Bulletproof Monk example essay topic

A super powered martial artist battles an army of evil neo-Nazis searching for an ancient scroll which he has sworn to protect in the high-flying but flawed chopsocky action er "Bulletproof Monk" (MGM). While director Paul Hunter has certainly earned his black belt for the film's ultra stylized, gravity-defying acrobatics, the script at times is so hackneyed that better writing can been found in fortune cookies. Based on the highly popular comic book, the film stars Chow Yun-Fat as the nameless Tibetan holy man with unparalleled warrior skills. The story opens in a Shangri-La-like temple in 1943, where Yun-Fat's venerable master entrusts him with the "Ultimate Scroll", an artifact of unspeakable power which, if it fell into the wrong hands, would enable its wielder to conquer the world. Throughout the centuries the monks have passed on the custodianship of the scroll every 60 years in unbroken succession. Being 1943, the "Ultimate Scroll" is just the kind of toy any red-blooded Nazi would want under his tree.

Conveniently, a band of Adolf's boys, led by the particularly sinister Struker (Karl Roden), just happens to be in the neighborhood and invades the Himalayan fortress, mowing down the pacifist monks. However, the nameless hero escapes with the scroll, jumping off a cliff to what seems certain death, unharmed by Struker's point-blank marksmanship -- earning him the sobriquet of "Bulletproof Monk". The action jumps to present-day San Francisco, where, nearing the end of his 60-year shift, the Bulletproof Monk, who has not aged (another perk of being the scroll-bearer), is seeking out his replacement. As fate would have it, he finds his successor in the most unlikely of candidates, Kar (Seann William Scott), a streetwise though good-hearted thief who has picked up some nifty moves of his own watching kung-fu flicks in a theatre where he works as a projectionist. Before handing off the baton, the monk must first make sure that Kar is indeed the rightful heir, not to be confirmed until the young wildcard fulfills three prophecies. The transition is complicated by a band of neo-Nazis fronting as a humanitarian relief agency.

Heading the overzealous Aryans is a geriatric Struker, whose lust for power has kept him hot on the monk's trail for six decades. The mystic guardian and his apprentice must join forces, along with beautiful bad-girl Jade (Jamie King), to make chop suey out of the boys from Berlin before Struker can unleash his maniacal plan for total world domination. With films like "The Matrix" and "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon" having raised the bar so high, it is hard to continually excite audiences. Still, "Bulletproof Monk" boasts some visually impressive choreography. Regrettably, the same can not be said about the script. The audience must suffer through laughable, pseudo-zen koans like "Why are there 10 hot-dog buns in a pack, and yet hot dogs only come eight in a pack?" Yun-Fat is magnetic as the fast-fisted sage, injecting the role with an appealing blend of stoic serenity and, surprisingly, disarming comic edge.

Unfortunately, his main sparring partner is Scott (of "Dude, Where's My Car?" fame), who makes Keanu Reeves' performance in "The Matrix" seem downright Shakespearean. Casual violence will always be an issue in this genre. During one sequence the benevolent monk offers a tutorial on "compassion" and the sanctity of life while he instructs his young pupil in the fine and ungentle art of kicking butt -- abruptly cut short by the opportunity to put his words into practice by beating the bad guys to a pulp. The film's over-the-top violence is less offensive when taken in its comic-book context, though parents equally concerned about its video-game-like casualness devoid of moral consequences may find it more than a bit off-putting.