Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

The acting in this movie is really good.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

I remember watching the advertisement on this show and thought it was going to be cheesy and lame. Much to my surprise, it's very good.1. The characters are all likable and fun (heroes and villains) to watch. My favorites are most certainly the villains. I like evil boy genius Jack Spicer and cool martial arts master Chase Young. The young monks act like teenagers but not in the bad sort of way. They all have traits that make them stand out.2. The story is pretty cool. They find all these different artifacts that can do cool things. I would like to tell you my favorites but unfortunately I can't spell them. I like the showdowns this show has. Some of my favorites are the ones where it's not having any of the artifacts (I won't say their actual names because again I can't spell) so it shows what these monks can really do.3. The art work is pretty cool. I like the style they were going through. A little bit of Mulan and a typical Saturday morning cartoon style.This show is fun. It's made for little kids and adults I did take one star off though because of some of the issues the last season had which many fans could guess what they are. (Hannibal Bean and The Time Travel)I recommend it.

Using cartoons as a link to my passing childhood, I am tending to watch a lot of them. I was surprised, in fact, to find Xiaolin Showdown as such a delightful show, not just for younger children but for teens, and even my dad finds the show's humor amusing. Even though it is animated, it has fantastic battle-like scenes between the good Xiaolin side and the evil Heylin side, jokes and wisecracks that are actually funny, and characters that viewers grow to like despite their human-like flaws. The storyline centers around four Xiaolin warriors that live in the Xiaolin Temple: Omi, a short yellow orphan who appears to be the main protagonist, is the Dragon of Water; Raimundo, a hot-headed Brazillian character, is the Dragon of Wind; Kimiko, the rich, clever, and electronically adept Japanese girl, is the Dragon of Fire; and Clay, a cowboy from Texas, is the Dragon of Earth. Their duty is to retrieve the mystical ancient artifacts known as the Shen Gong Wu before they fall into the hands of the evil Heylin side. The warriors are aided by a wisecracking Chinese dragon by the name of Dojo. As seasons go on, the warriors are confronted with different and increasingly dangerous Heylin villains, but the villains that are most focused on would have to be Jack Spicer, a whiny, red-haired goth wannabe villain who has dubbed himself "Evil Boy Genius"; and Wuya, the 1500 year old evil spirit of a Heylin witch.It is very interesting to watch as the characters grow and develop as they learn to work together to meet their goals. However, I find the characters of Omi and Clay to be most irritating. Omi is sometimes used for comic relief when he uses arrogant comments and claims to be the best of the dragons. Though this is used for entertainment, it feels to me as though it is strained. The show revolves around Omi, and he comes off sometimes as a self-important, arrogant little jerk which takes my admiration away from him.Clay, on the other hand, is arguably the least focused on of the 4 dragons, yet he still succeeds in annoying me. Having being a "cowboy", he possesses all the stereotypical qualities of what one would think a cowboy would have. I think his stereotypical way of speaking, acting, and even fighting takes away from seeing him as an actual character, which also allows him to be considered less interesting. When I look at him, all I see is "cowboy".Now, this show, however, possesses the most interesting, creative, and entertaining line of villains I have ever seen, Jack Spicer being my personal favorite. Though he is a whiny, girly, mama's boy, he succeeds in being the most entertaining villain. He has the best wisecracks, and his constant bickering with Wuya is very funny. He spends the majority of his time creating a vast array of creative and sometimes humorous robots that he calls "Jackbots". As a viewer, I have mixed emotions about Jack. Though he is a villain, he is so likable and you eventually begin to sympathize with him.The character design and animation in this show is, in my personal opinion, stunning. It combines the clean-cut American style of animation with Asian animation techniques including many spirals and curly-q's. I also enjoy Kimiko's ever-changing outfits and hairstyles that define how creative the animators are. The voice acting is also fabulous, and the plot line is very intricate for a cartoon. Also, I rather like the theme song. It's really something you can jam to.

This show is such a guilty pleasure. It's well-voiced, has smooth animation, and a nice 50/50 split of gross-out jokes for the kids and a more mature sense of humor for the older folks. It reminds me of Animaniacs with less slapstick and a martial arts theme. Omi is a young monk with a yet-unexplained "destiny" who is able to harness the power of water. Early in the series, his teacher Master Fung acquires three friends for him with similar elemental powers: Kimiko (fire) is a hotheaded girl from Tokyo who always has some form of technology on hand. Clay (earth) is from America and is always quick to point out his Texas roots. Raimundo (wind) is from Brazil and enjoys sports, with plenty of hints that he's a lady's man. Most of the earlier episodes were set around a quest to attain a mystical object before the bad guys; the temple dragon Dojo pointed them in the right direction and fighting ensued, usually against a comic-relief bad guy called Jack Spider. The later episodes are less focused on acquisition and show the four monks in fights against Spider (who becomes more and more of a wimp as the series progresses), as well as the evil witch Wuya and assorted bad guys. The show suffers from a serious case of Dragonball Z Syndrome, where each season concludes with the defeat of the "ultimate evil" and the next season begins with the discovery of a brand-new bad guy that makes the last one look about as villainous as a piece of dry toast, but there is a continuous story running through each season that tries to tie this liability together. Last season concluded with the defeat of Chase Young, the world's best warrior; Young could use magic, was almost undefeatable in battle, could transform into a dragon, and had an army of wild cats who are not quite cats at all (spoiler). This season's villain appears to be a talking lima bean. Ridiculous? Sort of, but a lima bean doesn't have much going for it in the way of martial arts skills or upper-body strength, and it looks as though this little bean is a threat only because he is able to outsmart instead of outfight his enemies. Any kid's show where the bad guy doesn't have guns, robots, or a steroid-enhanced body and is still able to give the good guys a run for their money for thirty minutes is well worth watching. Additional bonus points are Master Fung's speeches to the monks, where he discusses things not usually brought up in cartoons – Good and evil are not always absolute; don't believe everything you see; bad guys who pretend to turn over a new leaf are still probably bad; learn from your mistakes or you are doomed to repeat them; etc.

At first glance, Xiaolin Showdown might appear to be formulaic, with four monks embodying the four elements and a largely comedic villain (Jack Spicer). Many episodes follow a standard "showdown" plot. However, as mentioned, the good guys don't always win, and as time goes on, we discover that this series, unlike so many American cartoons, dares to explore its characters and (gasp) allow them to grow. The good characters are allowed flaws, and the bad ones allowed (sometimes to their own consternation) to have good aspects. The introduction of Chase Young in the second season as would-be evil influence on Omi improved the series by providing the monks with a more formidable--and less straightforward--opponent. But who is influencing whom? The occasional depth of the series continues to surprise. Bonus: The magical aspect of the series allows for imaginative psychedelic sequences that can be a hoot.