MovieFreak.com - "Bulletproof Monk" Special Edition DVD Review by John Teves

DVD REVIEW

Bulletproof Monk - Special Edition (2003)

Starring: Chow Yun-Fat, Seann William Scott

Director: Paul Hunter

Rating: PG-13

Distributor: MGM Home Entertainment

Release Date: September 9, 2003
Review posted: September 16, 2003

Spoilers: None

Reviewed by John Teves

Synopsis

A mysterious and immortal Tibetan kung fu master (Chow Yun-Fat), who has spent the last 60 years traveling around the world protecting the ancient Scroll of the Ultimate, mentors a selfish street kid (Seann William Scott) in the ancient intricacies of kung fu.

Capsule Critique

BULLETPROOF MONK is a sit-back-and switch-your-brain-off action/comedy type film. It’s a decent Friday night DVD rental if nothing else is available. For the most part the film was just a run of the mill kind of presentation. The plot has been done to death and the actors weren't utilized to the best of their abilities. BULLETPROOF MONK’s script is undemanding and ridiculous. When all is said and done, the film presents a serviceable but predictable slapstick action/comedy film and does nothing to expand or define its genre.

The Video

BULLETPROOF MONK appears in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1; the image has been enhanced for 16X9 televisions. For the most part the picture seemed very good. Sharpness appeared positive. The image always remained crisp and well defined throughout the movie. I saw a couple of instances of softness during the wider shots. Jagged edges were visible but didn’t create any major distractions; there were some scenes that displayed some light edge enhancement. I noticed no major print flaws through out the presentation. Colors were solid, as the film’s naturalistic palette came across with reasonable accuracy. Black levels appeared solid, while shadow detail was a little thick. Taken as a whole, BULLET PROOF MONK presented a clean video transfer presentation.

The Audio

BULLETPROOF MONK is presented in a Dolby Digital 5.1 track. The forward spectrum played the strongest role in the audio throughout the film. The mix displayed solid stereo imaging and also created a pretty good sense of environment through various scenes and their effects. Elements knit together well and moved across the spectrum cleanly. Audio quality sounded fine. Speech was smooth and distinct, and I noticed no signs of edginess. Music sounded bright and vivid and displayed pretty decent range. Effects were clean and accurate, and they suffered from no signs of distortion. Overall, a nice mix that worked well for this action/comedy.

The Extras

Commentary by director Paul Hunter and producers Charles Roven and Douglas Segal
Commentary by the writers
Deleted scenes
Alternate ending
"The Tao of Monk": 5 behind-the-scenes featurettes
"The Monk Unrobed" featurette

Overall

The DVD presents very strong picture and a fairly useful roster of extras. BULLETPROOF MONK is by and large a mediocre action/comedy flick that offers enough silliness to make it acceptably entertaining, but it doesn’t do anything more than that.

John Teves rates the film 2 out of 4.

Review originally appeared on DVDFreak.net

VERDICT: RENT IT

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