The Bodyguard from Beijing – Review

An explosive scene opens the film as Allan Hui Ching-yeung (Li) races to protect his subject, who is under attack in a swimming pool. Slews of bodyguards surround their man while attackers swarm from all angles. This sneak attack will not succeed if Allan has anything to say about it. His lightning reflexes save the day; however, his tactics are questioned by leadership. A bodyguard cannot make even one mistake…

As an accountant was murdered by a suspect of a criminal organization, the Yik Fai Group, the motive is related to a case that the Anti-Corruption Unit is working on involving insider trading. This accountant was strangled on a yacht, however there were three witnesses. A sailor who was suddenly killed later in an elevator” accident,” a security guard who was blown up in an unexpected explosion, and a beautiful woman named Christy Chung (Yeung) who escaped getting into her electrified bathtub, and is still alive.

Chung is the girlfriend of a rich businessman James Song Sai-cheung (Wai-kwok), who hires Allan for protection duty for his lady. She will testify in a few weeks’ time, and he needs her safe. She will remain at home, so that she be comfortable and monitored. Joining Allan is goofball gambler cop Sergeant Leung Kam-Po, or Fat Po (Cheng), and Keung (Leung).

Will the men be able to keep Christy alive until she can testify, or will their personalities all get in the way? What about if her testifying date is delayed? How will the serious Allan handle this woman, who gets on his nerves? Can Fat Po keep his gambling in check, or will he go off the rails?

While the story may be a tad lackluster, Jet Li’s action scenes are pretty fantastic and he does some impressive stuff, per usual. He moves with such speed and grace that it’s hard not to be impressed by his motions. The film moves between serious and outright goofy at times, but mostly I found its vibe tolerable. I like Li and he was good in this per usual, but the comedic moments may throw some viewers off.

Overall, this was well done, and contains a solid setup. The offbeat moments create a less serious atmosphere than the story deserved, but this was an attempt to blend action, comedy and romance, which can be a hard line to walk. As long as you can handle some goofiness, this will be an okay time. It is well shot with good stunts, which mostly are the star of the show.