'The Prosecutor' Reviews: An Action Spectacular

     On January 10, 2024, Well Go USA Entertainment released 'The Prosecutor', which earned predominantly rave reviews from critics, currently holding at 95% on Rotten Tomatoes. "Inspired by an actual legal case in Hong Kong, THE PROSECUTOR follows the story of a man who falsely pleads guilty to drug trafficking after being framed. Despite the confession, the veteran policeman-turned-prosecutor (Donnie Yen) handling the case is convinced of the man’s innocence and pursues his own investigation, risking both his career and his life to bring the real perpetrator to justice." But what exactly did the critics say?

   James Marsh of Deadline Hollywood Daily says, "The prosecution never rests in Donnie Yen’s new action-infused legal drama The Prosecutor, in which the veteran martial artist plays a righteous cop who quits the force to join the Department of Justice when he feels the legal system is letting too many criminals slip through its fingers.Yen directs as well as stars alongside a host of familiar faces including Francis Ng, Julian Cheung and the increasingly ubiquitous Michael Hui, but Yen’s hardcore action fanbase may be left wanting. The Prosecutor too often feels more invested in bludgeoning its audience into submission using the tenets of Hong Kong’s rule of law, rather than the iron fists of traditional street justice." Adding, "Though the legal details sewn throughout The Prosecutor may well be accurate, the script regurgitates facts, figures and procedures with such relentless force that the sheer volume of information soon becomes overwhelming. This is only exacerbated further for non-Cantonese speakers forced to skim-read reams of subtitles detailing complicated legalese at a breakneck pace, while also catching the frequent online captions detailing the various stages of the trial, and attempting to follow the unfolding action. The Prosecutor arrives at a sensitive moment for Hong Kong, where the recent introduction of the National Security Law and subsequent passing of Article 23 of the city’s Basic Law — often referred to as its mini-constitution — have sent shockwaves through not only the legal system but all areas of society. These legal tenets, designed to quash criticism of, and political opposition to, Beijing’s ultimate authority are vaguely worded and far-reaching in application. While not specifically addressed in the film, The Prosecutor repeatedly emphasizes that upholding justice is of paramount importance, even when evidence and truth remain elusive or prove insufficient."

Photo by LexScope on Unsplash

   David Ehrlich of indieWire notes, "To that point, “The Prosecutor” is perhaps best enjoyed as the meta story of an action star who refuses to be aged out of his metier; at a time when the Hong Kong film industry might be expecting less of Yen, he’s actively finding ways to ask more of himself. His full-bodied commitment to this movie creates a charismatic undercurrent all its own, and while the various obstacles and villains introduced to Fok’s case range from “sure” to “whatever” before limply — and inevitably — doubling back to invoke the character’s previous life as a cop, the movie works because Yen brings the same grinning relish to the courtroom scenes as he does to, say, the brawl where he takes on 20 different guys in the middle of a rooftop bar. And while Yen makes sure to acknowledge that he isn’t as young as he used to be, such admissions prove needlessly self-effacing. Maybe the digital trickery he leans on during the opening skirmish is just a clever way of lowering the bar for the rest of the movie to come, but Yen is still an elite martial artist with a rare knack for combining balletic grace with brutal force. Sure, his foley effects have never been louder (every punch sounds like a golf club swinging into the trunk of an oak tree), but Yen flings his body around with tremendous purpose, and he knows how to mine real fun out of seemingly banal locations. Even something as bland as the back of a cargo truck can turn into a visual playground within the span of a single kick."