KUNG FU KICKING

Reviewed - Shaolin Soccer (Siu Lam Juk Kau): Some readers may be upset to hear that Stephen Chow's extraordinary chop-socky football comedy is being distributed here in a dubbed version. But the not-even-vaguely-synchronised dialogue adds greatly to the unhinged atmosphere and will, I suspect, remind many Western kung fu fans of their first experiences watching such films.

Anyway, should you disagree, a sub-titled edition of Shaolin Soccer, which was first released in 2001, is already available on DVD.

The plot hardly merits (or allows) description. Former Shaolin masters, now variously businessmen, tramps and slobs, are brought together by Fung (Ng Man Tat), an out-of-work football coach, to enter a tournament organised by the sinister Hung (Patrick Tse Yin). Years earlier, when both men were players, Hung caused Fung's powerful leg to be broken and the competition looks like becoming a grudge match. The team is captained by Sing (the versatile Mr Chow himself), who alternates soccer practice with attempts to seduce a shy young baker (Vicki Zhao).

There are some awful jokes buried in the dialogue, but the main reason to watch the film is its relentless explosions of absurd physical comedy. Chow seems to have learned about football not from watching the Premiership, but from playing some of the odder soccer video games that were popular in the 1980s. Balls are propelled above the clouds and take hours to fall to earth. The force of some shots is so mighty that visible shock waves crinkle the surrounding atmosphere.

If you were impressed by Zang Yimou's recent Hero, but prefer to see the laws of physics distorted in the cause of dumb comedy rather than grand drama, then Shaolin Soccer may be just what you are looking for.