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Scroll of the Ultimate is unlike any other, for it holds immeasurable power. “Whoever reads it aloud in its entirely,” an ancient monk explains to a young acolyte, “will gain the power to control the world.” The Nazis’ intention is quite clear, capturing Tibet in 1943 with the intent of obtaining the scroll. “Raiders of the Lost Ark” showed us how the Third Reich was mostly interested in acquiring the Covenant Ark. The question remains, for what exactly? In the hopes of allowing Leni Riefenstahl, Hitlers propoganda puppet, to film “The Scroll of the Ultimate vs. The Ark of the Covenant?” That is an idea I hope to pitch to the Writers’ Guild so that I can make a fortune out of it.
Chow Yun-Fat plays The Monk With No Name, who’s essentially a monk that lost his true identity in hope of giving the scroll the protection it truly deserved. How he relinquished his identity is remarkably silly, but that is Pulp Fiction level of craziness. The moment he takes control of the scroll, the sky turns wacky and cyclonic, with the visual effects are nothing short sensational. I mean when has high winds ushering in explosions not been a sight to behold? All this while, the Nazis are visibly attacking the temple hoping to worship the scroll. The Monk takes a leap from a quite literally high cliff. After sucking in a bullet to the scroll, he survives the jump. His explanation? Gravity is a concept only believers subscribe to. Reason everytime he finds himself asking, Why would one use their body as a statement of defiance?
A monk believed in something that he is willing to fight over and that is how he lost the Scroll in the first place. He took a trip to a place with strange buildings and people like New York City and from there on started wandering the country’s underground. By chance, he crossed paths with a young delinquint with the name of Kar, who, for some reason, had an amazing gift to find unique items, one of which being a scroll that he picked right from the monk’s briefcase. But the moment he set his eyes on it, he was dropped into a dark, secluded place full of young bullys that were just as terrifying as the leather bar crowd. Kar was not alone in this, for he was accompanied by a group that separate to tackle the young delinquint. Mr Funktastic and his posse dressed in tattered clothing, a tough looking lady with a bad attitude and Mr Funktastic himself who has his name tattooed across his chest. The moment Kar saw them, he was sucked into battle. One that lasted a long while before ending with a bunch of worn out bullys giving up their fight. Mr Funktastic gave him a single warning for what would happen should he cross their path again.
Mr. Funktastic’s men never noticed the unexpected monk which is how The Monk With No Name was able to witness the fight in secret. While also becoming friends with Kar, who Kar believes fulfills Three Prophecies that prescribe a person to guard a Scroll for the next 60 years. Of course, with Kar being a brash young man, he has a lot of life lessons to learn. On the other hand, the Nazis show up again and, at one point, have The Monk With No Name strapped, crucifix-style, to a torture machine and screw-like gadgets within arms reach of his head.
“Bulletproof Monk” blends traditional kung fu cinema from Hong Kong with different American styles, all while supporting the unfounded belief that the most skilled ancient Asian practitioners focus their time on training young Americans. Kar has been self-studying for a long time, that much is true. “Where do you study fighting?” the Monk questions him. “The Golden Palace,” he answers. The Golden Palace is the derelict cinema where he works as a projectionist and emulates choreography from ancient kung fu films.
The fight scenes in “Bulletproof Monk” are not as crazy as others I’ve seen (although the opening duel on the rope bridge is so well done that it gets hopes up but fails to live up to them.) The movie demonstrates, “Matrix” style, that a good enough fighter can jump up into the air and hover while spinning dozens of times, but for what purpose has never been elaborated. Yun-Fat and Scott do as much as they can with the material, but it is always a bit uncomfortable trying to force a romance into a movie like this, especially when you have to make room for Bad Girl and Nina (Victoria Smurfit), a third generation Nazi and the real bad girl, get their required hand-to-hand combat.
Bulletproof Monk was Written by Ethan Reiff and Cyrus Voris and adapted from a comic book by Brett Lewis and RA Jones and will target more or less the same audience as the comic book. The advertisements and trailer want us to mix it up with Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, but this one is more like the Young Readers version.
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