The Prosecutor

Donnie Yen is truly one of the greatest box office draws in the world. His contributions to martial arts and action films is immeasurable. His star status transcends continents, language, and generations. In his latest film release his skills as both a dramatic actor and martial arts action hero are on full display. This film is based upon unbelievable real events.

The Prosecutor is unique in that it could have easily been done as a courtroom drama or a martial arts action film. However, the filmmakers, Yen included, decided to combine the two to make a courtroom drama that is also a martial arts action film. This highly risky gamble really paid dividends in the final result; this film is fantastic.

Yen plays the lead character; a police officer turned Prosecutor whose overarching tenant is Justice, not a mere conviction for political sake. He goes against the establishment in his pursuit of justice for a young man wrongfully convicted to a twenty (27) year sentence for drug trafficking.

The story not only puts him at odds with his own Department, whose characters are adeptly played by the Kent Cheng and Francis Ng, but also with the real drug traffickers he is looking to uncover.

Yen is also the Director on this one and he does a very good job balancing the drama inside the courtroom with the high flying, gritty, martial arts action that takes place in the police chase scenes, and the other fight scenes that The Prosecutor has no shortage of. The courtroom scenes are as good as any courtroom drama films or television productions you will see. Julian Cheung's performance in this film is also notable.

The martial arts fight choreography in this film are first rate. Yen has made a career of consistently innovating and reaching new heights of action choreography in his films. The unique and visually stunning fight scenes in this film make for a highly watchable martial arts action film. Yen never rests on the body of work that has catapulted him to stardom. The fight sequences in The Prosecutor are memorable. The climactic scene on the train is an homage to Sean Connery's From Russia With Love, and it is spectacular.

This international martial action drama is distributed by Well Go USA and is in Cantonese with English subtitles.

The film uniquely respects the two very different genres it lives in and the viewer is winner in this successful merger. We highly recommend The Prosecutor as a great way to start the New Year.

The Prosecutor is a legal crime action thriller directed by and starring Donnie Yen, reteaming with Ip Man producer Raymond Wong, and features a star-studded ensemble cast.

While it is not on par with the iconic status of the Ip Man film series, it is a modern Ip Man in spirit: Donnie Yen beating justice into a lawless world. Different robes, same job!

In its promotional trailer, it was baffling to see Donnie Yen, presumably the prosecutor in the title, holding a revolver running through a subway car like a police officer.

How would the story explain his fighting abilities and gun training? It's embarrassing to admit, but this ridiculous little hairball intrigued me for a month leading up to the film's release.

After a violent drug bust gone wrong, police officer Fok Chi-ho is disappointed with the criminal system, and quits the police force to become a government prosecutor...The answer I was looking for!

It was this precise moment ten minutes into the film, my expectations were firmly set. There was no use thinking how long it would take for a career policeman to quit, attend law school, and switch immediately to being a government prosecutor. Nor would I think about whether the film will portray the court of law authentically. It's not that kind of movie.

Under this mindset, The Prosecutor is an action-packed and entertaining popcorn film that's worth seeing once.

The ensemble cast, including Michael Hui, Francis Ng, Ray Lui, Julian Cheng, Kent Cheng and Lau Kong provide great support and keep the dramatic scenes engaging. There wasn't any feeling of waiting for the dialogue scenes to end so the fights can commence.

In fact, Francis Ng steals the movie in a hilarious reportedly-improvised scene where he openly challenges Donnie Yen to a fistfight, which was so close to a fourth wall break (whio challenges Donnie Yen in a movie?) that it had me cackling for a whole minute.

Julian Cheng completely morphs as the refined salt-and-pepper-haired businessman villain, a role that would normally played by Michael Wong. Cheng stands out, but falls short of being awards worthy.

The action choreography by Donnie Yen's Stunt Team, is noticeably more audience-friendly and less brutal than Yen's past MMA-themed films, like SPL, Flashpoint and Special ID.

In the past, Donnie Yen's priorities as star and fight choreographer were set on showcasing martial arts authentically. Whether it was police, wuxia or comic book action, he strived to deliver a sense of martial arts realism, notably power.

I see a maturation in Donnie Yen in The Prosecutor.

The Prosecutor felt like a culmination of Donnie Yen's filmmaking experience being applied in full as a director, with Raymond Wong supplying him all the proper resources.

This time, Yen is working with cast and crew he's familiar with and integrating the drama and action together to deliver a solid movie, and not just a movie with great fight scenes.

The Prosecutor, directed by the talented Donnie Yen, is an intense Hong Kong action thriller based on a true story from 2016. It follows Ma Ka-kit (Mason Fung), a young guy who gets wrongfully accused of drug smuggling after he rents out his address for some extra cash.

The cast is fantastic, with Donnie Yen taking the lead as Fok Chi-ho, a former narcotics detective who becomes a public prosecutor. Fok's relentless pursuit of justice for Ma is both motivating and gripping as he navigates the tricky waters of the Department of Justice, guided by his mentor Bao Ding (Kent Cheng) and chief prosecutor Yeung Dit-lap (Francis Ng).

Edmond Wong's brilliant screenplay, paired with Donnie Yen's direction and production, creates a suspenseful vibe that keeps you on the edge of your seat. The film dives into the corruption within the legal system and the struggle for justice, making it both thought-provoking and emotionally impactful.

The supporting cast, featuring Shirley Chan as defense attorney Li Sze-man and Julian Cheung as legal executive Au Pak-man, brings depth to the narrative, ensuring every character feels essential to the story.

The Prosecutor is a must-see for anyone who loves action thrillers and legal dramas. With its engaging plot, outstanding performances, and expert direction, this film showcases the strength of perseverance and the vital need to fight for justice against all odds.

This is definitely the best Donnie Yen film since the classic action masterpiece Flash point. What make it so great is the phenomenal cast of this film, instead of having just one Donnie Yen going solo and all action pack, this film takes the better approach of using many great actors from HK (Chi Lam, Kent Cheng, Francis Ng etc) to take care of the story, dialogue and leveling this film to be more than just an action blockbuster. In this film you can sort of see Donnie Yen age is catching up, slightly reduce the amount of action he does on scene compare to previous movies. However, he also seems to adapt from the his experience in the the Hollywood such as John Wick, the equaliser etc, that being much more environmental with his fighting style, this is fantastic when mixing it up with his own style of fighting. Also great to see he finally get rid of overly do the wing chun and be back to the MMA approach. Despite reducing the amount of action he performs on screen, the quality has just been top notch with everything he shows. The beauty of grappling is second to none in movie history and confident to say no other action choreography can match Donnie Yen's design (99% of flashy choreography in other film falls into the fake and overly use of wire category) While the grappling in this film is solid and realistic while remain eye pleasing just like Flash point. I have been inspired and trained mma for more than a decade by now, unrealistic action design is always cringe when I watch it. But if you know martial arts and grappling, this film paint a beautiful picture with is. Apart from Fash point, even Donnie's SPL and Special ID couldn't captured that master performance. This film is the first that is ever close to flash point level and definitely a better all around film. Here to say Donnie Yen's stunt team are all amazing and truly makes his work shines by a 1000 folds. And we know hard it to make something this beautiful in an action film.

Powerful storyline and action scenes that had me sitting at the edge of my seat the whole movie. They took a complex plot and delve deep into the emotions that makes you question the judicial system and question right from wrong.

Great moments that made you chuckle, yet tug ant your emotional heart strings. Great flow, symbolism, and narrative throughout.

Like there's a scene where he puts down the wine and there's a balance scale showing how the situation is currently unjust.

At the end I couldn't believe Donnie Yen was the director and actor. I had watched the IP man series back in the day and was very impressed at how he pulled everything together. Super talented guy & Very impressed overall. I got to watch it overseas in Asia and excited that it's going to make its way in the US. Definitely worth watching in theaters when it comes out.