The film is celebrated for its use of stunning Mainland Chinese landscapes and famous landmarks, blending the Shaw Brothers' visual style with vast, real-world settings. Plot Summary

Reviewers on Amazon and specialty sites like cityonfire.com praise the film for Jet Li’s performance—which includes more comic relief than the previous entries—and the exceptional quality of its mass-action scenes. Martial Arts of Shaolin (1986) - IMDb

The story follows Zhi Ming (Jet Li), a monk from the Northern Shaolin Temple, who escapes to assassinate a despotic ruler during the ruler’s extravagant birthday celebration . During his attempt, he encounters two other assassins from the Southern Shaolin Temple—one of whom is a woman disguised as a man. Zhi Ming discovers they share an arranged marriage connection through matching footbells.