Matrix Wannabe?
Bulletproof Still Hits Its Mark

No one ever said that action movies can't have a sense of humor. One of my favorite action films from the '80s is the cult classic Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins, the story of an ex-cop enlisted to be a martial arts assassin. It's action-packed, but rife with silly laughs. Although that movie never spawned a sequel (despite the promising title), I would like to think that Bulletproof Monk is its spiritual sequel.

Bulletproof Monk stars Chow Yun-Fat as the guardian of an ancient scroll that can change reality if anyone ever reads its words out loud. The Monk has been granted supernatural power (including a longer life span) as the guardian, but now -- 60 years after his acceptance of the responsibility -- it is time for him to appoint a new guardian.

As he continues to run from a maniacal Nazi who is after the scroll, the Monk runs into a pickpocket named Kar (Seann William Scott) who "shows promise." After seeing Kar defeat a street gang in fulfillment of a prophecy, he seeks out the young man and attempts to enlist his aide in guarding the scroll.

While the story is not exactly well-scripted, it has its moments. Some of the special effects are interesting, but too much of it relies on the "bullet time" effect introduced in The Matrix and duplicated everywhere since then. Nevertheless, one great scene has Yun-Fat jumping to the roof of a car and catching two handguns. As he sweeps around, firing the guns, his trenchcoat billows out making him look larger than life. It's a great scene, because it is reminiscent of the comic books that gave birth to the story.

Yun-Fat may never win an award for acting; his tight, grim visage conveys no emotion. Scott, likewise, may be popular as "Stifler" with the American Pie set, but his goofy, gangly frame will doom him to shallow comedy roles. The lead female role, Jade, is played by Jamie King, who looks like teen rocker Avril Lavigne. (I expected her to break into a rendition of "Complicated" any moment.) The cast, as a whole, works well together, but the Royal Shakespeare Company it ain't.

Although the cast and the special effects are not top notch, the movie provides a number of good laughs. (The intentional kind.) Fans of action movies might enjoy the change of pace. Fans of comedy might like a little pre-summer action. Either way, no one should expect too much from this film. It's a nice romp, a good diversion, but that's about as far as it goes.

MY RATING: 6 out of 10.

RATED: PG-13
RUN TIME: 104 min.