Review of Bulletproof Monk

Introduction

Starring Chow Yun Fat as the monk from the title of the film, Bulletproof Monk is yet another comic book adaptation. Unlike Spiderman etc however this is more than just an action film, it`s themes of Zen and Enlightenment are demonstrated throughout the film…usually via a variety of high kicking action sequences.

Chow Yun Fat`s character is a mysterious monk who protects a scroll of power, every 60 years however the scroll needs to be passed to the next protector. On the trail of the scroll however are a group of Nazi`s who pursue the monk to America where he bumps into Kar (Sean William Scott). Kar demonstrates his good heart and potential and the monk decides to pass on the scroll to him, only the Nazi`s are never far behind.

Video

Quality of the transfer is hard to fault, it`s clear and crisp as you would expect really from such a recent title and it handles colours well.

The quality of the film itself however varies; the opening sequence on the bridge features some ropey looking back projection which is apparent through the whole Tibet sequence. Once the film switches to the city however it does improve a fair bit. My main gripe with the film though is it`s over reliance on wire-fu fighting sequences, it`s far too obvious and I would have preferred a more realistic fight style.

Audio

The soundtrack is pretty much the standard Dolby Digital 5.1 affair but then that`s no bad thing. It copes nicely with the various effects and is crisp and clear throughout. Music is also clear and a well suited, often booming, orchestra score for the most part, though you can tell the director seemed to like The Transplants who`re used now and then in the film.

Features

The DVD comes complete with a range of extras:

Commentary - Features the director and two of the producers which is quite interesting. They go into some detail about the visual effects mostly and how they wanted things to appear as well as the way they achieved it. Quite good to listen to and reasonably informative if a little too focused on the visual effects.

The Monk Unrobed - A short documentary on the history of the comic, at under 8mins there`s not too much in this though.

The Tao Of Monk - A series of shorts covering behind the scenes action split into 5 documentaries. Ranging from 8 to 30mins they cover the areas of Fight Choreography to Sound effects and are for the most part interesting if a little too much like promo material.

Behind The Scenes - Quite a bit extra showing mainly sequences where in the finale they`ve recruited the help of Mr Funktastic and his crew, kind of an alternate ending really.

Trailer - The original theatrical trailer for the film.

Behind The Scenes Photo Gallery - Fairly pointless static shots, meant to be behind the scenes yet hardly any show non-in film shots.

Conclusion

The film is an enjoyable action romp filled with the usual assortment of over the top action sequences and wire-fu fights. It doesn`t pretend to be anything more than an action film with some light hearted comedy. The chemistry between the two lead characters, Chow Yun Fat and Sean William Scott works well and lifts the film slightly. Throw in Jaimee King which adds the love interest aspect and we have the main characters…well excluding the Neo-Nazi`s of course and a gang leader by the name of Mr Funktastic, oh dear...

Action sequences vary in quality though there is an over-reliance on wire-fu, I`ve never been too fond of this as it just looks too fake. Add in a little Chow yun gunplay to the mix, a sprinkling of bullet-time effects and some acrobatic stunts and we have a decent action flick. I say decent because it never truly rises above average that often, its fun, it`s entertaining but ultimately it`s mostly the kind of thing we`ve seen plenty of before.

The DVD comes with a range of decent extras though nothing particularly outstanding. Mind you special note goes to the menu`s which feature the kung-fu fighting stick men from the internet cartoons. Enjoyable but ultimately forgettable and it`s coming out at a time when there is a range of other titles being released that are in the same ilk.