The Bodyguard from Beijing

Customer Reviews:

not worth buying.......2007-03-17

I saw this movie when I was little and liked it, and I have always been a Jet Li fan. When I received the dvd I was looking forward to watching it. The quality is horrible!! It was just dubbed from vhs and it is kind of blurry. Wish i did not purchase this.

Not too Bad .......2006-05-08

This movie was made in Hong Kong, starring Jet Li, directed by Corey Yuen. Although it is not Jet Li's best, it is nevertheless worth watching.

The bodyguard (Jet Li) is assigned to protect the rich Christy Cheung, the only remaining witness to a murder case (the other two witnesses were killed weeks before the trial). At first, they don't get along, largely due to the stiff bodyguard violating her privacy, installing security cameras not only throughout the house but also her bedroom. However, a romantic relationship develops after she violates security procedures and goes shopping, only to be saved from being narrowly killed by several assassins, due to the first rate fighting skills of the bodyguard.

The movie starts slowly but it builds up to excellent martial arts towards the end. The major disappointment is that the producers forgot that this was supposed to be a martial arts movie and introduced guns unnecessarily, which spoils the action. The action is not as much as I would have wished. However, the fight, towards the end is first rate, particularly when Jet Li fights Ken Lo (Jackie Chan).

However, for those who like guns and also like martial arts, then this movie will excite you.

last reviewer was right, I didn't like it because I need more fight scenes........2006-03-07

that's not all, the story is really, really bad in this one. My god, who thought butcher wing from OUATIC could be a worse actor than Andrew Dice Clay. The dubbing is of course the exact same from swordsman 2, twin warriors, etc., so that certainly didn't help this out.

HK take on Hollywood's The Bodyguard pleases.......2002-09-01

Jet Li portrays John Chang, a mainland Chinese bodyguard trained by the military to be the best and latest word in protection. After using a controversial technique in a training exercise, he is diverted from taking a coveted assignment with his comrades. Instead he is sent to Hong Kong to protect a young woman, Michelle, who is the only surviving witness to a murder. Michelle is the mistress of a wealthy man, who spares no expense at protecting her life after two other witnesses are murdered by the triad leader suspect's gang.

Li's John Chang is all business, a repressed, grim faced young man who has one objective: to protect his client, even at the cost of his own life. His vibrant charge soon finds his protective restrictions stifling and she sets about making life as difficult as possible for the man charged to protect her. It is not until an attempt is made upon her life in a shopping mall she has stubbornly insisted on visiting, that she begins to appreciate her no nonsense guardian.

Soon, appreciation leads to infatuation, and Michelle turns the full force of her romantic charms on the unsuspecting and emotionally ill-equipped Chang. She buys him fancy clothes, an expensive watch, finding herself increasingly dissatisfied and impatient with her rich but milquetoast boyfriend. The romantic tension is almost too much for Chang, who finds himself uncharacteristically unable to concentrate on his work as her protector.

The gang charged with her annihilation is now led by the brother of one of the gang killed at the shopping mall shootout. He is intent on revenging his brother by killing John. Taking advantage of Chang's distraction, he and his crew launch an attack on Michelles seemingly impregnable home which initiates the film's final showdown.

Jet Li's martial arts skills take a back seat to gunplay and suspense until the climax of the film. Li's wushu talents are on full display as he engages in hand to hand combat with his foe. Intent on not repeating his mistake from the opening training exercise, Chang must now show a willingness to die for his client.

Amazon.com

Hong Kong martial arts master Jet Li plays a bodyguard from the Beijing 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, complete with video cameras surveying every room, even her bedroom. Furious, Chung resists his efforts to protect her--until the threat to her life is made abundantly clear in a spectacular shopping mall shootout. As is natural under such circumstances, romance begins to bloom, much to the dismay of Chung's lawyer boyfriend, who hired Li in the first place. Made in the last few years before the British province of Hong Kong was returned to the rule of mainland China, The Bodyguard from Beijing makes many (possibly anxious) jokes about the differences between the austere Communist bodyguard and the lackadaisical H.K. police. Li's character is so consistently stone-faced that his usual boyish charm is repressed, and the movie emphasizes gunplay over acrobatic kung fu action, but there are still kicks galore and the usual Hong Kong combination of spectacular violence and outrageous sentimentality--all captured in stylish, glossy cinematography. And how often do you get to see venetian blinds used as an offensive weapon? --Bret Fetzer

Customer Reviews:

Poor vid quality but has Excellent eng subs.......2007-05-15

the eng dubbed version i find kindna cheesy, so i'm glad i purchased the original version. although the video quality is poor (Average) and the eng sub (harddubbed) is hard to read, quality of the eng sub is excellent; that's what I always look for - good to excell eng subs. i wish/hope that in the near future the producers can optimize this movie with better vid quality and same quality eng subs (not eng dubbed, that is). also, yes, i highly recommend this movie to any jet li fan/collector.

fantastic jet li movie, though a bit cheesy.......2006-11-18

The Defender is perhaps one of Jet Li's more different and original of all his HK made films. The movie relies on a pretty good story filled with multiple aspects of conflict and suspense, rather than a lot of action. The lesser amount of action never phased me because I thought the movie does well without it. Thats not to say there isn't any, just not as much as most of Jet Li's movies. Fortunately, if you can't help but desire a good fight, the finale of the movie presents one of Jet Li's better fights scenes I have ever scene, a fight of originailty etched with emotion.

There are a few set backs from getting a 5 star rating. The English dubbing, as always, gives the movie a cheesy feel sometimes and makes the acting seem a little week. Aside from the dubbing, there are some moments in the movie that are a bit cheesy. Jet Li's character and the woman he is ordered to protect endure continuous scenes of tension that are great to watch, since he takes his work seriously and she has a rich boyfriend who has hired the bodyguard. Though entertaining and suspenseful moments arise from these two, they also present the cheesy moments, especially the ending of the film.

The Defender is a great addition to anyone who loves Jet Li movies. I'd have to say this is one of his better ones overall. Great story filled with suspense, and a wonderful final fight scene that is amongst the best. If you are looking for movie filled with action throughout, it may not please, but this is a good all-around film, giving more than most martial art films would.

"What a Bodygaurd!!!".......2006-05-08

Okay, Not Great.......2006-02-23

I'm a big fan of Hong Kong action movies, but Bodyguard from Beijing was merely okay. Jet Li stars as a doughty tough bodyguard from the mainland hired to protect a spoiled rich girl from Hong Kong. Sparks fly when he tries to restrict her movements and jet-setting lifestyle. The two eventually fall in love, despite the fact that his new girlfriend is already the mistress of a wealthy man.

I liked the film, but didn't find it anything to shout about. The girl's nephew Billy was way irritating. Jet Li was handsome and there were some great martial arts feats but this DVD was nothing to write home about. 3 stars. Average.

Jet Li is way out of Christy Chung league.......2005-08-08

After Christy Chung wittness a mob killing she needs protection 24/7. Jet Li a secret agent is sent to protect her at all cause. Her house has nothing but hidden cams to watch for bad guys. At first Christy didn't want Jet Li's help and start giving him a hard time until she was being chased in a mall by the mob tring to kill her. Lucky for Li he kill all of them and saved her. Now she is starting to appericate him and tring to get to know him even be his lover. But it's good for Jet Li to blow her off cause she should of gave him a chance at first. She thought she was too good for him so served that Bi*ch right.

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