Jet Li stars in this Kung Fu Film as highly trained bodyguard John Chang sent to protect the girlfriend (Christy Chung) of a wealthy businessman after she becomes the sole remaining witness to murder.
But that you can find out just by reading the back of the case.
First things first... the dubbing. To be honest it is just what you should expect from an early 1990's Chinese film. I.e. So bad it borders on hilarity. As with many martial arts films (e.g crouching tiger) it would be better to simply have it subtitled and read what the characters are saying. Another thing you should be expecting is acting that won't be winning any Oscars either. But even so it's still not up to scratch. Especially the budding romance between the bodyguard and his charge. That period especially slows everything down and drags it out in between fight scenes, but hey. they had to give Christy Chung something to do besides scream in terror as Jet Li saves the day.
This brings us onto the main part of any martial arts film. The action. While there isn't as much as you would perhaps wish the film more than makes up for it with the scale of it all. Over the course of 3 or 4 sequences Jet Li racks up an impressive body count whether it's out at the shopping mall or in the final showdown at the end. The final sequence by the way, is great. Intense fighting in a room that steadily fills with gas. It's great.
DVD Extras? None. This is pure film.
To conclude this film is definitely worth a look (although paying full price for it should probably be avoided - get it cheap). While it isn't pushing any boundaries or winning any awards, it's entertaining and great for whiling away an hour and a half. Although the story/acting are bad it serves to link the action together into some sort of cohesive plot.
Thumbs Up.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Production Year: 2002 - Action/Adventure - Director: Vincenzo Natali - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring:Lucy Liu, David Hewlett, Anne Marie Scheffler, Joseph Scoren, Matthew Sharp, Jeremy Northam
Production Year: 1977 - Action/Adventure - Director: Clint Eastwood - Original Language: English - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring:Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke, Pat Hingle, William Prince, Bill McKinney
Production Year: 1964 - Action/Adventure - Director: Cyril Endfield - Original Language: English - Classification: Parental Guidance - Starring:Stanley Baker, Jack Hawkins, Ulla Jacobsson, James Booth, Michael Caine, Nigel Green
Re-rated based on Ciao's insistence that such reviews are no longer considered "Off Topic"
Soho_Black 24.06.2006 09:03
I see you've posted this as a DVD review, but you've not mentioned the DVD. Are there any extras? If so, what are they and are they any good? If you add to this, or if you change it to be posted as a "Film Only" review, which can be done by accessing "edit review" in the top right of the review and changing the drop down menu under the "Which format are you reviewing?" question at the bottom, please let me know and I'll re-rate.
The Defendersees Hong Kong martial arts master Jet Li playing a bodyguard from the Beijing ... more
secret police, sent to Hong Kong to protect a beautiful young witness to a mob killing, played by Christy Chung. Li turns her home into a high-security prison, c...
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