Movie #29 - Bulletproof Monk

I've just received a new round of movies from DVD Sam.  He told me they were all fairly serious, except for Bulletproof Monk.  I got the impression it was meant to be a comedy.  I was disappointed.

Not just disappointed in its comedic value, but in the whole movie.  It was so predictable and cliched.  Typical fight movie.  Typical diamond-in-the-rough movie.

Some of the many cliches:
Little kid witnessing fighting at the beginning plays a crucial role 60 years on.
Token female for romantic subplot which they try to turn into something just as important as main plot.
Thief turns out to have a heart of gold.
The unlikely and reluctant hero - the thief, the pickpocket, the loser who doesn't want any greatness is the 'chosen one' who fulfills the prophecies.  He, of course, tries to resist.  His worthiness is also questioned by many.

There are so many other movies which do this sort of story so much better.  If this was my first diamond-in-the-rough movie I would no doubt be super impressed with the message that anyone can be a hero, we shouldn't accept appearances as a mark of the inner worth of a human.  But it's not my first, so I wasn't impressed with the rather unsubtle approach.  So unimpressed, in fact, that I did a blog post and had an sms conversation with someone while watching it.  There were only 2 good quotes.  "Every man's life concerns every other man" (I think if more people remembered this before thinking and acting the world would be a better place), and "Rich manure can fertilise fields which will feed millions" (in response to 'really? I think he's full of shit' - there's so much we ignore, we just take what we want at face value).  But that's it.  So, if you like fight movies, or you're addicted to movies involving unlikely heroes, watch it, but otherwise...