Reviewed by: Gaijin84 Date: 12/15/2023 Summary: Bad comedy, bad plot, bad fighting... Please note this review is based on a non-subtitled version of the film, and I don’t speak Korean. Shaolin Water Seller has what seems to be a pretty standard martial arts plot, one that is used ad nauseam when not a lot of stock is put in a storyline. A laborer, Hyeon-bo, whose sole job is to sell fresh water to townsfolk is harassed by local thugs who want to have a monopoly of the water business, which I guess was quite profitable. The thugs work for a local strong man Mo Sa-seong (Kim Ki-Joo) who has eyes on the spring that Hyeon-bo (Heo Seok-Do) utilizes. After being thoroughly beaten, he seeks the help of a martial arts master (Kang Yong-Gyu), who agrees to let his daughter (Kook Jeong-Sook) run him through various training methods and contraptions. It is revealed later that Mo Sa-seong actually murdered Hyeon-bo’s father in the past, and on top of that, has now kidnapped Hyeon-bo’s sister. Eventually, a showdown on the beach transpires, with everyone battling each other to the predictable end. Nothing to see here folks, nothing to see. None of the choreography of training methods are interesting enough to sit through. Unfortunately the style that Hyeon-bo is taught doesn’t have any discernible base, it simply looks like a standard bashed punch and kick. There might be some tiger and mantis stances thrown in, but the actual fighting is generic basher fare. At one point it looked like the master was going to teach Hyeon the ability to spray water from his mouth as a weapon, but it never materializes later. Mo Sa-seong also somehow develops out-of-nowhere the ability to damage people from distance with a chi palm strike in the finale. It all adds up to a mess that is worth no one’s time. Reviewer Score: 3