Cast: Jet Li, Christy Chung, Kent Cheng, Ngai Sing
Year: 1994
Bodyguard from Beijing stars Jet Li as Alan Hoi, an elite bodyguard from mainland China who's assigned to protect Michelle Yeung (Christy Cheung), after she witnesses a murder. Michelle is the spoiled girlfriend of a Hong Kong businessman, and at first she resents the imposition Hoi makes in her lifestyle, and the fumbling, bumbling HK cops are no help either. However, after Hoi saves her from a hit in a shopping mall, moving down a dozen or so mooks in the process, she begins to warm up to him, and mutual attraction naturally follows. However, during the mall battle Hoi kills an assassin who's best friend (Ngai Sing) is also a (much more competent) killer, and this sets the stage for a guns-blazing, kung-fu fighting showdown between the two.
Basically to make a long story short for us americans out there, if you had the chance to see "The Bodyguard " with Kevin Costner and Whitney Houston, then you know what to expect here as well. Li takes a break in this film from his usual kung-fu period films, and the result is only partially successful. You get to see the novelty of Li mixing John-Woo style gunplay with his usual pulse-pounding martial arts action, but the rest of the movie is not particularly outstanding. The performances are tolerable enough, but the story tends to drag and the action comes in big bursts instead of even spaces. What's more, it's hard to feel much sympathy for Michelle or her annoying little brother, and the budding romance between her and Alan is predictable, strained, and lacking in chemistry. Overall a fair film for Jet Li action, but one that ultimately lacks oomph, I rate this about 4 out of 10 stars.