The New Legend of Shaolin (also known as Legend of the Red Dragon) is a 1994 martial arts film starring Jet Li.
The film tells the story of martial artist Hung Hei-Kwun and his young son Hung Man-ting, who are involved in a rebellion against a corrupt government. Having lost their village after being betrayed by Hei-Kwun's former ally Ma Ling-Yee, the father and son duo travel through China, searching for money and food. The two are taken in to serve as the guards for a rich man, Ma Kai-Sin. However, trouble lays afoot when the government arrives in the village in search of a map tattooed on the backs of several young monks, and Hei-Kwun is forced into battle against Ma Ling-Yee.
The film includes the following tropes:
- Action Dad: Hung Hei-Kwun. Accordingly, the relation between Hung and his son is based on Ogami Itto and Daigoro.
- Action Girl: Red Bean and her mother can kick as much ass as Hung during their fight scene.
- An Aesop: There is more to life than money.
- Big Bad: Ma Ling-Yee, the Evil Former Friend of Hei-Kwun who betrays his allies and orchestrates the murder of their families after earning a position of power in the government.
- Disney Villain Death: Ma Ling-Yee dies from plummeting into a vat of acid.
- Et Tu, Brute?: Hei-Kwun has this reaction twice: the first time when Ma-Ling Yee betrays him, and a second when he discovers that his own brother plans to kill him for the reward money.
- Face–Heel Turn: Ma Ling-Yee pulls one at the very beginning of the film when he reveals that he sold out his friend and initiated the massacre of Hung's family, just for power.
- Gratuitous Ninja: The mooks that Hung battles in the beginning are dressed like ninjas, whose attire includes face-concealing veils, ambush by leaping through high points and uses ninja weaponry. These same mooks appears later on to abduct the children while they're with Red Bean.
- Offscreen Moment of Awesome: Hung vs. the Imperial guards. Hung's young son and a group of rescued children runs out from their prison to a courtyard full of dead guards, at which point Hung's son remarks, "My dad was here."
- One-Hit Polykill: At the beginning of the movie, Hung use his extendable staff to skewer 3 ninjas all at once.
- Playing Possum: Red Bean's mother often plays dead to swindle people of their money.
- Retractable Weapon: Hung's spear can extend it's length and retract to pen-sized with ease.
- Would Hurt a Child: The government has no problem abducting and killing children.
- Wounded Gazelle Gambit: Red Bean pulls one, pretending that Hei-Kwun had attempted to rape her in an attempt to get him kicked out of Kai-Sin's house.
