A monk fights numerous ninja types over the opening credits then declares his intent to rule Shaolin. Next, meet the four Shaolin monk brothers and big brother laments that teacher won't allow him to be a monk also. They cross a court official delivering an order to the abbot. It gets all political and the abbot refuses to accept the order. He puts up a fine fight but as the jingle goes "nothing beats a great pair of tits". Our guys are framed for killing the abbot but they escape with the sutra. The bad guy wants the sutra more than to rule Shaolin. They pick up a girl then they are off. The rest is a chase where every type of situation, fight, and weapon are thrown at them. Overall, for the year and genre and for Alexander Lo Rei, this is as good as it gets. Other stars and directors were remaking the genre, but here they are just sticking to what worked for the past 20 years. The result is – I give it a "fans only" slightly above average recommendation.My copy is an Ocean Shores VHS converted to a digital file. The color and resolution are as good as it gets for that medium. It is also English dubbed by the A list voice actors.

This was a film recommended by a friend of mine, who happens to be a practicing black belt. He loves the technique in this movie. This movie is a treat for fans of the genre.Okay, so there are these four brothers. I don't believe they are related by blood but more by a communal brothership. The best part of a movie like this is, is that everything is revealed in due time (for example, character names, relationships, motivation, plot, etc). It makes you feel like you could have written this. Its very inspirational."Big Brother" , as he is referred to, seems often times constipated and uptight. He wants to become a monk, or something, and his "Father" won't make him into one. He has a wonderful relationship with nature (punches trees and the dirt). "Second Brother" apparently is subjugate to Big Brother and mostly just spies on Brother Three and Four. "Third Brother" apparently really likes to practice his Gongfu. "Fourth Brother" is the mischievous of the bunch. He also seems to be the brother wearing the most eye shadow and blush. Apparently the amount of makeup a man wears is directly proportional to his "evilness". Their "Uncle" by contrast, has a red dot in his forehead and the most makeup of any main character (except for the government official, the female ninja, various in-drag henchmen and Chinese-Robin Hood).It is a somewhat predictable plot, but there is a plot nonetheless. The brothers are framed for the Shaolin abbot's "sudden illness". It drags a bit after the coup, but is still worthwhile. The action is fast. It is not spectacular or over the top. It's not stylized, but is infused with limited realistic wire work. The fighting styles are classic blue-collar Gongfu. Think Boston Celtics and not the Lakers. They have also managed to add some simple humor, mostly visual gags or facial expressions. It also looked like the actors may have performed their own stunts.I did learn much I did not know about the Shaolin monks. Shaolin monks are capable of dodging some arrows. Shaolin kicks ass, but only when seriously provoked. And by serious, I mean fist to the face. The Shaolin monks seem to employ the Wedding Crasher's Will Farrel approach to seducing women. Get them at the funerals, preferably immediate family deaths. It's good to be a monk !!! Unfortunately, they have only one weakness. The Naked Tattooed Breast style !!! This is done most effectively when performed by a woman. "Golden Sutra ? Golden Sutra ??"Chinese Robin Hood tobogganing down the slopes ??After watching this movie, I am the empty vessel with just one question to fill me up. How many times do you have to stab a dead guy in the crotch, before he's had enough ?? Take your answer, times it by 10 and then add 42. Then double that number and thats as close are your going to get to the real number. I loved the finale. It was "twisted", short and sweet. A must see for fans of classic martial arts.

NINJA VS. SHAOLIN GUARDS is one of a handful of delirious kung fu fests from the 1980s starring the phenomenal Alexander Lo Rei (aka Alexander Lou). The others include NINJA FINAL DUEL, SHAOLIN VS. LAMA, MAFIA VS. NINJA, and NINJA HUNTER (aka WUTANG V NINJA).Unlike the better-known NINJA FINAL DUEL, this one actually boasts a real plot. Alexander and his three Shaolin brothers– all monks from Shaolin Temple-embark on a mission to get the Golden Sutra document to Tibet after the Shaolin Abbot is killed by the monks' traitorous teacher. The teacher has ninjas and assassins at his beck and call and all manner of costumed gangs attack the monks as they make their way to Tibet through one long scrawny forest (with snow in some sequences) and an occasional mountain road (the locations may all be in Korea, since the credits on HKMDB list both a Korean co-director and a Korean co-cinematographer). We never see the characters stop to eat. One of the monks has a cousin, a girl named Ah Mei who joins them after her father has been killed by one of the monks' enemies. (She's played by a beautiful actress who's always perfectly coiffed and made up for each shot, despite the rigors of their trip.) The group finally reaches the Tibetan temple where they're supposed to take the Golden Sutra. The ending is a letdown, since there isn't much of a temple or much attempt to make the location look like Tibet.Despite some comic bits by the cousin monk, it's pretty much non-stop kung fu throughout, including some of the wildest extended battles I've seen in a pre-1990s HK kung fu film. Straight kung fu is mixed with occasional wire work and lots of gratuitous acrobatics. One scene has them fight ghosts in a cemetery.Overall, the English dubbing is far better than average. The voice actors really act, especially the one who does Ah Mei, who performs a great grieving scene over the death of her father where she lashes out at the monks. Although the Ocean Shores video release is full-frame, it's a high quality print and transfer.