Bulletproof Monk Blu-Ray with Yun-Fat Chow, Seann William Scott, Jaime King (PG-13) +Movie Reviews

Not Exactly Bullet Proof

04/08/2003

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Going into this movie it can go either way depending on the audience participation. The movie starts off really well with a great mix of both comedy and action and like I said before it all depends on the audience participation. There will be points when the film requires you to take in a joke inorder to follow through to the next one. Sometimes the jokes are great and lead into a great action sequence that will have you repeating character dialouge and saying "How did you do that?" Chow Yun Fat has to be one of my favorite and fourth as the most recognizable Asian actors. Most people will go in with the deep impression of Crouching Tiger and it will help when Yun Fat passes on some comedic dialouge. Fifteen or twenty minutes into the movie you'll start to get this Matrix vibe that takes away from a great action comedy. Still the characters draw you in with a fantastic comedic performance. Unfortunatly though the movie starts to become to predictable towards the end and get a little off touch with the over all concept of the film. A crazy Tim Roth looking guy comes into play and the whole movie starts to stink to high heaven. It reminded me to much of those cheesy made for the big screen video game flicks like Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter. Overall though it made me laugh and that's pretty much what I was looking for. A little disappointed with the lack of traditional martial arts fight sequences that I was expecting from Yun Fat but as I said overall it was entertaining. A great comedy but a so-so action film."

A Fun Way To Spend A Few Hours

Daniel V. Reilly | Upstate New York, United States | 04/29/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Having recently read the Bulletproof Monk comic, on which this film is based, and been less than thrilled with it, I was kind of reluctant to see the film. On the one hand, the source material reeked. On the other hand, Chow Yun-Fat is an action-film God....Finally curiousity won out, and I decided to give Bulletproof Monk a shot. (Get it? Bulletproof...? Shot...? Never mind....) The film mercifully departs from the Comic almost immediately, and boy, was I glad! Yun-Fat plays the nameless Monk, who is not so much bulletproof as able to dodge bullets (Think Keanu in The Matrix...). He's charged with protecting an ancient scroll that can bring about the end of the world. As the film opens (In the 1940's), his monastary is beseiged by Nazi's seeking the scroll. After the Monk escapes with the scroll, we flash forward 60 Years, as the un-aged Monk meets up with a young pickpocket (Seann William Scott). The Monk decides to train him in the Monkly Arts, and before you know it, that pesky Nazi is back, menacing our Monk from his wheelchair. (Yeah, it's goofy, but it's a lot of fun.) Throw in the gorgeous James King as a butt kickin' Kung-Fu girl, and you've got the recipe for a good time. The villains are villainous, the Heroes are heroic, the action is cool, and the one-liners fly fast and furious. Yun-Fat is delightfully droll as the Monk, delivering ancient wisdom with a sly smirk on his face. One small quibble: I'm glad the filmmakers decided to scrap the Comic's storyline, but it's too bad they couldn't stay closer the book's all-Asian cast of characters. (No offense to Scott and King, both of whom were great in their roles....It'd just be nice to see Hollywood be a little more colorblind in their casting choices.)"

Bulletproof Monk -Theatrical release

04/20/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The reasons I enjoyed this movie are: 1. Chow Yun Fat. This superb actor never fails to give his best to any type of role he undertakes. He often overcomes any flaws in the script itself, and I feel that is what he did here. He has played many different types of characters and never repeats himself. I enjoyed his humour as well as his action scenes. They were suberbly choreographed. I believe that the presence of John Woo had much to do with that.
2. I was delighted to see that this movie, unlike many others today, was more than just a lot of action but had some plot, laughs,excitement,and genuine fun for the audience.
3. I liked that the heros did some good deeds such as saving a person from the wheels of a subway train, and returning a wallet to a man on the street,etc. But then, when Mr. Chow has played the bad guy in many of his Asian films, he always had the persona of a villian with a heart, such as going back into a burning building in one old film to save a baby
4.I was a bit disappointed in the lack of a lot of lush scenery and sets, but what was there was appropiate to the plot.
5. The fight between the two women reminded me of "Crouching Tiger, ....." Go see it you'll like it!"

A power beyond measure requires a protector without equal.

cookieman108 | Inside the jar... | 10/24/2003

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Chow Yun-Fat plays a nameless monk in charge of protecting a sacred scroll possessing mystical powers so great that who ever reads the scroll would be endowed with the ability to turn the world into a paradise or a living hell. Now, my first thought was if this dang thing poses such a potential danger to the world, why not just destroy it? Well, another reviewer stated that the reason it was so closely protected and not destroyed, as spelled out in the movie, was that the human race just wasn't ready for such power at this time.

Anyway, Chow is the latest in a long line of protectors, and each protector has the responsibility for a period of 60 years, and then they pass on the responsibility to another chosen one. Why 60 years? Who knows? I guess just because it's in the script. Also know that whoever is chosen as protector of the scroll is endowed with special powers, one being that the protector doesn't suffer the effects of time. The reasoning for that is as the protector protects the scroll, so shall the scroll protect the protector. So now Chow's 60 year term as guardian comes to its' end, he's looking for the next protector, who comes in the form of Kar (Sean William Scott), a petty thief and pickpocket who lives in a movie theater and learned martial arts by imitating old kung fu movies. Oh yeah, for like the last 60 years Chow has been pursued by a crazed Nazi intent on stealing the scroll, taking the power, and cleansing the Earth of so called inferior races.

Jaime King plays Jade, Kar's love interest. As I watched the movie, it seemed to me that her character had no real reason for being in the movie other than giving the male viewers an attractive woman to look at, but by the end, we are enlightened to the importance of her role in the outcome of the storyline. I thought her connection to the other characters in the movie was paper thin, but hey, whatever...the actress I most enjoyed watching was Victoria Smurfit. She played Nina, the grand daughter to the psycho Nazi and is helping him to acquire the sacred scroll. She is truly easy on the eyes and seemed to make the most of what little screen time she had. The movie, based on a comic book, plays out that way, keeping things pretty simple with lots of action, some humor, a smidgen of romance, and a little philosophical nonsense thrown in for good measure. Suspension of disbelief is required throughout the movie, but I kinda enjoy this film, as it reminded me of some of those old Hong Kong chop socky movies.

As far as extras go, there are some deleted scenes, an alternate ending, some 'making of' stuff and the usual trailers. I would be hard pressed for anyone to run out and buy this movie, but if you're looking for a fun way to kill an hour and a half, this works pretty well."

The Bottom Line for this Movie

Larry W. Schneider | Belleville, Illinois United States | 04/22/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Ok people, lets get some things strait here. I'm reading these reviews and find myself confused. I keep reading things like the characters aren't developed enough or there isn't enough philosophical value or that the acting isn't good enough. WHAT KIND OF MOVIE DID YOU EXPECT TO SEE?? This is an action film based on a comic book which meens the action will be over the top, characters will be silly, acting won't be the best, and the story won't make the film nominated for best film of the year, but that is exactly what I wanted to see when I walked into the theater. This movie isn't Crouching Tiger. It's a movie with a unbeliavable plot, which in its way was good to me, and very cool, gravity-defying martial arts scens. If you lik that you'll like this movie."

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