First off, let me just say that I like seeing movies in the theatre. I enjoy the bustle, the previews, the big screen; it just adds an element of fun for me.
So, my wife and I went to see Bulletproof Monk the other day. I read the review on IMDb, and knew that it might not be the greatest, but I don’t very often pay attention to other people’s movie reviews, especially if I don’t know the person. People don’t know what they’re talking about. So here’s my take on Bulletproof Monk.
The bad: the green screens. BAD. Really REALLY bad. But only when doing shots in 1943 in Tibet. They look very much like the kind of stuff they did in the old Kung Fu movies in the 70’s. So much so, that I almost wonder if it was on purpose. It is John Woo after all. Part of the reason I say this is that The Punk got all his fighting training from watching exactly those movies in the old theatre he lived in.
The good: Yun-fat Chow. He’s just amazing.
The unfortunate: there are no special effects in this movie that were not in Wo hu cang long (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon). I say this is unfortunate instead of bad because the effects are cool. They’re neato. Just not original.
The plot: Kind of interesting. At the beginning, there’s a nazi lin 1943 ooking for a scroll that gives ultimate power to the reader. The whole schtick of nazi’s looking for objects of power is always fun.
The rest of the movie is set in modern times, but it’s the same nazi, still looking for Our Hero. He’s got a secret hide-out where he has Super Torture Equipment, kind of like what you’d see in a secret room in Return To Castle Wolfenstien.
Final: It’s not a great movie, and I probably won’t even rent it again, but it was fun to go, and entertaining once.
