Review: ‘The Bodyguard from Beijing’ (1994)

THE BODYGUARD FROM BEIJING is a limp Hong Kong remake of the Hollywood stinker THE BODYGUARD (1992) starring Kevin Costner and Whitney Houston. Despite the film’s lousy inspiration, having the great Corey Yuen direct Jet Li seems like a great idea, but as their collaborations on contemporary Hollywood actioners have also shown, it’s more like a guaranteed disappointment.

Li is a Mainland Chinese bodyguard named Hui Ching-yeung who is hired to protect the attractive, yet spoiled Michelle Yeung (Christie Chung), a key witness in a murder trial involving a powerful gangster. Hui is the model of efficiency and professionalism as he coolly dismisses the low-paid goons hired to protect her and puts her in literal house arrest. He wields an arsenal of gadgets from security cameras and bomb detectors to pistols, throwing knives and kung fu (of course). Initially, Michelle can’t stand him until he saves her in a violent attempt on her life by multiple assassins in a shopping mall. Thereafter, she begins making advances on Hui while he and two police officers also assigned to guard duty prepare for an impending attack by lead assassin Wong Kin-kwan (Collin Chou) who has become obsessed with getting revenge on Hui for killing his brother.

I fault the filmmakers for using THE BODYGUARD as a model, but actually the idea of Li as a no-nonsense bodyguard who gets softened up by the lady he’s hired to protect has potential. Li has never been known for being a lady’s man onscreen but with the right direction, it could have been both amusing and engaging. Yet Corey Yuen is not the man for that job. He knows action like the back of his hand, but his attempts at a romantic angle are clumsy and corny. In this film Li ends up in another awkward and failed team-up with a pretty female lead. Admittedly, Christie Chung is still a better match than any of his Hollywood counterparts.

The whole film is pretty underwhelming on every level. The retread story is underdeveloped with little time spent on the man ultimately responsible for ordering all of the death and destruction. Much of the film makes little sense, such as why at least a dozen killers would wait to attack their target in a crowded mall as opposed to using countless more subtle and easier approaches like sniping or explosives.

There is a lot of time invested in Chung’s romantic shift from her rich, but cowardly boyfriend to Li, who never breaks out of his steely persona and thus makes his brief, sexually-charged moments with her dull and his moment of bonding with Kent Cheng pointless.

What’s left is a lot of typical Hong Kong-style gunplay and exaggerated martial arts, particularly with Li and the underappreciated Collin Chou. He’s definitely a worthy screen match for Li and their duel at the end is entertaining as an action set piece with the complication of natural gas being added, but it doesn’t fit the film. What should be a desperate effort to protect Chung turns into another standard revenge story with two characters locked in mortal combat. Also disappointing is that most of the action takes place in one house where Li and Cheung are holed up. It could have been a lot more interesting had the two ended up on the run.

It’s not really related to anything, but I’m not sure what to make of the PATTON-esque end scene of Li standing in front of a waving People’s Republic of China flag as Chung looks on from afar wistfully. Dramatically and aesthetically, it doesn’t make any sense except to remind viewers that Li’s character is a proud Mainlander who won’t be swayed by the wiles of a pretty capitalist. Whatever!

THE BODYGUARD FROM BEIJING has some redeeming value. Li delivers some good action, just not enough martial arts. Chou really stands out. His bayonet killing spree in a morgue is well done and he has great presence, although he’s misused as a two-dimensional killing machine. This is a mildly diverting flick and certainly not Li’s worst. However, it falls well below the standards of his full potential.