If you grew up scouring the "Martial Arts" section of a dusty local video store, you've definitely seen the cover. It’s Jet Li looking incredibly grim, holding a spear, with a tiny, equally intense kid perched nearby. This isn't just another kung fu flick. Jet Li The New Legend of Shaolin (1994) is what happens when you take the most stoic martial arts superstar on the planet and drop him into a blender with Wong Jing’s chaotic, often bizarre comedy.
Honestly, it’s a miracle the movie even works.
On paper, it’s a retelling of the legend of Hung Hei-kwun, a legendary figure in Shaolin history. But in reality? It’s a wild, wire-fu-heavy reimagining that feels like a live-action anime. We’re talking about a movie where a guy drives a "poisonous monster" tank that looks like it was stolen from a Mad Max set, while Jet Li tries to maintain his dignity amidst fart jokes.
The Setup: Father and Son Against the World
The movie wastes zero time. We start with the destruction of the Shaolin Temple. Jet Li plays Hung Hei-kwun, a man who returns home to find his entire village slaughtered by government forces. The only survivor is his infant son.
In a scene clearly "borrowed" from the Japanese classic Lone Wolf and Cub, Hung gives his baby a choice. He places a wooden horse and a sword in front of the kid. If the baby picks the horse, he dies (to join his mother in the afterlife). If he picks the sword, he survives to walk the path of the fugitive.
The kid grabs the sword.
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Fast forward eight years. Jet and his son, played by the phenomenal Tze Miu (Xie Miao), are wandering the country. They are basically a two-man army. Tze Miu is arguably the real star here. While most child actors in the 90s were annoying, this kid was a legitimate wushu prodigy who could actually keep up with Jet Li's blistering speed.
Why the "New" Legend Isn't Your Standard Shaolin Story
Most Shaolin movies are about the training. You know the drill: carrying buckets of water up stairs, hitting sandbags, and learning the "Tiger Crane" style. Jet Li The New Legend of Shaolin skips all that.
Instead, it dives into a plot involving five young monks who have a secret treasure map tattooed on their backs. Each kid has a piece of the map. Naturally, the villain—a scarred, mutated traitor named Ma Ning-er—is hunting them down.
Wong Jing’s Chaotic Energy
You can’t talk about this movie without mentioning the director, Wong Jing. He is the "King of Schlock" in Hong Kong cinema. One minute, you’re watching a heartbreaking scene about lost honor, and the next, Deannie Yip (playing a con artist’s mother) is pretending to be a "poisoned corpse" to scam people out of money.
Some fans hate this. They want the pure, serious Jet Li from Once Upon a Time in China. But there's a weird charm to the whiplash. The romance between Jet Li and Chingmy Yau is actually kind of sweet, mostly because Jet plays it so straight. He is so incredibly stiff and serious that it makes the comedy around him even funnier.
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The Action: Corey Yuen’s Masterclass
While Wong Jing handled the jokes, Corey Yuen handled the violence. This was the mid-90s, the peak of "Wire-fu."
The spear work in this film is legendary. Jet Li’s speed is at its absolute peak here. There’s a scene where he’s fighting off multiple attackers while protecting the kids that is just... physics-defying.
- The Hidden Weaponry: We get ninjas who travel inside giant silver balls that explode into razor-edged traps.
- The "Shadowless" Techniques: High-speed strikes that are edited so fast you almost need to rewind the DVD (or the 2026 8K stream) to see what happened.
- The Final Boss: Ma Ning-er in his metal "tank" car. It makes no historical sense, but it’s awesome.
What Most People Get Wrong About the History
Look, if you’re looking for a history lesson, you’re in the wrong place. The real Hung Hei-kwun was a pivotal figure in Southern Shaolin Kung Fu, specifically Hung Ga. While the film pays lip service to the Manchu oppression of the Qing Dynasty, it treats history like a suggestion.
The "New" in the title is the giveaway. It was meant to modernize the legend for an audience that had grown bored of the rigid Shaw Brothers style of the 70s. It’s a fantasy version of China, where kung fu is essentially a superpower.
Why It Still Matters in 2026
Even decades later, Jet Li The New Legend of Shaolin holds up better than a lot of CGI-heavy modern action movies. Why? Because the physical talent on screen is real. When you watch Tze Miu do a triple kick or Jet Li spin a spear like a propeller, that’s not a digital double. That’s years of grueling wushu training.
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It’s a perfect entry point for people who think old martial arts movies are "slow." It’s fast, it’s loud, it’s colorful, and it’s genuinely weird.
How to Watch It Today
If you’re planning a rewatch, try to find the original Cantonese version. The English dubs from the late 90s (often titled The Legend of the Red Dragon) are notorious for cutting out some of the "weirder" comedy and changing the music. You lose a bit of the soul of the film when the goofy Wong Jing moments are trimmed.
Actionable Insight for Fans:
If you loved the chemistry between Jet Li and the kid, you have to check out My Father is a Hero (also known as The Enforcer). It’s the same duo, but in a modern-day undercover cop setting. It’s basically the spiritual sequel to The New Legend of Shaolin and features some of the best "tag-team" choreography ever filmed.
Go find a high-quality remaster. Turn the volume up. Ignore the fact that a guy is driving a metal car in 17th-century China. Just enjoy the ride.
To get the most out of your viewing, pay close attention to the "clothes-fitting" duel between Jet Li and Chingmy Yau. It’s a perfect example of how martial arts choreography can be used to tell a romantic story without a single line of dialogue.