Although he keeps threatening to retire, Donnie Yen is back with another well-executed, instantly disposable action thriller. Yen is just about the last old-school action star still putting out product like this: bright, flashy, paper-thin entertainment that walks a tightrope between defending Hong Kong and recognizing its weakened state.
As cop Fok Chi-ho, Yen quits the police force because crooks keep using legal loopholes to escape convictions. He studies seven years to get a law degree and joins the Department of Justice, only to learn that corruption is pervasive. Bucking his bosses, he investigates a drug ring with ties to top government officials.
If this sounds like any Hong Kong police thriller, The Prosecutor plays like one too. That’s not necessarily a criticism. The film reverts to genre tropes at every opportunity. Cops are hardworking but undermined by foolish regulations. Lawyers are stalwart except when they’ve been co-opted by crooks. Gangsters can’t resist superyachts, cigars, loud clothes, and gratuitous violence.
In that framework it’s tough to grapple seriously with real-life legal issues. On the other hand, it’s a perfect delivery system for action scenes, which is the real point behind The Prosecutor.
Yen and his stunt team have mastered absurdly intricate action with what looks like a minimum of wire work or special effects. You shouldn’t be the least bit surprised that the investigation involves several complex fights.
One takes place in an alley: cops against thugs on motorbikes. This one’s more a showcase for MC Cheung Tin-fu, playing Yen’s former police colleague, with some outstanding stunts in and around a panel truck.
A fight at a rooftop nightclub uses fire extinguishers as a way to get Yen out of a dead-end situation that should have left him dead. It’s followed by an excellent chase and fight in a multilevel parking lot. Echoes of John Woo’s The Killer with some parkour thrown in.
The final action sequence is Yen’s take on a close quarters fight popular in films like Shang Chi and Don Lee’s third Roundup entry. Yen’s takes place in a subway car against an array of increasingly dangerous foes. It’s hard-hitting and almost credible, with striking visual flourishes.
The Prosecutor suffers from poor writing and Yen’s excesses as a director (notably too many drone shots and some pointed metaphors). To his credit, Yen also includes a couple of well-staged courtroom scenes that pretend to take controversial stances without ruffling any censors.
If you’re a fan of old-fashioned Hong Kong action, weak plotting is okay as long as the action works. That’s where Yen excels. Forty years into his film career, he’s still beating the competition.
Credits: Directed by Donnie Yen. Written by Edmond Wong. Produced by Yen, Raymond Wong. Director of photography: Noah Wong. Edited by La ka-wing. Cast: Donnie Yen, Julian Cheung, Michael Hui, Francis Ng, MC Cheung Tin-fu, Kent Cheng, Shirley Chan, Sisley Choi.
Photo courtesy WellGo USA Entertainment.
Released theatrically in North America by WellGo USA Entertainment.
