When the new President of the Chinese Republic demands the Shaolin temple hand over the 'Golden Sutra' of Da Mor, the Abbot refuses to give up their most treasured artifact.  Unsurprisingly, a fight ensues in which the Abbot is rescued by four michevious monks who just happen to be passing by.  With his dying breath, the Abbot finds time to give the Sutra to the monks and inform them that it must be transported to safety in the hills of Tibet.  This is the beginning of a long and tough journey for the monks as they must endure everything from harsh weather conditions to deadly assassins in order to fulfil their mission.  With so many obstacles though, it remains to be seen how many of them will actually make it to Tibet alive and if the proposed safety will await them with open arms once they finally get there.

Although the title for this film contains the word "Ninja" (a tiring trait amongst most movies starring Lo Rei) this particular outing is probably more aptly referred to under it's alternative title of 'Guards Of Shaolin'.  The simple reasoning behind this is that 'Ninja Vs. Shaolin Guards' is clearly not a Ninja film and is more akin to the chop socky flicks that dominated the 70s and early 80s.  This minor annoyance aside, this actually proves to be one of Lo Rei's most satisfying movies, mainly thanks to the fact that this is primarily an action orientated affair.  It's fair comment to say that the plot is quite mundane and the character's morals are questionable but these weaknesses are easily overlooked when a film is quite so obviously geared towards squeezing in as many fights as possible.  Thankfully, the majority of these fights are also of quite a high standard as they display some interesting combinations and styles with very little undercranking which is a refreshing change for choreography by the often eccentric Robert Tai.  If there is one minor complaint though, it is the fact that Lo Rei himself is not given centre stage as often as I would have liked and this means he doesn't get as many chances to demonstrate his powerful kicks and weapon work, two areas in which he clearly excels.

'Ninja Vs. Shaolin Guards' is a very entertaining film and one that any Lo Rei fan would be advised to seek out.  The action, although occasionally a little predictable, comes thick and fast and is littered with some well crafted choreography.  This aggressive approach makes this a clear front runner for Lo Rei's best film but just falls short of the four star mark as the plot is not quite as captivating as the action.