Bulletproof Monk

2003 "A power beyond measure requires a protector without equal."
5.5| 1h44m| PG-13| en| More Info
Released: 16 April 2003 Released
Producted By: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Synopsis

A mysterious and immortal Tibetan kung fu master, who has spent the last 60 years traveling around the world protecting the ancient Scroll of the Ultimate, mentors a selfish street kid in the ancient intricacies of kung fu.

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Reviews

Plantiana Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.
StunnaKrypto Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.
Doomtomylo a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.
Dana An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.
blackdragoon_13 I stumbled with this movie back when I had 14 years old. Loved it then, still love it now. The fights are great, even if they are not so polished like other movies from then, but it actually adds up to the enjoyment of the film (wich kinda feels like one of those Chinese martial arts flicks).As for the humor and jokes, that's the thing I always enjoyed more of anything in this film. From one liners to the absurd situations our heroes (and villains) stumble, it's easy to be entertained. If you don't believe me, check out the scene of the "noodle soup instructions" or the "handshake" between kar and the monk apprentice.Simply put, it has everything: explosions, a beautiful (and talented girl in Jade), martial arts, a Mcguffin of epic proportions, Nazis as villains (wich never live it down) etc. Watch it if you want to spend some time with light fun and without convoluted themes.I don't deny it has flaws, but after all this is a movie that doesn't take itself seriously, so you shouldn't be disappointed if you wanted to find something more dark and edgy.By the way, to those of you that won't believe the sight of Nazis in Tibet, claiming it's false and bullshit, check your facts: Nazi Germany send some explorers to the área in the hopes of expending their knowledge about the arian race and phisionomy of the locals (others say that the expeditions were made to contact the people of Shammballa or other mythological folk). So, while there were Nazis in Tibet sometime in the 1930's, they withdrawn when the war kept growing and growing.Enjoy the film!
Spikeopath Chow Yun-Fat and Sean William Scott buddy up to retrieve an ancient scroll from baddies, chop sockery does follow.That's pretty much it really, the two characters obviously poles apart, but coming together as one in a series of action scenes that are both laughable and enjoyable because of the former. The script is poor, with much of the dialogue of the tripe delivery kind, and in truth Yun-Fat is wasted in a thankless role. Story throws in a Nazi baddie, a girl on girl scrap and Sean William Scott casting off his petty crime ways to become the way of the samurai – or something like that.Brainless but fun, but also instantly forgettable into the bargain. 5/10
Neil Welch There is a market for escapist nonsense, and this movie fits right into it. The story doesn't really matter, other than to note that it serves as a satisfactory vehicle around which to drape a series of fantasy based action sequences.More importantly this is a "buddy" movie where Chow Yun Fat's venerable monk mentors the rough-edged Seann William Scott.Chow is a class actor - one of those reliable performers who always brings an element of dignity to roles which don't always deserve it. Scott, on the other hand, seems to have only ever played one character and, yes, it's Stifler again, only with the obnoxiousness and crudeness dialled right down.But there is good chemistry between the two of them, and the development of the relationship between them is a happy thing to watch.And that's it, really. A martial arts buddy movie, laced with humour and, as such, a couple of hours of undemanding fun.
James Hitchcock The central idea of "Bulletproof Monk", that of a gang of Nazis trying to get their hands on an artifact of great supernatural power, seems to have been lifted straight from Spielberg's "Raiders of the Lost Ark". The story opens in the year 1943 when a squad of Nazi soldiers attack a remote Tibetan monastery. (The German invasion of Tibet is an episode of Second World War history which appears to have escaped the notice of most historians). They are seeking a mystical Scroll which contains arcane knowledge which will confer immense powers upon the reader. They kill most of the monks but not the one entrusted with custody of the Scroll, who succeeds in escaping by using his martial arts skills to dodge the German bullets (hence the film's title).Fast forward to 2003. The nameless monk now reappears in an equally nameless American city. (The film was actually shot in Toronto, Canada). Although 60 years have passed, he still looks as youthful as he did in 1943, having been immunised from the ageing process by the power of the Scroll. The Scroll is being sought by a gang of fanatical neo-Nazis led by the now-aged Strucker, the officer who led the attack on the monastery, and his granddaughter Nina (who, in an ironical touch, poses as the leader of a human rights organisation). The monk, assisted by a young pickpocket named Kar and Kar's girlfriend Jade, who turns out to be the daughter of a Russian crime lord, have to thwart the evil plans of the villains.The star of the film is Chow Yun-Fat, the Hong Kong actor who also starred in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" but the two films have little else in common. The martial arts sequences in "Bulletproof Monk" are not nearly as well choreographed or directed as those in the earlier movie, and have nothing of their surreal, haunting power. The plot is just one standard action-movie cliché after another. None of the actors stood out, except perhaps Victoria Smurfit as Nina, the sort of sexy-but-evil villainess who would be at home in a Bond film. Jaime King (formerly known as James despite being female) is the latest in a long line of models-turned-actress who look as though they would be happier as a model-turned-actress-turned-model.I must admit that I didn't have high hopes for the film when I learned that it is based on a comic book, a genre of "literature" which has been responsible for some pretty poor film adaptations, and I can say that my low hopes were fully realised. "Bulletproof Monk" is a dull, unoriginal and cliché-ridden film which reveals a depressing lack of imagination on the part of the film-makers. 3/10