If I had a dime for every kung-fu movie about a man trying to avenge his father who was killed in a coup or some other sort of evil tyrant's plan, I would be rich. Shaolin Daredevils would be adding to my dimes, as it features a plot point just like that, although that's not necessarily a bad thing. It is much more than the one cliche plot point as the movie is a mix of action, martial arts, revenge, and undercover espionage all in one. It works for the most part too.
The official synopsis states that Shaolin Daredevils is about a group of street performers who pose as gun runners to get close to the man responsible for their friend's death. What it doesn't tell you is that story only covers the last half of the film. The first half covers how that same now dead friend came to them for help in taking down the said villain. See, the evil man killed his father in a vicious coup, and he craves that sweet revenge. Sadly for him, they refuse and spend the next forty minutes of runtime trying to make tiny amounts of money doing martial arts and acrobat performances on the street. Their friend gets mad and takes on the villain and his posse on his own, meeting a swift death. It is only then we learn that the acrobats were really training to help their friend get his revenge, but now must do it for their own vengeance. See, this movie has double the regular dose of needed revenge!
While still fun and entertaining overall, the first half of the film was a bit of a drag. There was very little in plot or character development, and more fun martial arts displays. It was neat, but also took a bit too long to get going and was too repetitive for my liking. After that, the movie really picks up the pace, and that adds some new thrills and suspense as the team tries to put a plan in motion to isolate their target. This all culminates in a final fight scene of acrobatic epicness between the heroes and villains.
Which brings me to the fight scenes in this. They were a lot of fun to watch, especially after the hero team is ready to use their mix of acrobatics and kung fu to take down baddies. Although, because of that, the fights could come off as a bit goofy, they were still a fun change from the regular slappy slappy.
As with the rest of the film, the characters themselves were a bit dull in the first half as well. They somewhat all had the same personality, with each one of them only differing from each other by having one stand out trait. One was a thief, the other lazy, one was pompous, and so on. Again though, in the second half, all their talents and traits actually mattered as the team went undercover. They became fun to watch and a lot easier to care about when they actually had personalities, and their skills weren't meant just to be impressive for street performances.
Shaolin Daredevils ends up as a tale of two films. Although the first half isn't bad, it is a bit drawn out and empty. While the second half of the movie is filled to the brim with story, character, and action. So, knowing that, I would happily recommend Shaolin Daredevils. Even with its slower first half, the movie is still entertaining and filled to the brim with martial arts slappy slappy.