Bullet Points: Bulletproof Monk
There is something about reviewing 2003’s Bulletproof Monk during our month long 10th Actionversary celebration that just feels right.
- Passing the Torch: The movie opens in 1943 Tibet. More specifically on a rope bridge outside a monastery where a Tibetan Monk (Chow Yun-Fat, The Killer) is about to pass the final test on his way to becoming the guardian of the Scroll of the Ultimate. Whoever reads the Scroll can control the world for good OR bad. So you can understand why guarding such an object is so important. The guardianship is a position the monk’s master has held for the last 60 years. There is zero time for the newly anointed Monk to relish in his accomplishment. Some Nazi troops storm the monastery looking for the very object that our Monk is now entrusted to protect and slaughtering the monk’s master and brothers in the process. Leading the charge for the Nazis is Struker (Karel Roden, Hellboy). There is a face off between Struker and the Monk, where the Col tells the Monk, he is good but he is not bulletproof… or IS he?
- If You Can Make It There: After being shot and falling off a ledge back in 1943, the next time we see the Monk is in 2003 in New York City with some guys in suits following him. Also being followed is known pickpocket, Kar (Seann William, Scott, The Rundown), except he’s being followed by the cops. The two chases intersect in a subway station but both the Monk and Kar stop when a girl falls onto the tracks and her leg gets stuck under a rail. If that wasn’t bad enough there’s a train coming through… Kar pulls the girl out after the Monk uses some of his monk magic in the nick of time. The girl is saved and the Monk and Kar are nowhere to be found much to the dismay of their pursuers.
- Out of the Frying Pan: Kar finds himself in the underground lair of a gang run by Mr. Funktastic. The gang is aware of Kar’s thieving ways and want him to kick up to Mr. Funktastic, that arrangement does not appeal to Kar… so it’s time to fight and the odds definitely aren’t on Kar’s side. But despite the odds, Kar kicks some ass and impresses the Monk, who is watching the whole thing from afar. (Does Kar have guardian potential?) In other good news, it seems to be love at first sight for Kar and the Bad Girl (Jaime King, My Bloody Valentine) of the Funktastic gang (who we later learn is named Jade). In classic Kar fashion he manages to steal the Bad Girl’s jade necklace (ding!) as a way to force a second meeting.
- Getting to Know You: A monk and a thief has odd couple written all over it. It’s a classic movie trope and it really works here thanks to the chemistry between Chow Yun-Fat and Seann William Scott. The Monk gets to know more about Kar’s background… Like how he is a self-taught martial artist, mimicking the moves of the old school Kung Fu movies he sees on the big screen of The Golden Palace, the theater he works AND lives at. When it comes time for Kar to get to know about The Monk, he gets way more than he bargained for!
- Some Things Never Change: It may be 60 years later, but Struker (who unlike the Monk has aged every one of those years) is still after the scroll. Reading the scroll is the only thing that can rejuvenate him and allow him to carry on Hitler’s mission. It was Struker’s men who have been chasing the Monk and it is Struker’s own granddaughter, Nina Struker, that is leading the Scroll recovery mission. So Kar goes from petty theft to dealing with a helicopter attack, nearly falling off a building, thinking he let the Scroll get into the wrong hands, an unexpected traitor and having to infiltrate Jade’s well guarded estate and learn about her true background… oh and did I mention Struker has a machine that can suck info right out of a person’s brain?!?
Bulletproof Monk was a movie I had intended on checking out when it was first released, yet I found myself watching it for the first time in 2024! I can honestly say it was worth the wait and definitely worth more than the dollar I spent on the DVD at my local Goodwill store.
Chow Yun-Fat and Seann William Scott play well off of one another and it is their dynamic that really makes the movie work. Throw in the ultimate bad guys that you can’t wait to see defeated and you have a recipe for a fun ride filled with action and comedy. If I was looking for something to complain about, it would probably be the green screen scenes being obvious green screen scenes.
If you are looking for some Bonus Bullet Points, keep scrolling…
- Familiar Faces: The Monk’s master at the beginning of the movie was played by none other than Roger Yuan. I recognized Roger from his work in The Perfect Weapon, Shootfighter: Fight to the Death and Lethal Weapon 4 …Kar’s boss at The Golden Palace, Mr. Kojima, was played by Mako of P.O.W. the Escape and An Eye for an Eye fame.
- Marquee Movie: The movie playing at The Golden Palace is 1978’s Descendent of Wing Chun.
- Great Question: Why do they sell hot dogs in packs of ten, but hot dog buns in packs of eight? Watch the movie to find out!
