Hung’s attempt at drama in The Bodyguard doesn’t appear to be the best retirement option for the revered action star and director.
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Hong Kong martial arts veteran Sammo Hung stars in and directs his upcoming action drama The Bodyguard. The pre-film exhilaration however sadly sizzles out in a similar fashion as the protagonist’s onset dementia with underwhelming drama and incoherent plot.
Allowing over sixty years of age to reflect its toll on retired Central Security Bureau (CSB) officer Ding (Sammo Hung), it is clear that his prime years have left him for good. Scenes of Ding not being able to button his CSB uniform and a quiet lifestyle that passes him by slowly are signs of this fading glory.
This provides one of the rare occasions to witness a softer image of Hung, especially after getting used to see him play classic macho heroes (think of him as an oriental Sylvester Stallone). It is a good change despite a subtraction from his image (and ego) as it enables him to focus on drama acting.
Throwing in a young girl (Jacqueline Chan) who lives across from his residence along with a convenient opportunity of chemistry, the premise is in place. The role of the young girl’s gambling father is customised for a special appearance by Hong Kong superstar Andy Lau. Evidently the best actor in the cast ensemble, it is however a pity that Lau wasn’t well used to heighten the film’s drama qualities.
Plagued by a paper-thin screenplay that dots the entire 99 minutes with superficial one-liners, the film transits between plot points poorly with a meagre grasp of drama scripting theories and techniques. With a suite of veteran action and drama actors, it is alarming to see them casted as mere cameo appearances.
Suffering from poor memory abilities, Ding is also a man of few words. While it instills a certain fleeting sense of mystery about him, it also brings a number of scenes to a slow pace with no payload. Fortunately, Ding’s muscle memory doesn’t fail him and allows genre fans to rejoice with a major action set piece where Ding confronts the gang leader.
While it is sinfully satisfying for some with Hung’s bone-breaking action choreography, the tight camera work and blurry editing was disappointing and jarring to watch. The extended action scene also leaves viewers puzzled towards the context and purpose behind it. The action scene of Lau escaping from a hotel in Vladivostok, Russia, in the first half of the film though was much better.
It is probably best to allow Hung to focus on what he does best - action direction like his successful stints in Wilson Yip’s Ip Man. Hung’s attempt at drama in The Bodyguard doesn’t appear to be the best retirement option for the revered action star and director.
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