Donnie Yen directs and stars in a true story about a man innocently imprisoned and the plucky prosecutor who defies institutional corruption and the mafia to prove his innocence.
★★★☆☆
Since the 1970s, there’s always been a huge Eastern martial arts movie star. First it was Bruce Lee, in the 80s it was Jackie Chan, in the 90s Jet Li, and in the late 00s/early 10s we had Donnie Yen. No one has stepped up to the plate for our current decade, so Yen, now in his 60s, is still holding the mantle—and is still creating some of the finest fight choreography of recent years. He also seems to be using some kind of anti-ageing serum, because he easily passes for someone over 20 years younger.
In The Prosecutor, Fok Chi Ho (Donnie Yen) is a police detective frustrated that the criminals he is arresting keep being found ‘not guilty’, so he trains and becomes a prosecuting lawyer. Now on his first case, Fok prosecutes a young man accused of trafficking drugs, but finds that things aren’t what they seem. Whilst in contact with his police friends, Fok uncovers a corruption link between the drug mafia and the lead prosecutor at the Department of Justice. Taking matters into his own hands, he endeavours to prove the innocence of the man he has imprisoned—even if that means putting his own life on the line.
The Prosecutor benefits significantly from the presence of Ip Man writer Edmond Wong, who creates a character as interesting as any that Yen has played before. He also prevents the long stretches of the film explaining the Hong Kong judicial system from becoming too dull. The courtroom aspect covers around 75% of the film, and after a while, the legalese-laden back and forth between the lawyer and the judge does get a little tiring, especially during the second act. However, the fantastic fight scenes that are peppered throughout make this film engaging and thrilling, with highlights including an innovative opening police bust and an epic climactic fight on a train. In these moments, you can tell why Yen is such an international star: the choreography is fantastic. Sequences rival anything achieved in the John Wick series, and there are moments where you genuinely don’t know how they’ve pulled it off so seamlessly. If the film had been more of the violence and less of the court, it could’ve risen to even higher heights.
Visually, there are a number of unexpected shot choices throughout. In the opening fight scene, the camera snaps between more conventional camerawork and an incredible shot from Yen’s perspective, for no reason other than looking extremely cool. The orchestral music works well to motivate the scenes, and the sound design adds that extra layer of oomph to the punches thrown.
The Verdict
Donnie Yen’s action set pieces elevate this film above a dull courtroom drama. But even with the heavy legal exposition, Fok Chi Ho is a well-written enough character to justify an entire Prosecutor trilogy.
Words by Jordon Searle
The Prosecutor is available on digital platforms from 16 June and on Blu-ray from 23 June.
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