![Bulletproof Monk [Blu-ray]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51vLngOwFSL._SL160_.jpg) | |
List Price: $39.98 | | Label: MGM (Warner)
Salesrank: 44465
Released: December 5, 2006 |
| Our Price: $15.75 |
| Used Price: $15.75 |
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MPAA Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) Media: Blu-ray |
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Editorial Review:
Chow Yun-Fat (Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon) and Seann William Scott (the American Pie films) star in this heart-pumping action-adventure that bristles with "acrobatic battles [and] solid visual effects" (The Hollywood Reporter)! For 60 years a mysterious monk has protected an ancient scroll that holds the key to unlimited power. But when a streetwise punk named Kar saves him from capture the monk thinks he's found a replacement protector for the scroll. Now Kar under the tutelage of the monk must unleash his potential as one gravity-defying sword-wieldingbutt-kicking warrior to save the world from the scroll's most avid pursuer.System Requirements:Running Time: 104Format: BLU-RAY DISC Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE Rating: Unknown UPC: 027616063434 Manufacturer No: M106343
Description of Bulletproof Monk [Blu-ray]:
The tremendous charisma of Chow Yun-fat anchors this entertaining comic-book romp. Bulletproof Monk centers around a monk with no name (Chow) dedicated to protecting a sacred scroll that can give world-manipulating power to anyone who reads it. A hidden Nazi has been pursuing the scroll for 60 years and has finally caught up with the monk in present-day New York City; meanwhile, the monk suspects he may have found a disciple in a petty thief (Seann William Scott, Dude, Where's My Car?, American Pie) who's learned kung fu from watching double-feature chopsocky flicks. Don't let the presence of Chow Yun-fat lead you to expect much substance--this doesn't have the emotional scope of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon or the visual panache of Hard-Boiled. But Bulletproof Monk is a cheerful, tightly edited, unpretentious action flick with flashes of humor, good for a mindless evening's entertainment. Also featuring Jaime (a.k.a. James) King (Blow). --Bret Fetzer
Bulletproof Monk [Blu-ray] Reviews:
A Wonderful Venture into Entertainment 
2008-10-03 - This movie does not rank among cinema masterpieces such as Gladiator or Titanic, but the film serves up solid, fun, and funny entertainment. An excellent movie for families, teens, and adults alike, it provides a great escape into the land of make believe. It's light fare for an evening of relaxing enjoyment.
Entertaining martial arts spoof 
2008-08-24 - I say "spoof" because this movie isn't to be taken seriously. It's a fun movie to watch Yun-Fat Chow; the Monk with no name, and Seann William Scott (Kar) interact. The old story of the teacher and the student of martial arts; only Kar learns his martial arts from the movies, at the movie theater in which he works. Mako makes a cameo appearance as his boss Mister Kojima, at the theater. This movie kind of reminds of Indiana Jones' "The Last Crusade," in which the Nazi (in this case - Karel Roden) tries to gain immortality. Karel Roden, cast as the aging Nazi Strucker, is mis-cast; as anyone can tell, his accent isn't even close to being German. Sounds too Russian. Despite that, he does okay as villian in this movie. Jaime King, plays Jade/Bad Girl is Kar's love interest, but kind of superfluous, even though she was the co-recipient of the scroll powers in the end. This was really more Seann William Scott's movie, than Chow Yun-Fat's.
Bulletproof makes the mark ! 
2008-08-17 - Bulletproof Monk simply makes the mark. Chow Yun Fat is the perfect pickfor the humble monk who packs a punch. Along with Seann William Scott,the duo make for a light-hearted yet action packed adventure fightinga Nazi cult and a gang of street thugs while trying to protect an ancient secret.A must see movie that I think you will enjoy.
definitely one of my guilty pleasures 
2008-06-24 - Okay... this is a bad movie. I'm fully aware of this. The story line is cheesy, its historical accuracy is grossly questionable, and a good portion of the acting is overdone. So why in the world did it get three stars from me? I have to come clean, this is a guilty pleasure. I'm fully aware it's not a good movie, in fact I'm probably out of my mind for enjoying it this much, but I thought it was fun!
Basically the movie premise is about this ancient Tibetan scroll that supposedly gives its reader power over the entire world. The movie starts off in the past, around 1943, where a Nazi general comes to find it. Yes, like everyone else, I was wondering why the Nazis were in Tibet in 1943. Chow Yun-Fat is introduced and becomes the protector of the scroll, then the movie fast forwards into more modern times where he ends up running into Seann William Scott's character, Kar. This is where the film takes more of its comedic twist, sometimes Scott's character can get annoying, but I think the movie gets a lot better when Jaime King's character enters the picture. For some reason her character tempers Scott's over abrasive presence on the screen, because he's playing the guy that always has something to prove and she has nothing to prove. It just blended well. Anyway there are people after the scroll and it essentially falls to these three people to protect it. That's basically how the action is generated throughout the film.
I'm not a connoisseur of martial arts films by any means, so I won't even pretend to be. The martial arts and action throughout the film, I found, to be pretty good and entertaining. Though I wish King's character had fought the German guy's granddaughter for a lot longer. There was definitely enough action to keep the film moving. For me I just found the movie fun to watch. Watching Chow Yun-Fat trying to deal with Scott's character definitely had its amusing moments.
Anyway, there really isn't much else to be said for this film. Ultimately it's not a good movie, but I had fun with it, which I think is what was intended. It's clearly not meant to be a very serious movie so if you can get beyond that, you might be able to find some merit in it. Granted I don't see how this could ever become someone's favorite movie of all time, but I certainly wouldn't say this is the worst by any measure.
So shallow that it looks simple-minded 
2008-01-13 - Tibetan Buddhism is a pure betrayal of Buddhism, of Buddha himself. It dares go beyond Buddha's teaching and reinvent a divinity of some kind where Buddha had taught there could not be any God anywhere. The great force that leads the universe in the eternal cycle from birth to rebirth via decay and death is transmuted into some kind of prophecy about some kind of truth to keep against human greed in order to save the world, and that truth is entrusted to one person who remains beyond aging, will not decay in other words, for as long as he will carry this trust and responsibility. When the time has come he will have to transmit his responsibility to the newly elected person who fulfills the three prophecies and the guardian will finally age and take a vacation leaving the burden to the new warden. Buddha would be ashamed of such primitive beliefs if he could witness such naïve sagas. And the film goes slightly beyond by deciding that the new warden will be double and will be a man and a woman, a heterosexual couple in one word, Hollywood trying to save Tibetan Buddhism from the righteous accusation of being deeply and profoundly and exclusively sexist, that is to say anti-women, or at least closed to women. It also takes advantage of the film to move Tibet to New York, to add a little bit of Nazism in all that, and to entrust the serious mission to two Caucasian non-Tibetan "goyim" instead of one good old Asian, Tibetan if possible, Buddhist monk. But that is only a film. True. But what a laughable fable. Luckily there are the spectacular fights and contortions and acrobatics to save the whole fairy tale from too much shallowness.
Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris Dauphine, University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne & University Versailles Saint Quentin en Yvelines