The Prosecutor (2025).
Opening Remarks.
Laying down the law.
When I think of Hong Kong actors that just effortlessly ooze on-screen charisma, Chow Yun Fat is the first actor that comes to mind. He just looked cool, no matter what he was doing. While no one else will likely come close to that level for me, Donnie Yen is certainly in the Top 5. He’s another actor who just looks cool, and at 61, while the crows feet are starting to show (no matter how hard he tries to hide them), he still looks just as fast as he was thirty years ago.
I don’t remember exactly which film brought me aboard the Donnie Yen train - either Flashpoint or Kill Zone in the mid-00’s - but I’ve been a fan ever since. The Ip Man series is very fun, Special ID was great. He’s got a very distinct fighting style (he’s studied many) that pairs blazing-fast strikes with heavy, bone crushing kicks and elbows, making every fight scene electric. While I knew what to expect on camera, I didn’t know what to expect behind it, as Yen also directed this one. He has directed films before (going back as early as 1994), but I haven’t seen any of them.
Cross Examination.
“I am the law.”
The movie opens with Fok (Yen), a police officer, recounting an encounter with a gang in a ruined warehouse. He and his team bust through the door and there’s an immediate hail of bullets volleyed at them. The shootout then plays out as Fok grabs a shield and starts taking over - it’s an extremely well done action sequence that pulls in and out of a first person perspective, almost like a high-octane first person shooter at times. Near the end of the opening, we realize he’s recounting his actions for the court, who lets the gang boss off on what essentially amounts to a technicality because of poor prosecution. It’s this moment when Fok loses all hope in his side of the justice system and decides he’s going to be a prosecutor instead. This does lead to an extremely corny moment where he leaves for the last time, the entire police force in tow to salute him on his way out. The rain that was previously coming down on his umbrella stops, he smiles and tucks his umbrella away, stating that he’s just going to have a different view (foreshadowing more than just his seat in the courtroom).
Order in the Court.
Guilty! (of great cinematography)
Eight years later, he’s a prosecutor. The transition from police officer to lawyer is pretty funny actually, he is shown studying in Australia with a powerpoint explaining what ‘Litigation’ means. Because none of the characters change one bit, it feels like it’s the next day when he comes back ready to lawyer. His first case is prosecuting a kid who loaned his address to another kid and ended up getting a kilo of cocaine in the mail, and as you can imagine, some things aren’t quite right. The courtroom story ends up following this case, which is very loosely based on a case that happened in Hong Kong, though naturally, the real-life version didn’t have Donnie Yen beating the shit out of criminals between court appearances.
The Verdict Is In: Donnie Yen Still Kicks Ass.
Donnie Yen and the Hung Jury
While the courtroom drama is fairly interesting (if not a little simplistic), when I watch a Donnie Yen flick I’m doing it for the fights.
The Prosecutor doesn’t have a ton of action scenes, but when they appear, holy shit they’re good. As I mentioned, the opening shootout is good, but the rest of the action scenes (which are mostly hand-to-hand) are outstanding. One of Fok’s main foils is an assassin named Kim Hung (Yu Kang) who moves unlike the rest of us - he almost seems like a shadow, a monster who moves with an unnatural quickness. When we first see him, he escapes in an unconventional way, but when Fok and Hung (say that three times fast) have their inevitable showdown on a subway, we really get to see his moves. I’d go so far as to say I saw many things in these fight scenes that I had never seen before - subtle things like the way someone hits the ground and slumps over or the way someone impacts with the environment. The style was improvisational but slick, an antithesis of the Jackie Chan fights of old that felt improvisational and scrappy. Every punch, kick and toss feels impactful and the result is wildly entertaining and extremely satisfying. The kid Fok was mentoring gets a chance to shine in a one vs. many scene as well before Fok shows up with a pair of hockey sticks to even the score.
The way the film is shot was also impressive - drone work gives a new perspective to the end of a rooftop fight scene, the way the camera moves around a truck during a fight scene delivers a surprise impact when the door opens, there are flourishes of a very skilled filmmaker on display here.
Closing Remarks.
If you’re strictly looking for a fight film this may be a bit of a tough recommendation as there are a lot of courtroom and lawyer/client scenes, but honestly I think there’s something in here for everyone. This would make a great double feature with the very similar Yuen Biao/Cynthia Rothrock banger Righting Wrongs from 1986.
You can find The Prosecutor in certain theaters right now.
