Craving retribution against the murderous Manchu army, an orphaned student seeks guidance and, more importantly, martial arts training at a secluded mountaintop monastery. There, he faces the thirty-five challenges that separate novice from master, devotes himself to an intensive training ritual and learns to soothe his troubled spirit.

This one took a while to get moving. The plot-heavy first act is a real chore to push through, loaded as it is with difficult names and unnecessary political exposition. That’s all cast aside when the wayward student, San Te, escapes his pursuers and staggers, wounded, into the Shaolin temple. The ensuing training sequence, which stretches to encompass seven years of his life (and a majority of the film’s running time), is pure dynamite. We don’t see all thirty-odd stations, but the ones we do are riveting; clever puzzles and challenges of more than just the physical variety. These monks practice an excruciatingly strict regimen that demands mastery of body and mind alike. Philosophically-charged kung fu at its very best.

Showcased in the leading role, Gordon Liu carries the film. His action cred is undeniable - lightning-fast and tightly disciplined - but those skills weren’t entirely uncommon in 1970s Hong Kong. Liu’s ability to convey complicated emotions, wordlessly, with grace and subtlety, is rarer stuff. The movie’s much better off when it embraces its role as a simple, introspective action flick and forgets its aspirations to be a meandering historical epic. So is Liu. Released from the wordy tangles of the film’s initial half-hour, he blossoms as a quiet, conflicted Buddhist with a special talent for violence.

Not without its flaws, _The 36th Chamber of Shaolin_ is magical when it finally gets cooking. Its prologue is far too long and its climax is thin and lazy, but those crazy chamber trials, like a string of meditative _Double Dare_ challenges, should be seen by all fans of the genre.