Bulletproof Monk

Another action-comedy clone in the now-formulaic genre that pairs mystical Eastern martial artists with wisecracking Western sidekicks, Bulletproof Monk squanders what little entertainment value it might have had by telling its story through bargain CGI effects, incomprehensibly edited fight scenes, and cardboard characters. Hong Kong shoot-'em-up legend Chow Yun-Fat (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) is a supernaturally lissome Tibetan holy man charged with protecting an ancient scroll of powerful mystical text. Sneer-smirking Seann William Scott (Stifler in the American Pie movies) is the Chosen One that Chow must train to take his place. Together they battle a decrepit ex-Nazi bent on restoring his youth and taking over the world with the power of the scrolls. As if the plot isn't bad enough, the movie's ho-hum martial arts scenes (complete with weak combatant quips like, "You know, this is getting very annoying") are obviously under-choreographed and over-cut to mask the fact that nobody but Chow can fight properly. First-time director Paul Hunter seems to be working from some dry, do-it-yourself, culture-clash martial-arts movie textbook, and the assignment he's turned in is worth a C- at best. Not a necessary purchase. [Note: DVD extras include two audio commentaries (one by director Paul Hunter and producers Charles Roven and Douglas Segal; the other by writers Ethan Reiff and Cyrus Voris), five “The Tao of Monk” featurettes (55 min.), the six-minute “The Monk Unrobed” behind-the-scenes featurette, five deleted scenes with optional commentary by editor Robert K. Lambert (12 min.), a five-minute alternate ending with optional commentary by Lambert, a behind-the-scenes photo gallery, and trailers. Bottom line: a handsome extras package for a so-so film.] (R. Blackwelder)