BBC HomeExplore the BBC
This page has been archived and is no longer updated. Find out more about page archiving.

27 November 2014
shropshireshropshire

BBC Homepage
»BBC Local
Shropshire
Things to do
People & Places
Nature
History
Religion & Ethics
Arts and Culture
BBC Introducing
TV & Radio

Sites near Shropshire

Birmingham
Black Country
Hereford & Worcester
Stoke

Related BBC Sites

England
 

Contact Us


12 Bulletproof Monk (2003)

updated 8th April 2003
reviewer's rating
Three Stars
Reviewed by Jamie Russell


Director
Paul Hunter
Writers
Ethan Reiff
Cyrus Voris
Stars
Chow Yun-Fat
Seann William Scott
Jaime King
Karel Roden
Victoria Smurfit
Length
103 minutes
Distributor
Pathe
Cinema
18th April 2003
Country
USA
Genres
Action
Comedy
Web Links
Watch the trailer: standard speed

Watch the trailer: broadband speed

Visit the official site


Having successfully put the art into martial arts in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", Eastern hero Chow Yun-Fat returns to Hollywood to team up with "American Pie" star Seann William Scott in this truly naff, but endearingly silly, actioner based on a little-known comic book.

After being pick-pocketed by petty thief Kar (Scott), "The Monk With No Name" decides this unlikely chancer might be the warrior destined to succeed him as guardian of a sacred Tibetan scroll that's sought by a group of Nazis.

The fact that Kar doesn't understand the wisdom of the East, and honed his fighting skills by watching back-to-back Bruce Lee flicks at the Golden Palace Movie Theatre, doesn't sound too promising. But sometimes heroes come in strange packages.

Squarely aimed at prepubescent boys, "Bulletproof Monk" panders to every conceivable teenage male fantasy, from learning martial arts skills by standing in front of a cinema screen, to being pursued by a dominatrix-clad Nazi villainess and tussling with a feisty heroine named "Bad Girl" (Jaime King).

That it succeeds beyond such limited scope says a lot about the charismatic screen presence of Chow Yun-Fat. Completely at ease with his ropey English accent and whatever doubts he may have had about selling out to the Yankee dollar, his self-deprecating performance as the Cocoa Pops-munching monk is never less than entertaining.

To his credit, Seann William Scott proves a perfect foil, matching his co-star in the charm stakes, and obviously enjoying every moment of their hilarious mentor/grasshopper relationship, not least of all the scenes in which the Monk teaches him Buddhism for Dummies: "Why do hotdogs always come in packs of ten when hotdog buns come in packs of eight?"

The film ends without actually offering an answer to that age-old conundrum. But heck, what did you expect from a dumb, comic strip movie? Enlightenment?







Find out more about "Bulletproof Monk" at
Movie Review Query Engine
The Internet Movie Database


The BBC is not responsible for the content of external websites

line
Top| Films Index | Home
 


  BOLLYWOOD
BBC Shropshire Bollywood news, reviews and galleries
Red bullet point Bollywood film galleries
  FILM SEARCH
BBC Shropshire film search
Red bullet point What to see in Shropshire
  UK TOP FILMS
BBC Shropshire guide to top ten films to watch this month
Red bullet point What to watch this month
  FILM VAULT
BBC Shropshire film vault
Red bullet point Packed full of film reviews



About the BBC | Help | Terms of Use | Privacy & Cookies Policy