In
Bulletproof Monk, directed by Paul Hunter from an adapted
comic book story, Strucker, a Nazi commander (played by
Kael Roden) storms Llasa with a squad of SS soldiers in
1943 to gain possession of a scroll from a Buddhist temple.
The Scroll of the Ultimate contains secrets of how to control
the planet, though the secrets could be used for good or
bad purposes, so the guardian of the scroll has the task
of preventing anyone from acquiring the scroll until world
enlightenment and peace first emerge. On that same day,
the Master Monk (played by Roger Yuan) who guarded the
scroll from 1903 passes on to a younger monk (played by
Chow Yun Fat) the responsibility for keeping the scroll
safe; at the same time, the new monk gives up his name.
The retiring monk strolls out of the temple to enjoy a
well-deserved vacation, only to be shot dead by the Nazis.
Well trained in Chinese martial arts, the Master Monk's
successor triumphs over the Nazis and is immune to a bullet
shot directly to his heart. The scene then shifts to 2003.
The Bulletproof Monk is in New York, presumably searching
for his successor. He is an illegal alien, since he could
not have entered the United States without first obtaining
a passport and visa containing his name. He has been miraculously
rescuing people from death, thereby provoking a manhunt
for him. At the same time, pickpocket Kar (played by Seann
Willliam Scott instead of the more obvious match, Owen
Wilson) runs to evade capture by police. They meet on the
run and together pry a child loose from subway tracks in
the nick of time. Kar somehow has gained knowledge of martial
arts from viewing kungfu films in a cinema where he is
projectionist, as the Bulletproof Monk learns while observing
Kar fight his way out of capture by a gang in the subway.
In time, with the aid of circumstances and the cultural
wisdom of the Bulletproof Monk, the two bond. However,
the aging Nazi is now in New York, still in pursuit of
the scroll. Kar and the Bulletproof Monk defeat the Nazi
in due course, though the scenes of combat are preposterously
rigged by wires attached to the fighters. The Bulletproof
Monk now passes on the guardianship of the scroll to the
unlikely Kar, having instructed him more in the philosophy
and techniques of Chinese martial arts than of the importance
of the scroll. After forty years, the Bulletproof Monk
goes on vacation, but without immediately dying, thus leaving
open the possibility of a Bulletproof Monk II, since Kar
(who will now have no name) is obviously a screwup. World
enlightenment and peace will have to wait. MH
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