Bodyguard: A New Beginning (2008)

User Rating:

4.9/10   

Director:

Chee Keong Cheung

Writers:

Chee Keong Cheung (writer)
Oliver Morran (writer)

Genre:

Action | Drama

Plot:

'A New Beginning' focuses around the story of Leung, the bodyguard of a Chinese Triad boss, Wong, to whom his loyalty is unrivaled...

Cast

Vincent Sze	...	Leung
Richard Ng	...	Wong
Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa	...	Kai
Carl Ng	...	Yuen
Stephanie Langton	...	Chloe
Mark Strange	...	Assassin Brother Alex
Nathan Lewis	...	Assassin Brother Chad
Fui-On Shing	...	Hui
Sophie Linfield	...	Sarah
Brandon Rhea	...	Drunken businessman fighter
Mike Leeder	...	Kurtz
Digger Mesch	...	Mendez
Ian Powers	...	Cole
Yuri Ting	...	Ramirez
Jacob J Ziacan	...	Gangster John Kreese

MPAA:

Rated R for violence including a brief sexual assault, and language.

Runtime:

UK:95 min (approx)

Country:

UK

Language:

English | Cantonese

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Certification:

USA:R | Singapore:NC-16 | New Zealand:R16

Filming Locations:

Hong Kong, China

Company:

Intense Productions

Trivia:

The film's assassin brothers Chad & Alex, played by Mark Strange and Nathan Lewis are named in homage to the very different "twin brothers" of Double Impact (1991). While "Double Impact" saw Jean-Claude Van Damme adopting different hairstyles and dress sense to play the twin brothers, "The Bodyguard A New Begining" takes it a little further by having two actors from different races play the non-identical twins.

Soundtrack:

Do You Like Chinese

Not the routine action movie you might expect

Director Chee Keong Cheung's strengths and weaknesses as a filmmaker are as evident in Bodyguard: A New Beginning (2008) as they were in his debut Underground (2007). Both are ambitious, ensemble films blending melodrama and martial arts action, as lavishly filmed as their budgets allowed. Cheung clearly has the best eye of all the directors of independent British action films but has yet to master his craft. While the characterisation and plotting are more coherent than in Underground a lack of focus is still apparent. Vincent Sze is ostensibly the lead, but he's largely silent and fails to make much of an impression. He's not presented as the next Jet Li as one expects. Instead it is experienced co-star Richard Ng who effortlessly emerges as the real star. Shot partly in Hong Kong and featuring Hollywood villain Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Bodyguard is a distinctive if not wholly successful film that's well worth seeking out.