As early as the 1990s, Donnie Yen whirled through numerous modern martial arts classics of the Hong Kong cinema, including “Once Upon A Time in China 2” or “Iron Monkey”, before collecting more and more international fans as a Wing-Chun teacher of the same name in the “IP Man” film series. A large worldwide audience was meanwhile by two Hollywood blockbusters-in which he embodied the blind martial arts master-on the term: as Chirrut îmwe in “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” and as a Cain in “John Wick 4” (who will soon also receive his own spin-off with “John Wick: Cain”). Where he plays along, he lets his fists fly – and so it is not surprising that he was with the original focus of “The Prosecutor“, Who was initially planned as a rather conventional court drama, couldn't really do anything.
But producer Raymond Wong did not give up and for a few months he actually had the Chinese superstar on board as his co-producer, director and leading actor-but on the condition that the orientation of the film turns back on a properly. No sooner said than done: Donnie Yen occupied a few old Hong Kong Action veterans in supporting roles and exchanged some verbally quick-witted dialogue passages against scenes with a genuine hand edge action. This also explains why the craftsmanship staged thriller jumps somewhat undecided between the shattered courtystroom drama and furious choreographed Martial art strips.
Donnie Yen cuts a significantly better figure in the scenes away from the courtroom (and thus without a stupid wig)!
The police officer FOK Chi-Ho (Donnie Yen) cannot hold the acquittal for the head of a gangster gang in court. So he acknowledges the police service, studies law and is assigned his first tricky case seven years later: The young Ma Ka Kit (Ho Yeung Fung) frankly offered his address for the delivery of a package in which cocaine is located. When he is caught by the police, he advises him to defend himself guilty for drug smuggling for drug smuggling.
FOK Chi-Ho can be involved in the deal despite concerns, even if the also accused drug dealer Chan Kwok-Wing (KA-Heil Lam) escapes a punishment. But soon FOK Chi-Ho is discovering that this case is only one of many in which the drug mafia uses the judicial apparatus for its purposes-and therefore decides to proceed against the criminals apart from the court room …
First the morality, then on the face
On a reception, judicial officers praise fast and resource -saving (means: sloppy) legal proceedings in the case of expensive French red wine. And that right and justice are two pairs of shoes, FOK Chi-Ho also makes it clear during the procedure in sometimes pointed, sometimes moral ins acids monologues (and accompanied by pathetic strings), which reliably brings to the displeasure of the crusted judge George Hui (Michael Hui). The screenwriters Pak Wai Lam and Edmond Wong, who already contributed some scripts to the “IP Man” series, are not tired of working out placatively on the grievances in the Hong Kong legal system.
The best way to do this in the scenes outside of the courtroom is, if, for example, the FOK Chi-Ho, who is visiting Ma Ma Kits, is poorly aware of the grandfather, which means a long prison sentence for him and his protégé. However, the former martial arts star Kong Lau (from John Woos Early Work “The Last Struggle of the Shaolin” from 1979), but due to age, only verbally shared verbal with insults and outbreaks of anger.
George Hui (Michael Hui) is a judge of the old school who only wants to have the cases off his table as quickly as possible.
Even if the set did not go smoothly on the set because of language barriers between the film crew and the Japanese stunt team around Takahito ôuchi (“Rurouni Kenshin”), so after delays, the handful of larger action scenes also scored with their originality. With a plenty of raid, the camera changes to the ridge-person perspective for an enormously suddenly sudden operational experience as with a first person shooter. A chase in the city quickly changes to the street battle with motorcycles, in which hockey bats and hollowed -out coconuts have to serve as improvised weapons. If these scenes already convince with perfectly timed action choreography, they are still exceeded by the exciting finale.
Like the title hero in the finale of “John Wick: Chapter 4”, FOK Chi-Ho and his key witness on the way to the court are rushed to a whole arsenal of Au Pak Man's henchmen, which culminates in a brute fight in the subway. At the latest when he starts a dozen evil boy with two hearty sayings on his lips against a giant fighting machine, Donnie Yen shows that he is still well in shape with great manners. And that he gives a much better figure than under a ridiculous wig in the courtroom, in which almost half of the film plays.
Conclusion: The court scenes are noticeably lacking the dynamics with which the handful of handcrafted, clean-staged Martial art scenes are pulling even more. “The Prosecutor” is a genre twitter in which a court drama and tangible Hong Kong action not always standing on the justitias scales side by side.