial arts school. When the two meet in a restaurant, some bad guys are harassing beautiful waitress Mei and the other staff. Dave confronts them and gets beat up. The otherwise peaceful Li Long can't just let this go, and the bad guys soon learn what he is capable of.At home, Li Long encounters more bad guys running from the cops. I'll bet they wish they had never come this way. Cusamano is impressed and asks Li Long to teach the other cops a thing or two. One particularly disagreeable cop gets taught a lesson.Li Long seems very capable as a teacher, and his students, including the restaurant staff, appear to be learning a lot. But the school is losing money. Dave has to deal with mobsters, and they want Li Long to participate in organized fighting. Li Long refuses, but mobsters have a way of getting what they want.Meanwhile, Sarah has a choice to make: Michael or her job.And all this time there are flashbacks of Li Long's life in China, including scenes that are supposedly with his brother. One saves the other from danger. More recent scenes are mostly blue and make no sense to me. But the quality of acting is higher than in the United States.So how will it all turn out? I'll bet you already know.The fighting is excellent, and probably the main reason to watch. There is, however, some unnecessary blood, and some innocent people get seriously hurt or killed. I should mention that I saw the acclaimed "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" the day before I saw this, but I enjoyed this movie more.Peng Zhang Li has a pleasant personality but shows little emotion unless he is fighting. As a teacher he is very serious but kind. You have to see the outtakes, though. There he smiles a lot and even laughs. Everyone seemed to be enjoying making this movie.Kristen Dougherty is so sweet and attractive, I'd like to see more of her and was pleased she had a large role. That's not to say she's a talented actress, but she would make a good office worker. She and her co-star had one of my favorite bloopers at the end.Michael seemed kind of spoiled but was pleasant enough. His scenes with his uncle entertained.Cusamano is an acquired taste. He's not automatically likable.If you like martial arts fights, this is pretty good. If you like relationships too, this movie has that. There are better movies for both.