Bulletproof Monk
by Paul Hunter
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DVD details
Actor: Jaime King, Karel Roden, Seann William Scott, Victoria Smurfit, Yun-Fat ChowDirector: Paul Hunter
Brand: YUN-FAT,CHOW
Producer: Alan Glazer
Producer: Brent O'Connor
Producer: Caroline Macaulay
Producer: Charles Roven
Producer: Douglas Segal
Writer: Cyrus Voris
Writer: Ethan Reiff
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 5.1; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; Spanish (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; French (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, NTSC, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 104 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2003-09-09
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
DVD Reviews of Bulletproof Monk
DVD Review: "Good luck with that enlightenment stuff!"
Summary: 4 Stars
2003's BULLETPROOF MONK is heavy on wire-fu and on Hollywood CG dazzle, but light on depth and that ineffable thing which transports a film to instant classic status. Still, it's got some things going for it, and I liked it quite a bit back when I first saw it and still like it nowadays whenever I catch it while couch worshipping. More so than THE REPLACEMENT KILLERS this one showcases Chow Yun-Fat at his most charming and most sly. And, plus, there's that crazy cool plot.
Chow Yun-Fat is the ageless Monk With No Name, wandering the earth for the past sixty years, safeguarding an ancient mystical scroll, of which contents when read aloud will grant the reader total dominion of the world. The Monk had been secretly doing good deeds all over the globe, but his time is running out. Pursued by sinister forces, the Monk knows he must seek his replacement, the next protector of the sacred Scroll of the Ultimate. Three prophecies will show the way, will in fact lead the Monk to the most undisciplined youth he has ever laid eyes on.
Somewhat surprising me, smirky Seann William Scott actually pulls off the role of the hero sidekick. Before this, dude had only been doing slob comedies like AMERICAN PIE and ROAD TRIP. So BULLETPROOF MONK is the one which proved he can handle a more action-oriented part and still retain his comedic "style." He'd quickly follow this up with THE RUNDOWN. As Kar, the street pickpocket who part times as a reel jockey at the seedy Golden Palace Theater, Scott is half obnoxious and half endearing and, somehow, I think it works. He's got this ratty kind of face, but he's ingratiating enough that I didn't mind that most of the time he looks like he just scampered off with the cheese. The audio commentary testifies to his strenuous prepping for the role, his having lost 20 pounds and undertaking martial arts and stunts lessons. Jaime King also took in the martial arts schooling, and her skills as a former dancer lend those kicks of hers a graceful impact. It doesn't hurt that she has a good flirty vibe with Scott, although I can't help but think, with her foxy looks, she can fake having a good flirty vibe with a coma patient. I also happen to think that her character of Jade is pretty cool, saddled as she is with a background that just smacks of the cherry on the over-the-top cake that makes up this story.
The real cool chemistry, though, pops up between Scott and Chow Yun-Fat, their constant give and go providing some of the film's best and most lighthearted moments. Check out the Monk easily fending off Kar's attacks even as he munches on a bowl of Cocoa Puffs and flashes these self-satisfied smiles. Hilarious. Or the scene in which the two have snuck outside a guarded mansion, and the Monk is urging Kar to quickly navigate his way up to a high window, with Kar looking a bit queasy... There's a certain enjoyment one gleans from witnessing smart-alecky Seann William Scott enduring perpetual frustration as the student/successor of a serene but playful Chow Yun-Fat.
What I have is the Special Edition DVD, and it's got pretty sweet special features. There are two audio commentaries, one with the writers, the other by the director and producers. "The Tao of Monk" segment offers five featurettes: "Fists of Fury" (the training regimen undertaken by the three leads); "Enter the Monk" (the 20-minute Making Of segment); "Zen Palette" (focus on the set designs); "Smoke & Mirrors" (focus on the f/x); and the self-explanatory "The Art of Score" (*yawn*). "The Monk Unrobed" explores the creation of the Bulletproof Monk comic book and its adaptation to film. There are five deleted scenes (with optional commentary by the film editor), several of which demonstrates how much more screen time the street gang (called the Crew, which Kar fights off early on) was initially supposed to have: "Monk Flashes Kar to Monastery," "Tugboat" (the Monk talks about his lost love), "Crew Plan" (Kar and Jade approach the Crew for help); "Crew at Human Rights Organization" (Kar, Jade and the Crew infiltrate the goose-stepping bad guys' hideout), and "Crew Battles Monk and Funk." The alternate ending (with optional film editor commentary) demonstrates why including the Crew into the finale - and thereby diluting Kar and Jade's contributions - would have been to the film's detriment. There's a behind-the-scenes photo gallery. And trailers for the film, the soundtrack, and the BULLETPROOF MONK game.
That BULLETPROOF MONK fails to rise above its B-movie trappings doesn't take away the fun in it, even if plenty of the fun is cheesy. Not as much pure martial arts as I was hoping for, but there are second helpings of flashy, death defying moves and a resounding disrespect of the laws of gravity. Eye-rolling zen mumbo-jumbo goes hand in hand with very neat moments such as Kar practicing kata, mimicking a martial arts sequence in a movie he's got on the projector and, of course, Chow Yun-Fat in a dynamic pose on a car with two guns, this a nod to those iconic images he'd built up with John Woo. What's not so iconic is the lame philosophical answer to why hot dogs are packaged in ten and hot dog buns only packaged in eight. I frankly preferred Steve Martin's response in FATHER OF THE BRIDE II.
Description of Bulletproof Monk
A monk who has protected a mysterious manuscript for sixty years looks to train a successor.Genre: Feature Film-Action/Adventure
Rating: PG13
Release Date: 4-MAY-2004
Media Type: DVD
The tremendous charisma of Chow Yun-fat anchors this entertaining comic-book romp. Bulletproof Monk centers around a monk with no name (Chow) dedicated to protecting a sacred scroll that can give world-manipulating power to anyone who reads it. A hidden Nazi has been pursuing the scroll for 60 years and has finally caught up with the monk in present-day New York City; meanwhile, the monk suspects he may have found a disciple in a petty thief (Seann William Scott, Dude, Where's My Car?, American Pie) who's learned kung fu from watching double-feature chopsocky flicks. Don't let the presence of Chow Yun-fat lead you to expect much substance--this doesn't have the emotional scope of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon or the visual panache of Hard-Boiled. But Bulletproof Monk is a cheerful, tightly edited, unpretentious action flick with flashes of humor, good for a mindless evening's entertainment. Also featuring Jaime (a.k.a. James) King (Blow). --Bret Fetzer
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