Bullet Proof Monk

[Dasquian Belargic]

Me and a friend are deciding whether to go and see this or Shanghai Knights. Now I've already read what people thought of Shanghai Knights, but I can't find a thread on BPM - so I was wondering if anyone had an opinions on it :)

[Zeke]

An IDEA. A rather good one, if I do say so myself. If no one comments on Bullet Proof Monk, go see it. Then you can come back and review for us.

[Sejah Haversh]

I jsut saw this movie, and must say it went beyond my expectations. Though some scenes are hokey, the fighiting is quite good, and there are quite a few fight scenes. The concept of Bhuddism doesn't beat you over the head, either, which is nice.

Chow Yun Fat's English is also markedly improved, too.

Good movie, good times. It gets Mitch's seal of approval.

[James Prent]

It was pretty good. Me, Rognan and Kyle just went to see it and it was ...pretty good. :)

The fight scenes were pretty good, although I thought that it was trying to be too much like CTHD, and not enough like ..itself. The fighting was almost all on wires...

It was a good popcorn movie, not much else, imo. :)

[Dasquian Belargic]

I thought it was quite funny too :D We were laughing at quite a few jokes

[Lilaena De'Ville]

It was pretty funny. :)

[ReaperFett]

I'll see it after Johnny English and Phone Booth :)

[Mu Satach]

I enjoyed it a lot. Some of the martial artwork isn't as nice as other films, but the jokes were funny, the action nice and I had a good time.

[Zeke]

::writes it on his "must see, but will be out of theaters before he can see it" list:: Guess I'll hafta check it out on video, if I still remember it.

[sirdizzy]

Bulletproof Monk (2003)


Action/Adventure and Science Fiction/Fantasy 1 hr. 43 min
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for violence, language and some sexual content.
Starring: Chow Yun-Fat, Seann William Scott, Jaime King, Karel Roden, Victoria Smurfit
Directed by: Paul Hunter

The Scroll of the Ultimate is the world’s most powerful artifact and whoever reads it has ultimate power and could change the world into a land of peace or destroy it. A group of Buddhist monks from Tibet are its guardians and its is there job to make sure it never falls into the wrong hands. Every 60 years a new chosen one is selected as the scrolls guardian and gives up his name and commits himself to its safety for the next 60 years tell a new chosen one is passed the burden. In 1943 a young acolyte takes on the chore but just after accepting the roll a group of power hungry Nazi’s storm the monastery and try and take the scroll. Now 60 years have passed and the madman who led the Nazi’s has not given up his desire for the scroll nor has he stopped hunting the monk with no name. The monk with no name has come to New York City where he is about to meet the most unlikely of prospects to be the chosen one. A pickpocket named Kar shows his compassion by helping the monk and now the monk must learn if he really is to be the next chosen one. So he takes to following him and imbedding himself in all aspects of Kar’s life which includes a job as a screen projector at a Chinese movie house, a bad girl named Jade he has the hots for and a vast potential that he doesn’t realize he has. But along the way gun-touting mercenaries will chase them both down and now they must team up together to protect the scroll and defeat the bad guys out to get it.

This movie incorporates a lot of action with a lot of humor, in fact it reminded me a lot of Shanghai Noon where east met west. But I thought William Scott was a lot better and more clever than Owen Wilson could be in his dreams. He has more of a style of panache and excitement then the goofball Wilson. Also Chow Yun-Fat is just as good of a martial artist as Jackie Chan but without all the crazy items that Chan likes to use. That is not to say that this movie did not have its own little style and twist ala The Matrix at times with their bullet time camera effects and the fact that the monk can walk on air like it was a stone and sail through it like water. Still the action was superb and all the comedy and one liners helped to give the movie a break in the tension and entertain the audience at the same time. My favorite had to be Jaime King who just seemed to add to the movie with her wittiness and her ability to interact with both characters so well. The movie has it all lots of action with some really cool fight scenes, funny characters that show great screen presence and make you laugh, and a great climatic final battle. The movie does get a little hokey at times and some of the plot lines are left unresolved but still the movie is a great action/comedy film that everyone should go out and see.
4 stars out of 5

[Oriadin]

I thought the film was a bit below average to be honest. I think there were too many things that were a rip of from the matrix. Scott was pretty good I thought. I think I may have enjoyed this more if it had come out before the matrix. I watched shanghi knights the week before and I have to say, out of the two id go for knights.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

It was more Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon with all that wire work in the fights.

I liked Shanghai knights better too.