The Bodyguard

Yue Song will be presented with the Daniel A. Craft Award for Excellence in Action Cinema.

Channeling the best of old-school Hong Kong action movies into his street-fighting extravaganza, Yue Song is clearly a man who loves action and mindless fun, two things in this film that come together as seamlessly as his character Wu-Lin’s mullet and headband. Ancient kung-fu clans, superhuman powers, colorful characters, gangsters with hundreds of cannon fodder subordinates, laser gates, and secret-training bunkers come together to create an on-screen spectacle that plays like a 1980s kid’s kung-fu fever dream. Wu-Lin is the successor of an ancient clan specializing in the Iron Kick, and after the death of his master he goes to the big city to look for fellow apprentice Jiang-Li. Soon he finds himself the bodyguard to spoiled rich girl Faye, who is hiding a softer side. Kidnapping, betrayal, and burial ensue, and Wu-Lin must unleash his clan’s secret techniques to help free Faye. The plot mostly serves as the vehicle to string together some insanely enjoyable and bone-shattering action set pieces. Fists, feet, and mullets fly across the screen with reckless abandon, barely giving you the chance to catch your breath.