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I wasn't able to take notes during SHAOLIN SOCCER. It's so ridiculously simple and funny, I threw up my hands, dropped my pen, sat back, and had a heckuva good time. 

The plot boils down to a raggedy gaggle of down-and-out Shaolin monks who reunite to form, of all things, a soccer team. This gives way to a whole lot of far-out, computer-generated footballer “moves.” There's also a love story, a sci-fi shootout with the ergogenic-aided Evil Team, and more than a few morals to take home.

Chow puts the Bruce Lee impersonation he displayed in FIST OF FURY 1991 to good use here. Whether or not intentional, his mannerisms in SHAOLIN SOCCER remind me of the best elements of Bruce's comedic side (a side that has gone underappreciated and overshadowed by his towering martial arts image). And while I may be missing something in the subtitled translation, I found Chow's dialogue delivery pretty darn funny all by itself.

It also helps that Chow is surrounded by a pretty motley crew, highlighted by the requisite adorable Dough Boy and obvious GAME OF DEATH Bruce Lee imitations, which are left to the team's goalkeeper. We get some great Stooges-like routines between Chow and a guitar-strumming fellow monk. And Vicky Zhoa Wei is irresistible as Chow's dermatologically challenged love interest.

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