Yu Ting (Lo Rei) is a keen practitioner of kung fu who roams the various towns looking for his superior in combat so he can take him as his new teacher.  Whilst in pursuit of his quest, he saves a young thief by the name of Hsu Chi (Yen) who in fact turns out to be Shaolin monk who has strayed from his religious vows.  Chi informs Ting that his master is the best in kung fu so Ting requests a duel with him to see if he is a worthy opponent.  As it turns out, the Shaolin monk is an true expert in the martial arts and teaches Ting a few lessons but refuses to take a new pupil.  Disappointed but not disheartened, Ting remains close to temple in the hope that he will change the master's mind and becomes close friends with young Chi.  Whilst lounging around though, he becomes involved in other pursuits and rescues a young girl from the grasps of the Flying Eagle gang.  This angers their leader who is a Lama (the sworn enemies of the Shaolin) and, assuming Ting is with the Shaolin, he wages war on the Shaolin.  Now their only hope lays in the hands of Ting who becomes a student of the Shaolin in order to defeat this evil Lama.

If an encyclopaedia on classic kung fu movies were written, under the heading of "formulaic plot" you would no doubt find the description of a heroic underdog training in martial arts to defeat the bad guy and save the day.  'Shaolin Vs. Lama' is yet another film that would fall into this category but thankfully it is crafted with a little more finesse and avoids the usual pitfalls that are synonymous with this genre.  For a start, director Lee Tso Nam ('The Hot, The Cool And The Vicious') knows how to keep the right balance between action and story, never letting the viewer become too bogged down with intricate plot points or bore them with overly long sequences of dialogue.  Instead, he is all too aware that this is a kung fu movie and once the motive of vengeance is established, begins to let the fights come thick and fast intertwined with the hero's training sequences.  Combined with this, Nam also throws in a few nice variations on the norm as he holds out on letting the hero appear too expert in combat (even for the finale) and allows him to grow as a person from his experiences as well as physically.

For the action, Lo Rei (in his other alter ego as Shaolin monk as opposed to Ninja) is always a reliable performer and doesn't let the side down here.  He looks as athletic as ever, displaying outstanding physique and stamina whilst also demonstrating several interesting kung fu styles extremely well.  Each of his fights are well choreographed with some nice utilisation of his superior kicking abilities and acrobatics.  However, for the majority of the film he remains an apprentice and the actor that comes off the best is actually his teacher who flips and fights with a ferocity that is rarely seen from outskirt characters in kung fu movies.  In fact, this seems to be a recurring attribute throughout this film as all of the actors involved,  from the bad guys to the Shaolin monks, all display real skill and are made to look as professional as the leads in the fight sequences which is a pleasant change.

What really sets 'Shaolin Vs. Lama' apart from most mediocre films in this genre is that it never deviates from it's basic outline and remains consistently entertaining throughout.  If you like old school action and are just looking for a fun kung fu romp then look no further than 'Shaolin Vs. Lama'.