Wo de te gong ye ye

This film has shameless copied, borrowed, stole many other foreign films from Korea, The Man from Nowhere (2010), from Belgium, The Memory of A Killer (2003), and Nicholas Cage's 2014 film, Dying of The Light, as well as a rumor in November, 2014 that Al Pacino and Brian De Palma, director of Scarface (1983) would adapt "The Memory of A Killer" into an American version. This Chinese copycatting film is as close as the Nicholas Cage's role in "Dying of The Light", about a CIA agent with dementia, his body functions were staying mostly fine but his brain got Alzheimer's disease. Then heavily borrowed the story from The Man from Nowhere.

Sammo Hung played the guy who was once the palace guard of the Chinese Communist Party in Beijing, he got such disease and deteriorated rapidly after his retirement. The storyline only added some awkward, unrealistic and highly unlikely romance, and the appendix-like sub-plot of Andy Lau's character, father to a young girl, a hopeless compulsory gambler.

The close combat fighting scenes are also heavily borrowed and copied from most of Steven Seagal's action movies, by breaking knuckles, elbows, knees, ankles, neck of all of his opponents, fighting daggers, long or short knives with bare hands and did the most severe body damages to those who unknowingly fighting an unimaginable fighting machine. But the thing is that Sammo Hung is too fat, too old and too bloated to the extreme, making the fighting scenes just looked more like choreographically awkward rehearsals.

The story, the scenario and the plot were just too contrived and stereotyped in rigid Chinese way. It's neither like "The Man from Nowhere" that connected us to the young girl and the mysterious killing machine guy, nor gave us any empathy connection of how sad the guy in "The Memory of A Killer", trying to not being useless and helpless. The Bodyguard only gave me some awkward and impatient numb feelings, completely disconnected. The awkward senior romance in this film only made me feel pathetic and nauseating.

Hiring those once famous Kung-Fu has-beens as supporting roles were also totally unnecessary, only made the whole film more loose and flat.

This is a pathetic patch-up work with a very poor script.

How i decided my rating Sammo Hung - 0.8 Andy Lau - 0.5 Jacqueline Chan - 0.7 Qinqin Li - 0.5 Other cast - 0.5 Story - 0.4 Screensplay - 0.6 Action/Martial Arts - 0.7 Comedy - 0.3 Drama - 0.7 Ending - 0.7 Total - 6.4

If Po from Kung Fu Panda grew old with dementia and lived a lonely life then this is what it would be like. Sammo Hung is a master of kung fu trained in an elite security force living the golden years of his life regretting his biggest mistake.

Befriended by a neighbor whose father is a degenrate gambler unable to pay off his debts and a land lady who wishes to take care of him, Sammo Hungs' character lives his life in mediocrity until he is thrust back into a world of violence.

Heart felt scenes and bone cracking violence(Seriously!! a lot of broken bones!!) make this movie a wholesome entertainer. Sammo Hung does a good job; whereas the plot could have been a little more structured. The shaky camera action gets a bit old towards the end but I enjoyed watching Sammo kick some ass.

The movie was slow at times but is definitely worth watching when you relax and have some tea reminiscing the good old days of martial arts.

My Beloved Bodyguard is the first film Sammo Hung has directed in almost 20 years. Although not one of Hung's classics, this is still streets ahead of what the critical reviews have said.

Originally My Beloved Bodyguard was to star both Hung and Jackie Chan, in the Andy Lau role. The film has obviously went through some rewrites since then, as I can't see Chan playing the type of role that Lau plays here.

The plot of the film steals somewhat from movies like " Man on Fire" and the "Man from Nowhere", with Hung as a retired Civil Servant protecting a young girl. In this case it is local triads, who Lau, the child's father, owes money too.

Some reviews have complained about the lack of action in the movie. Must having been watching something else, as there are a number of good action/fight scenes in the movie. There's an excellent chase sequence with Lau and a number of gangsters, that is only let down by being a bit short, then a fight between Sammo and some thugs who come to his house. Then there is the extended finale, with Hung taking on a group of gangsters. Unlike the comedic fights Hung used to take part in, this is just brutal, with multiple limbs being broken.

The film has been harmed somewhat by its advertising campaign which shows the actors, some of which are legends like Yuen Biao & Yuen Wah, that appear in the movie in action poses. Unfortunately most of the actors on the posters only appear in the film in limited cameos, which is a shame. This isn't a fault of the film, as i'm sure Sammo had nothing to do with the advertising.

On the performance side, Sammo is his usual self. His fans won't be disappointed. Lau is also good, in the only other lead role of the film. Only Lau could turn a somewhat waste of space, into a likable character. Lau also acts as the films producer.

On the directing side, Sammo shows his skill behind the camera, and although his action scenes are more edited that in the past, his choreography still shines through. Only drawback is his overuse of a blurry slow-mo effect which can be somewhat distracting.

If you are a fan of Hong Kong cinema and/or Sammo Hung, I would definitely recommend "My Beloved Bodyguard".

(2016) My Beloved Bodyguard (In Chinese with English subtitles) DRAMA ACTION

"The Bodyguard" as the movie is referring to is Sammo Hung Kam Bo, as he plays a retired Central Security Bureau, as he bonds with a young girl often neglected by her father, Li Zheng Jiu played by Andy Lau. He becomes her bodyguard as her father gets himself involved in both Chinese and Russian gangsters, regarding a debt and a stolen bag of jewels and money. Upon watching it on rental was able to cut through some of the sappy parts as opposed to watching it on theater. Tsui Hark director of "Time and Tide", Dean Shek of "A Better Tomorrow II" to Karl Maka of "Aces Go Places" series make small cameos.

It's nice to see some of known Hong Kong favorites still finding work, and although those were small parts, it is still nice to see them alive and still acting. As the Hong Kong industry is not what it used to be.

Vastly underrated, this is a gem. Sammo Hung in great form both as an actor (playing dementia so well) and in the brutal fight scenes. Great supporting actors, especially Andy Lau and the child. Loved the scenes of Chinese life (slightly idealised of course) and the gangsters. Nothing I didn't like really and kept my attention. The understated romance sub plot was sweet and T Hark ina bit part was just funny. Well worth watching .