*** stars out of ****
The Bodyguard from Beijing is an action thriller that mixes romance and humor. The plot is mainly a backdrop for some grand shootouts and martial arts sequences, but it does have some moments of characterization. The movie may not be as jaw dropping as some of Jackie Chan's films (or some of Li's other works) but it delivers the expected action and thrills. The film is basically about a bodyguard (Jet Li) who is hired to protect a beautiful woman (Christy Chung) after she witnessed a murder. Now, many people will stop at nothing to have her killed and Li has invoked the wrath of a dangerous ex-soldier whose brother Li killed.
I was surprised by the fact that there was more shootouts and gunplay than Li's usual kung fu, but the shootouts were quite thrilling and entertaining, particularly the mall sequence that almost gets a bit absurd in the amount of people carrying guns inside. For a while there (due to the amount of gunplay) I was expecting Chow-Yun Fat to just ram through a door and kill all the villains.
As for the acting, Jet Li is actually quite fun to watch in his transformation from a hardened bodyguard to a soft man falling in love. Christy Chung is decent though she's mostly relegated to the role of damsel in distress.
My main complaint about the movie was the how the gunshots looked in the film's final shootout. When the bullets hit the wall, they look more like cartoonish sparks than rough bullet impact. However, the great martial arts fight at the end more than made up for it. It's a great action sequence, as it involves Li and the dangerous ex-soldier kicking each other around while trying to get water from a faucet due to a gas leak.
The Bodyguard from Beijing is an action thriller that mixes romance and humor. The plot is mainly a backdrop for some grand shootouts and martial arts sequences, but it does have some moments of characterization. The movie may not be as jaw dropping as some of Jackie Chan's films (or some of Li's other works) but it delivers the expected action and thrills. The film is basically about a bodyguard (Jet Li) who is hired to protect a beautiful woman (Christy Chung) after she witnessed a murder. Now, many people will stop at nothing to have her killed and Li has invoked the wrath of a dangerous ex-soldier whose brother Li killed.
I was surprised by the fact that there was more shootouts and gunplay than Li's usual kung fu, but the shootouts were quite thrilling and entertaining, particularly the mall sequence that almost gets a bit absurd in the amount of people carrying guns inside. For a while there (due to the amount of gunplay) I was expecting Chow-Yun Fat to just ram through a door and kill all the villains.
As for the acting, Jet Li is actually quite fun to watch in his transformation from a hardened bodyguard to a soft man falling in love. Christy Chung is decent though she's mostly relegated to the role of damsel in distress.
My main complaint about the movie was the how the gunshots looked in the film's final shootout. When the bullets hit the wall, they look more like cartoonish sparks than rough bullet impact. However, the great martial arts fight at the end more than made up for it. It's a great action sequence, as it involves Li and the dangerous ex-soldier kicking each other around while trying to get water from a faucet due to a gas leak.