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Bulletproof Monk

Bulletproof Monk

List Price: $14.95
Your Price: $13.46
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Offensive and tasteless
Review: This movie should be rated R by MPA due to its over the top violence, foul language, and rampant sexual innuendos. Let's be frank here - Sean William Scott is a fine actor, but when does he not cross the common line of decency? When can one man say,"Enough is enough" if you know what I mean. I love comedies - as long as they're rated G.

I am appalled and outraged by the pervasive perversion of Bulletproof Monk. I went to a Sneak Preview at Acres Mill 4 with my 6 year-old niece for her birthday present, and we left in disgust halfway through the showing. The grotesque violence is an absolute nuisance. I mean, I almost lost my nachos and my Gummi Bears - if you know what I'm saying. One word: repugnant.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Not Exactly Bullet Proof
Review: Going into this movie it can go either way depending on the audience participation. The movie starts off really well with a great mix of both comedy and action and like I said before it all depends on the audience participation. There will be points when the film requires you to take in a joke inorder to follow through to the next one. Sometimes the jokes are great and lead into a great action sequence that will have you repeating character dialouge and saying "How did you do that?" Chow Yun Fat has to be one of my favorite and fourth as the most recognizable Asian actors. Most people will go in with the deep impression of Crouching Tiger and it will help when Yun Fat passes on some comedic dialouge. Fifteen or twenty minutes into the movie you'll start to get this Matrix vibe that takes away from a great action comedy. Still the characters draw you in with a fantastic comedic performance. Unfortunatly though the movie starts to become to predictable towards the end and get a little off touch with the over all concept of the film. A crazy Tim Roth looking guy comes into play and the whole movie starts to stink to high heaven. It reminded me to much of those cheesy made for the big screen video game flicks like Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter. Overall though it made me laugh and that's pretty much what I was looking for. A little disappointed with the lack of traditional martial arts fight sequences that I was expecting from Yun Fat but as I said overall it was entertaining. A great comedy but a so-so action film.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: the best martial arts movie ever!
Review: a monk must travel to america and pass on the title to a new guy.it really depends on your kid as to wether or not theyll be able to hsndle this one.its action packed full of physics defying stunts similar to the matrix.theres this one semi-hottie that follows around tne dork who runs with the monk.that dork plays another dork in the rundown.this movie wont get the credit it deserves.the bad guy is a nazi.i think it is childish how every time a director cant think of a bad guy he just makes him a racist.this whole racism is ok as long as its directed at white people thing has got to go.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: It's not about anger - it's about peace.
Review: This film was horrible! While I do use that word at times to describe certain films, this film probably is the first time that I used it to describe every part of it in its entirety. There were no redeeming qualities in this film, between the pompous acting and the cheapened story, it surprises me that anyone went to see this film or rather why it hasn't made it to the dollar bin at my local video retailer. I have read reviews that boast this film's originality and excitement, but I only mock at these fellow reviewers and question the honesty of their words. Did they see the film, or are they simply trying to build some form of publicity behind it? It is like I have said before, no matter how much you dress trash up, it is still yesterday's garbage. Bulletproof Monk is no exception. With crappy (for lack of a better word) acting, a childish story that teeters between unoriginality and boredom, and finally cheap special effects that continually prove that this director would have been better off staying with music videos instead of dabbling in the motion picture industry.

You can only ask an actor to do so much before it begins to feel like yesterday's laundry. Seann William Scott is not ready to headline a film, much less an action film on his own accord. He has not handled the pressures of being a leading man nor has he earned the rights. His work on the American Pie films may have given him some psudo-cult status, but it has not pushed him to the point of leading man. That may have been the reasoning for matching him with Yun-Fat Chow. The directors and producers were probably hoping that it would all balance out, well let me be the first to say that the scales were tipped unevenly in this movie. Scott portrayed his character physically able to do the task at hand, but with a Stifler mentality. That does not make for a good action film. There should be no reason that you, as an actor, should be clinging onto past characters to draw audiences into your film. Give them something fresh or something new to see and I promise they will continue to come back. That is definitely not the case here. Scott keeps that pompous grin on his face even during the emotional moments as if to say that he is cashing a big check with this one. In other words, from the beginning to the end of this film, he just didn't feel or fit the part that he was handed. Then again, nothing much was given by Yun-Fat Chow. Normally a decent actor, it is nearly insulting to see Chow in action with this film. CGI replaced actual fighting while deeply rooted conversation seems to float around hot dogs instead of life. It just doesn't seem like the vehicle that Chow would be found driving. Given that we have two actors that were completely miscast, the inevitable downfall for the rest of the film is that the story will suffer.

This was by far the poorest written story imaginable. I was surprised that `ole Alan Smithee didn't make an appearance on the ending credits. The use of Nazis as the irrefutable "bad guy" should sum it up for everyone reading this review. But, perhaps I am getting too hasty. The opening fight sequence was completely created by Hollywood instead of by true martial arts experts. This should be our vision into the future if we weren't so blinded by a recycled story about a scroll and the equivalent of a "golden child". The fact that our hero learns kung-fu from films is just another prize example of this downward spiral. Coupled with low-budgeted CGI and you have nothing that you can literally hold in your hands. Scott's character never gets off the ground, literally and figuratively, while Chow seems to be a substitute teacher instead of the one that gives us the wisdom we deserve. Even the love interest seems like a faded shirt. Maybe it was Scott's challenged grin or the complete lack of chemistry between him and a gu....girl named James, or just the fact that the moment they met they fell for each other without any further explanation just rubbed me the wrong way. It felt as if I had hic-ups throughout this entire film, continually wondering if they would ever settle I was forced to watch a very jumpy movie that offered no signs of relief.

Finally, what would be the point of talking about this film without at least mentioning once the cheese factor of the film known as the CGI. I have several opinions on what happened in this department, of which two I plan to offer to you guys. My first impression was that Bulletproof Monk was one of the pioneer films to allow interns to create effects in hopes of bettering a film. The producers than decided to leave in all the errors and amateurish designs in hopes to show the class a final product. Then, instead of going back to change the errors, they got frustrated with their students and decided to print the copy that they had in their hand, thus ultimately ruining the film. The second option that I have considered is that the effects were done by a disgruntled employee that decided to sabotage the film by including cheapened CGI/bullet-time effects. Either way, whichever of these (or the thousands of other possibilities) happened, it hurt the film deeper than anyone could have imagined. It hurt the characters and defaced the plot, leaving nothing for the avid film viewer like myself to grasp ahold of.

Overall, disappointment raged through my body when the final credits finally rolled.

Grade: * out of *****

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Loads of Fun
Review: A nice comedy/action film that's loads of fun to watch. Simple good vs. evil plot, with a few new twists on the East meets West theme. Goes great with the popcorn!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A great entertainer
Review: A little Hong Kong Kung Fu campy but most enjoyable. Not the vulgar, graphic violence in most of today's so called action movies. Requires a little more imagination than most of today's young people have but well worth watching. Some of the language used may put some people off but not excessive nor frequent.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Another East Meets West Fantasy Martial Arts Flick
Review: Sixty years ago, a Monk gave up his name and was given the responsibility of protecting 'The Scroll.' Along with the responsibility came great power--the Monk does not age, and he is, well, 'Bullet Proof,' which gives us the name of the movie: "Bullet Proof Monk." Shortly after his master gave him this power, the Monk with No Name's master was killed by Nazis searching for the scroll. The secret of the scroll gives the one that reads it incredible power. With his master and brothers kille, the Monk sets out to wonder the Earth, protecting the scroll.

Fast forward sixty years to the present. The Monk, played by Chow Yun-Fat finds himself in the United States. He hasn't aged and he is a bit of a drifter. Almost by chance, he stumbles upon a street-wise pick pocket, played by Sean William Scott, that appears to have a good heart underneath a rough exterior. In short order, the fate of the two are intertwined. The Monk imposes himself, in a manner of speaking, upon Kar, the pickpocket, in his attempts to avoid the Nazis and protect the Scroll.

As other reviews have mentioned, this is a comic book movie at heart. The action is incredible and inspired by 'The Matrix' and modern day martial arts flicks. The relationship between Kar and the Monk is classic 'buddy movie' fare. The villain is extraordinarily evil, willing to destroy anyone that stands in his way of the scroll and world domination.

The Good: at the top of the list is Chow Yun-Fat. He was probably the ideal choice for this role. His demeanor is perfect and he comes off as the wise mentor and humble monk perfectly. The action scenes were also fun to watch. There is nothing revolutionary, and after films like 'The Matrix' they might seem pedestrian to some, but they are fun nonetheless. Also, the prophecies are fun to watch come to life.

The Bad: the villains. They are almost a little too stock. None of them have any depth. The Nazi is just evil and hateful. His blonde sidekick had potential, but in the end, she is underdeveloped as well.

The Ugly: nothing really that bad to complain about. The one thing that might rank an ugly rating would be the alternate ending. Lets just be thankful that version of the film didn't make the final cut.

Overall, I'd recommend this movie. Don't set your expectations too high, and you won't be disappointed. There is a decent set of DVD extras for the enthusiast, but nothing earth shattering. Martials arts die hards will be disappointed, but all others should at least be entertained.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Not the best, not the worst...but still entertaining
Review: Ok, so this movie won't win any Oscars, but it's not as bad as most of the reviewers say! The movie does have a lot of action sequences that are pretty cool...all little far-fectched, but still cool. It also actually has somewhat of a followable plot. I thought the prophecies coming true to show CYF (Chow Yun-Fat) that SWS (Seann William Scott) was the next heir to guard the secrets of the Scroll were pretty clever. Also, adding a female hero, Jade (daughter of Ivan the Terrible) was a cool twist. It did get a little out-of-control with the Nazi regaining his youth and using mind reading machines, but this film didn't claim to be a documentary.

All in all I was entertained. SWS played a believable role and was able to effectively break away from his American Pie stereotypical roles. CYF played this role the best could. Yes it was a weaker role than we're used to seeing. The supporting characters played nicely into the story, including the British villian of the subway, Funktastic. A cool twist on a bad guy.

After boiling all this down, less than 3 stars isn't fair.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Decent for what it is... a comic book movie.
Review: I had some high expectations for this film... based solely on the casting of Chow Yun-Fat as the Monk. I'm a big fan. However, this is no where near being one of his better films. Also... Seann William Scott is NOT who I picture doing action hero stuff.

However... this is a VERY GOOD adaptation of the original comic books. The theme is the same... and the characters are almost perfectly performed. There were a few changes... director's creatively license or what have you... but it was done right in that respect.

So... if you're looking for a great Chow Yun-Fat film, then this probably isn't the film you're looking for. If you're a fan of the original comic series... or just looking for a fun action romp... then I'd recommend giving it a watch.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Stupid
Review: Bulletproof Monk was a bad movie. He only gets shot once. A normal person can survive a pistol bullet if it hits them in a non organ spot. The monk had mystical writing on his stomach and after he trains this person to guard a scroll the letters come off the monk and go to the person he trained. The "Monk" had hair so he coulnt have been a monk. It was so cheasy too. The monk could jump in the air and spin aroound for a minuit and he could balence on a rope witout even moving at all. Dont even rent the movie.


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