Rudy Ray Moore was an ultra-cheapo filmmaker whose crazy exploits made an exceptional bio-pic starring Eddie Murphy. It's a fun film and is much like a Black-American version of "Ed Wood". As for Moore himself, his movies, like Ed Wood's, are among the worst of his generation...cheap, disjointed and really, really dumb. But like Wood, there is something fun and funny about the films and a lot of people have enjoyed them. However, "Shaolin Dolemite" is, frankly, such a terrible film even his fans might want to pass on this one.
In the case of "Shaolin Dolemite", Moore didn't even bother to make his own movie. Instead, he bought the rights to an Asian martial arts film, "Ren zhe da"("Ninja: The Final Duel"), chopped it apart, re-dubbed it and inserted himself into the movie. It is so cheap, so lousy that it might be in the same category as "The Room" and "Birdemic" in badness!! Or, perhaps even worse!
When it comes to plot, well, there really isn't any. There's just a lot of fighting from the original film interrupted occasionally with Moore doing his Dolemite routine...complete with all the usual language that would make most sailors blush. It's all very cheap, disjoint and dumb. However, it might make for a good party film so you and your friends can watch it and make fun of it...like your own personal episode of "MSTK3000". I DON'T recommend you watch it alone, as it is just too boring AND might just make you stupider!
By the way, I am pretty sure that the makers of the great cult film "Black Dynamite" saw this film andnthis would explain their including the Fiendish Dr. Woo and his evil minions on Kung Fu Island!
