So... the message behind this movie is...? *SPOILERS*
Second warning. Spoilers below...
Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not one of those angry little dweebs who post angst ridden opinions about how because all waiting staff in a movie is one race, then the movie is obviously racist and evil - or some other esoteric drivel.
However please let me summarise this movie.
In China, it is Western loving misguided brother fighting heartland/traditional brother that causes all the pain and suffering there. However it is the evil foreigners/Westerners who really are the cause of it all as they want to steal all the ancient Chinese artifacts. They get these treasures by tricking the leaders into taking away all of China's land by building railroads over it (but in reality they are acting digging up the land that has the spirits of the ancestors in it and thieving the goods).
The hero rediscover his inherent goodness in Shaolin (which is the Spiritual bedrock of China) and tries to stop this dastardly scheme, however the evil foreigners realise they are missing out on these treasures so they decide "hmmmm drat it all. Lets bomb the place and kill everyone. Then its home for cucumber sandwiches and the child's blood soup for afters. mmuhahahaha"
Then heroics, lots of explosions/deaths etc. Will the Spiritual heart of China be destroyed by the evil foreigners and their local minions..? The drama...
Will someone please tell me why the evil foreigners will go to all that trouble and expense (lets face it, weapons and ammunition are expensive!) to steal some old statues and gear? The goods weren't even made of precious metals or anything - who would realistically want them? Oh, let me guess - they were a symbol of the soul of China being ripped out of the ground and ruined by the evil Westerners?
The Boxer rebellion it was hinting at was really all about trade and conquest (which all civilisations have done at some point). These silly old statues had nothing to do with the wars of the time. I am aware that the British Empire did some horrible things, but the kind of xenophobia in this movie is quite disturbing to see. If a studio in the West painted all the 'foreigner' characters in the same stupidly malicious manner they would be up for a hate crime.
To all the people who read this and say that it is just a movie and lighten up I would say; that doesn't make it right. I'm not trying to be a boring old puritan or anything but surely a studio can come up with something better? China and the West do not need inflammatory ideas like this whipping up people into a nationalistic fervor. That can only end badly for everyone.
Its a pity as the martial arts scenes were great. There were some touching moments in there and some awesome action sequences. The acting was fine too and I enjoyed seeing Jet and Jackie together in the movie.
Flame me if you want. All I ask is that you watch the movie again before you post and think about the underlying message.