Bulletproof Monk (2003)

Directed by: Paul Hunter | 104 minutes | action, comedy, adventure | Actors: Yun-Fat Chow, Sean William Scott, Kaime King, Karel Roden, Victoria Smurfit, Marcus Jean Pirae, Mako, Roger Yuan, KC Collins, Sean Bell, Kishaya Dudley, Rob Archer, Mauricio Rodas, Bayo Akinfemi, Russell Yuen

‘Bullet Proof Monk’ is not a great movie. They have clearly tried to profit from the success of ‘The Matrix’ and ‘Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon’, but have forgotten that the success of a film stands or falls with authenticity and guts. And that’s what this movie lacks. The wishes of ‘the general public’ have been taken into account too much, resulting in a lukewarm film. When Tibetan Monks start speaking English to each other in their own environment at the beginning of the film, then you actually already know enough.

The story is thin, but that shouldn’t be a problem. If a genre is clearly chosen, for example action-comedy and people consistently stick to that choice, you know what to expect and you adapt to it. But in this film, lines are plotted that are not completed or substantiated. They just don’t take the time to tell the story properly. Everything has to be fast, fast, fast. Still, a lot needs to be explained beyond the action. This is where it ends. To close the gaps in the scenario, too easy solutions are sought, which do not propel the story forward, but undermine it even further, because they fall from the sky, are not substantiated and often have no effect, in other words: are unbelievable . Characters are introduced with a lot of fuss, but don’t come back, people can and/or know things that you don’t expect and are not prepared for.

Is it all that bad then? Well, at the very end the plot takes a nice twist, which you don’t see coming, but which does work. The ‘Monk without a name’ and Kar are also consistent as characters and they are excellently portrayed by Chow Yun-Fat and Sean William Scott respectively. There is a pleasant chemistry between them, which is fun to watch. Unfortunately, this is not enough to save the film. That makes it very difficult for them. For example, through too light-hearted music, fight scenes, which are nevertheless important for an action film, have a high Bassie and Adriaan quality. This is reinforced by the fact that the bad guys are far too caricatured to be taken seriously.

Francis Ford Coppola had already learned it from his father: “If you want to steal, always steal from the best”. True, but if you copy or imitate something, you have to do it right! A lack of time and probably also money, but above all a lack of good ideas and guts, results in a film that is not very original, which is somewhat preserved by good, or at least well-cast protagonists, but which has the level of an average b-movie. barely exceeds.