Bodyguard: A New Beginning

'Bodyguard: A New Beginning' focuses around the story of Leung, the bodyguard of a Chinese Triad boss, Wong, to whom his loyalty is unrivaled. Living in Hong Kong, Wong requests that his bodyguard travel to the UK to protect a young British woman, whose true identity is known only by Wong himself. Even his own errant son, Yuen, is kept in the dark, which leads to a betrayal that threatens to destroy the family and all that his father has worked hard to protect.

This energetic piece of low budget film-making highlights some of the best components of gritty British film-making with a heavy dose of Hong Kong style action and attitude. To top it off, the film features an all-star cast, incorporating the talents of both iconic veterans and rising stars – all working under the watchful eye of a bold and multi-talented young director! Leung (Vincent Sze) is the loyal bodyguard of Wong (Richard Ng), the boss of a powerful Hong Kong Triad. Amidst growing tension between Wong and Kai (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa), the vicious head of a rival family, Leung is sent to the UK to protect a British woman whose identity is known only to Wong. As the Triad war in Hong Kong spills out into the streets, Kai, working with Wong's treacherous son Yuen (Carl Ng), sends enforcers to the UK to kidnap the mysterious woman Leung is protecting.

After Leung finds her, the pair struggle to evade Kai's ever-growing army of thugs on the streets of London. Meanwhile in Hong Kong, Wong desperately tries to keep his organisation intact as the business' foundations are weakened by his son's disloyalty and Kai's relentless pursuit for Wong's territory. A final confrontation in Hong Kong will bring about an end to the carnage, but at a price none of them could have predicted.

Following his previous work in Underground, director Cheung Chee Keong proves once again he is one of the most skilled, technically capable young independent action-film directors working in the UK today. Capturing a dark, unsettling tone of drama and a fast paced, brutal and stylish flair for the action sequences, the film treads new ground and blends multi-genre conventions.

Shot neck-deep in the urban metropolis of both London and Hong Kong, the visual style benefits from the diverse range of settings and captures a unique, visceral energy that could never be achieved filming in a studio. Although the story doesn't necessarily present anything new, there are enough innovative ingredients incorporated into the mix to deliver something fresh and exciting for both old-school and aspiring fans of Asian and action cinema.

In addition to the sights and sounds of the locations, the cities are captured in an honest, almost homely light, perhaps an indicator of the director's sentiment towards London and Hong Kong (Cheung was born and bred in England while his folks are from Hong Kong) - despite the obvious inclusion of the criminal underworld who exists there. For residents of either city, many locations will be familiar and instantly recognizable, making the action appear all the more real and immersive.

With a variety of athletic, acrobatic movements and brutal, close-quarters fighting, the action offers plenty of variety, courtesy of action directors Anthony Carpio and Chan Man Ching. To top off the high calibre actors in the film, the physical stars are equally impressive and serve up a nice variety of loathsome villains and noble heroes. Mark Strange makes a particularly intimidating villain, and seamlessly embodies the image of a human wrecking ball, relentlessly pursuing Vincent Sze with monstrous attacks and thunderous force.

One of the strongest elements of the film can be seen in the wonderful range of actors, representing a crossover between different generations of Hong Kong stardom. Richard Ng is far removed from his comedy persona made famous in the Lucky Stars series and shows his range as a great character actor. Portraying Wong, he is both humble and, when he needs to be, incredibly ruthless and aggressive.

In all, the movie offers up a wide range of stars stepping into characters outside normal typecasting. This elevates the story beyond expectation and injects a new, character-driven quality of drama into the action and gangster themes.

Veteran actor, the late, great Shing Fui-On, even features in a cameo role, further evidence of the possible homage to good old fashioned Hong Kong gangster movie-making. Certainly one of the most appealing points of the movie is the range of stars appearing together on screen – a real achievement in casting this many talented, high profile actors in a single project.

Bodyguard is a great achievement as a low-budget piece of multi-national action cinema, breaking new boundaries while still managing to deliver traditional conventions for genre purists. It is seeing these traits; veteran actors and rising stars, or classical stories with fast-paced film-making, that gives the film its integral character and identity. Cheung Chee Keong is reinventing British action cinema as we speak and, trust me, you don't want to miss out.

I'm a bit fan of H.K. flicks so i was glad to finally catch this one...

This action film starts off both cheesy and British...two bad guys pass a photo to each other of a girl comically not knowing who she is, nice well shot scenery of Hong Kong and London. and a main star who doesn't talk much in fact he doesn't speak English. lots of scenes that don't make any sense- a guy raping a girl then smelling his fingers after-wards as if he just wiped his hand on his bum.

Finally Richard Ng as the bad guy...he did a decent job.

It's great cheesy entertainment from start to finish and has a chef that sounds like Johnny Vegas... The dialog has no subtext - witness two hoodlums asking Johnny the chef: 'I need to know where this girl is' ...then beating him up before hes even had the chance to answer...so far so cheese..a girl who finds out the bodyguard speaks English several scenes into the movie..Karl Ng and Kari Tanagowa are in a scene wearing the same clothes drinking wine....then much later...appear with the same clothes again- drinking the same glass of wine....

Lots of British martial arts war-cry and wisps of trouser-legs flying martial arts as too many blokes in suits standing around doing the cool gangster pose look. It's bizarre. Almost like lots of set-pieces stuck together in no particular order.

A bit like this review. Comical use of jump cuts - bodyguard sitting on edge of bed asking what girl wants, hes here to protect her, girl kisses him from the left, suddenly cut to bodyguard under sheets in bed on the left, girl on top - jarring and funny.Then immediately after-wards, after sleeping with her tells her 'it was a mistake..' h'm...

It improves a little when Kari's men are assassinated,and has some kind of godfather vibe to it with the gangs getting revenge on each other... then there's a bit where the British northern accents shine through as a northern hit-man who looks like Will Ferrell gets strangled by Kari where his daughter is killed which was quite dramatic and well done.

Until we get to the scene where Richard Ng admits the girl he kidnapped was his fault. brilliantly cheesy..mind you the scenes are quite well put together and i have to say i wasn't bored throughout it, as it flows quite nicely after the 70minute mark, and actually i have to say quite gripping towards the end.

Y'know what - it's pretty decent and some nice shots. On the whole, the action is a bit artificially shot, but the director has some promise, with nicely edits shots of people fighting amidst soft emotional scenes of an old man passing away...but less cheese please next time. Good effort though. 6/10 .

Director Chee Keong Cheung's strengths and weaknesses as a filmmaker are as evident in Bodyguard: A New Beginning (2008) as they were in his debut Underground (2007). Both are ambitious, ensemble films blending melodrama and martial arts action, as lavishly filmed as their budgets allowed. Cheung clearly has the best eye of all the directors of independent British action films but has yet to master his craft. While the characterisation and plotting are more coherent than in Underground a lack of focus is still apparent. Vincent Sze is ostensibly the lead, but he's largely silent and fails to make much of an impression. He's not presented as the next Jet Li as one expects. Instead it is experienced co-star Richard Ng who effortlessly emerges as the real star. Shot partly in Hong Kong and featuring Hollywood villain Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Bodyguard is a distinctive if not wholly successful film that's well worth seeking out.

The reviewer clearly works for the film company that produced this garbage. I was going to refer to it as a 'B' movie but that would be an insult to the many 'B' movies that have entertained millions of people over the years !

I do not know why, but I expected more from this movie. This movie was completely and utterly forgettable...I wish I could be more specific, but other than the title there was noting to brag about in this movie. in fact it took me 3 tries to get through this movie I fell asleep twice

The story could have been great but between the acting and the action it was nothing to write home about. This movie almost makes me never want to see the first one again. I think my recommendation is for you to watch the first one twice and skip watching this one. Sorry folks I can only add that my Popcorn was yummy and my soda was ice cold and perfect.