Bulletproof Monk - Official thread + My review
I'm huge CYF fan, been ever since I saw The Killer for the first time. It really changed my perception of Action films, and made me Asian film nut I am now. CFY with his gracefull and deadly moves, his smirk and famous toothpick, with twin gun action and infinite coolness, is still one of the best cinematic action heroes. Many actors all over the world tried to copy his film image, but not many can succeede. But he isnt only an Action star, he is also a gifter actor, and had some great peformances in dramas, romance films and even comedies. He definately has a range to handle all kinds of genres, but usually type casts in the style he's best known for.
Before CTHD CYF never done a real martial arts film in his life(he did a bit of fighting in Postman Strikes Back(some kung fu combat) and Once a Thief(where he uses fishing rod as a staff to fight bad guys), so seeing him as legendary swordmaster in this film was quite an unusual treat. But he played his role great, and while his combat scenes werent as intense as his co-stars, he still had the same grace while holding a sword, as with his famous 2 beretas.
And now comes Bulletproof Monk - CYF fourth Hollywood production. Based on comicbook of the same name, it tells a story of monk of the secret order who has been charged( a secret ritual performed on the chosen one once every 60 years) a special duty of protecting a sacred magical scroll that holds ultimate power. During WW2 the group of Nazi was determinate to get the scroll to gain the power, but mysterious monk with no name evaded them. Now they are back on his trail, and thirst for world domination. As the time for the ritual grows near, Monk has to find a choosen one who can continue the battle to protect the scroll. With the aid of street thief Kar, and tough Bad Girl they face the forces of evil.
True, The storyline sounds a bit silly, but since it based on comic book, the viewer is asked to suspend some of his believes and if we can enjoy watching Spiderman web swing among New York skyline, we can believe into kung-fu fighting Tibetian monk with magical powers. Its all comes down to execution, and sadly this is where BM fails. Director Paul Hunter tries his best to keep the viewer entertained, and uses some neat ans stylish tricks(your usual array of slo-mo, cool and unusual angles, etc), but his direction lacks some polish and in few places the movie drags a bit.
CYF, Seann William Scott and Jamie King look good in their roles, and their acting and performances in action sequences is commendable. Unlike CTHD Chow is involved much more combat scenes(both weapon and hand based) and I have to say he does look good doing it(when you can actually see whats going on, but I'll explain that later). His english is getting better too, but many people will still have a problem understanding what he is saying. And the fact that about 60% of his dialog consist of mystical sounding phrases doesnt make it easier on the ears. He also has some great comic moments, where he tries to guide Kar on how to reach enlightment and make impossible possible. Those bits were film's highlights for me, especially when Monk say's "Coco-Puffs".
Seann William Scott is trying hard to move away from the doofus image hes been type cast after starring in American Pie films, or Dude Where is Mar car. He is very athletic and looks quite natural in the action scenes. But he still has this goofy looking face, that sometimes you just cant hold laughter just by looking at him. Again him and CYF make a very good on screen duet together, and I liked their interplay, especially in those comedy bits I mentioned before.
Jamie King(credited as James, strange name for the girl) is very cute to look at. She is also very phisical and fast, so watching her fight gives you some Charlie Angels vibes, but in the good way.
Hollywood favorite old Asian guy Mako, has a cameo appearance as old Chinese Theater owner, who is the only friend or family Kar has. Its nice to see still doing films at his age.
Rest of the cast is completely forgettable, with villians being some of the boring types I seen in quite a while. Good villians are important for the film to work, as much as good heroes, but I'm sad to say that bad guys in BM suck.
Now few words about action. If you seen the trailer for this you seen almost all of what it got to offer. Dont expect anything groundbreaking(you will have to wait another month untill Matrix Reloaded hits theaters this May), since most of the fights and special fx sequence while solid, has the feel of been there, done that. Also since this is an PG-13 production, dont expect alot of violence or high body count. There are about four or five major action sequences, plus few more scenes of training of Monk and Kar. Few of these are more and less impressive, like opening staff battle on suspended bridge, where Monk has to face his master in final test. Its one of the few fight scenes in the film, where the action is easy to see, and director/editor doesnt overuse quick cutting.
Unfortunately many of the fight in this film do suffer from this ailment. I'm usually last person to complaint about fight scenes, and I liked fights in films like DareDevil, Kiss of the Dragon, The One and others, that many people fight unwatchable, but here even my limit was reached. In many fights the quick cutting is so overused you can barely follow on what is going on, and that severely hurts the film. Also I found most of the film action boring, due to lack of originality. Most of what BM has to offer we have seen before. Bullet dodging, extensive wire-work, etc, it can be used in creative ways, but you wont find it here.
Granted BM had a moderate budget, and sfx it showcases, while not original, are nicely done. All the flying, slow-motion, bullet time is easy on the eyes, but not exciting to see anymore, since every other film using those nowdays.
Since Monk is a Monk, he has no kill policy(which is also convinient for its PG13 rating), so instead of killing his opponents, he just beats them up a bit, and few minutes later, they are back after him. I thought that it hurt the film, since once defeated baddies come back again and again for the round after round of mundain combat.
Music wise it had a decent sountrack but nothing worth remembering.
Good thing that it was a FREE showing :) DJ martial arts teacher got some free passes for the Premier Advance showing, and we got one, so me and DJ had a chance to see it last night. While I'm dissapointed in this film, its good to know that I didnt had to pay $20 for all 3 of us to see it.
Still if you are CYF fan check it out. But otherwise, just wait untill it comes to dvd/video this Fall.
