Bulletproof Monk 2003

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: Harmless date-night fodder. Read more

Scott Von Doviak, Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com: A paper-thin pastiche of martial arts, superheroics and cross-cultural comedy. Read more

Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper: [T]he thing about the martial arts sequences -- you've got the great Chow Yun-Fat, but this thing is directed MTV style: cut here, cut there, close-up. So we can't really tell if he's doing stunts or if it's all tricks of camerawork. Read more

Robert K. Elder, Chicago Tribune: Bulletproof Monk may be the first movie based on a comic book to outshine its source material. Unfortunately, that's not saying much. Read more

A.O. Scott, New York Times: The lighting is bad, the editing of the action sequences sometimes messy, but these infelicities, curiously enough, increase the fun rather than diminishing it. Read more

Bill Stamets, Chicago Reader: The fight scenes are routine, the humor juvenile, and the Toronto locales rendered drab through muddy cinematography. Read more

Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: Oblivious to how formulaic and uninvolving all this gets is director Hunter, who to all intents and purposes seems to view the film as one long Diet Pepsi spot. Read more

Bruce Westbrook, Houston Chronicle: [Chow] and Scott spark some fine chemistry, with amusing contrasts between the philosophical monk and punkish hero. Read more

Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: As ungainly in its jammed-together East-meets -West-ness as Steven Seagal in a yoga pose. Read more

Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail: A plot so preposterous it could only have emerged from the underground comic world. Read more

Gary Dowell, Dallas Morning News: There's a lot of slack in the script, weak directing resulting in awkward scenes and a lot of sloppy editing that sucks the energy out of the action scenes, which can be the kiss of death for a movie like this. Read more

Hazel-Dawn Dumpert, L.A. Weekly: It's a testament to Chow's star power that, even with an accent more than casually reminiscent of Elmer Fudd's, he comes off charming, handsome and cool in a movie as ridiculous as Bulletproof Monk. Read more

John Anderson, Newsday: Director Hunter can't decide if he's making a comedy or an action film and seems to make the wrong decision every time. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: Everything here is borrowed from other movies ... Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: Outside of the moments of kinetic madness that represent the action sequences, this movie is an amalgamation of lame comedy, campy Eastern mysticism, and dumb plotting. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: The ads and trailer hope we confuse it with Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, but this is more like the Young Readers version. Read more

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: Bulletproof Monk has more going for it than a promising title. It has a life and style that other buddy action movies lack. Read more

David Edelstein, Slate: They made a ton of junky movies in Hong Kong, but those were dazzlingly fluid and high-flying junky movies. This American retread has the same sort of hack plot but none of the bravura. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: Bulletproof Monk shoots blanks. Read more

Peter Howell, Toronto Star: Bulletproof Monk is such an overcooked and odoriferous turkey, the Butterball people ought to sue for defamation of character. Read more

Time Out: Chow was never a martial arts star back home, but he's a good enough actor -- and an engaging enough personality -- to pass for one here. Read more

Mike Clark, USA Today: This is not a movie that sparks questions about the meaning of life. Well, maybe one: Dude, where's my Zen? Read more

Robert Koehler, Variety: Adults will likely object to the innumerable plot question marks coming off the screen like so many kung-fu kicks to the head. Read more

Ed Park, Village Voice: For all the leads' individual appeal, they seem to occupy slightly different films. Read more

Stephen Hunter, Washington Post: A movie chockablock with too many elements. Read more