The Prosecutor (2024) Review

“The Prosecutor” Theatrical Poster

Director: Donnie Yen
Co-directror: Ho Pong Mak
Cast: Donnie Yen, Julian Cheung, Shirley Chan, Kent Cheng, Michael Hui, Ray Lui, Mark Cheng, Kang Yu, Pak Hon Chu, Adam Pak, Kong Lau, Liza Wang
Running Time: 118 min. 

By Paul Bramhall

Is it just me or is Donnie Yen making a bit of a niche for himself riffing on Yuen Biao’s 1980’s era? During the 2010’s we got a 2-part remake of The Iceman Cometh with Iceman 3D and Iceman: The Time Traveller, and now in the 2020’s we have The Prosecutor. While not announced as a remake, the parallels to Biao’s 1986 classic Righting Wrongs are glaring. Both feature a prosecutor who also happens to know kung-fu. Whereas Righting Wrongs dubiously endorsed vigilante justice, The Prosecutor dubiously endorses the beating of mothers who are hopeless drug addicts. We even get a carpark set action scene in both productions, with Yen ducking and diving to avoid being hit by a vehicle much the same way Yuen Biao did almost 30 years ago.

Since his disastrous attempt to move into purely dramatic territory with 2022’s lamentable Polar Rescue, in the last couple of years Yen made the wise decision to stick to his action roots, notably also stepping into the director’s chair for his 2023 Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils adaptation Sakra. He remains in the director’s chair for The Prosecutor, returning to the contemporary actioner (not counting his supporting role in John Wick: Chapter 4) that feels synonymous with the Yen brand of action for the first time since 2021’s Raging Fire. Opening with Yen as a cop leading a raid in an abandoned construction site, he and his team are ambushed by an armed and dangerous enemy, leading to a stellar action scene that incorporates some innovative camera work and first-person perspective shots. The sequence sees The Prosecutor bolt straight out of the gates, and at this point the title hasn’t even appeared onscreen.

Due to a lack of evidence though the criminal ultimately walks free when tried in court, which means only one thing – we must watch Yen go on a law school studying rampage, presented as a montage that doubles up as the opening credits. When they’re over it’s now 7 years later, and Yen has become – The Prosecutor! Decked out in a tailored grey suit and impeccable hair, Yen’s prosecutor is as virtuous as they come, solving murder cases on his first day in the office while making friends with his new colleagues, and proudly declaring that “Our job is prosecution, to have a trial, to find the truth, and to convict.” Did I mention that it’s based on a true story? His steadfast belief in the justice system is questioned though when handed his first case involving a teenager accused of drug trafficking, with the proposals of the defence lawyers seemingly geared more towards a quick outcome than a fair trial.

Played by Julian Cheung (Death Notice, A Mob Story) and Shirley Chan (Crypto Storm, Love Suddenly), Yen’s obsessive quest for the truth soon puts him at loggerheads with the pair, as well as the wider Department of Justice community. That broader community is a significant contributor as to why The Prosecutor works so well, with Yen surrounding himself with an impressive cast of Hong Kong talent. From Kent Cheng (Run and Kill, Walk on Fire) as the experienced prosecutor he’s paired with, Francis Ng (Customs Frontline, Death Stranding) as his superior, and Michael Hui (The Private Eyes, Rob-B-Hood) as a seasoned judge, to villainous turns from Ray Lui (Operation Bangkok, Thunder Run) and Mark Cheng (Gong Tau, Invisible Target). While there’s no doubt The Prosecutor is the Donnie Yen show, the veteran cast bring a gravitas to proceedings that mean you’re never just waiting for the next action scene.

That’s just as well, since anyone clocking into The Prosecutor expecting an action extravaganza will likely walk away disappointed. Yen’s smartly tuned into Hong Kong cinema’s current streak of successful courtroom thrillers like The Sparring Partner and A Guilty Conscience, and has created something which feels at once familiar and fresh at the same time. While the court proceedings don’t delve into the complexities as much as the mentioned titles, we do spend a significant part of the runtime in the courtroom, complete with onscreen definitions explaining the step in the legal process the particular hearing is related to. Thankfully the legal banter is engaging, and serves as the main driver to propel the narrative forward, one that equally thankfully sees Yen frequently find himself in moments of danger outside of the courtroom, usually that involve him having to break out flying kicks and punches to the face.

There’s a welcome lack of pretension to the way The Prosecutor is structured that feels like a hark back to the glory days of HK action cinema. Sure, the courtroom drama is meant to be taken seriously, but there’s also no hesitation to segue into a scene that requires Yen to fend off a small army of night club security staff like a one-man wrecking ball. He could almost be playing the same character as he was in Special ID, now a decade later and more mellowed (although in one action scene we still get the Donnie Yen crazy smile that I think debuted in Special ID). Like in Sakra Yen once more takes a step back from choreographing himself (which he hasn’t done since Raging Fire), this time handing over to his action team member Takahito Ouchi.

Following a similar path to Kenji Tanigaki, Ouchi has worked extensively in both Hong Kong (he was part of the choreography team on both Special ID and Enter the Fat Dragon) and Japan (choreographing the action in the likes of Ajin: Demi Human and the High & Low franchise). Here his touch brings a welcome freshness to Yen’s distinctive action chops, focusing more on brutal efficiency over complex exchanges, with many of the fights taking place in close quarters or against multiple attackers. Heads are rammed between doors and steel poles used liberally, all delivered with a sense of kinetic energy as the surrounding environment is used to stay out of harms way. The final fight set on a train is a highlight (washing away the bad taste of the similarly set finale in Iceman: The Time Traveller), with Yen attempting to protect a witness while contending with a pair of attackers (including a riff on Hammer Girl – the Hammer Triad!).

If anything I only wish Yen’s final opponent came with more emotional weight, with frequent collaborator Yu Kang (Wu Xia, Big Brother) appearing as a hired lackey for a brutal face off. It delivers on all cylinders from a choreography perspective, and while the narrative attempts a backstory by having Kang deliver a throwaway line revealing it was Yen responsible for him serving time in Cambodia, it fails to create a meaningful connection. It is of course a trade off of Yen playing a prosecutor, as due to China’s strict censorship guidelines there was no way we were ever going to see him lay the beatdown on any of the real villains behind the plot. So this way we still get a final one on one fight which any Donnie Yen action movie needs, this time with added law related one-liners, it just comes at the cost of not really having any catharsis to it.

Amusingly the only other time we’re blatantly reminded off the censorship requirements is during the traditional closing scene mugshot stills showing how all the criminals received jail time for their crimes, which includes the criminal from the initial scene that I’m sure most audiences will have forgotten about. But since it needs to be clear that everyone who committed a crime has to pay for it regardless of their relevance to the plot or screentime, we’re told he committed another crime 8 years later, and this time he was successfully found guilty. I’m sure audiences everywhere will be relieved.

At almost 2 hours long The Prosecutor could have benefitted from a little trimming, but overall it’s easily Yen’s most mature work as a director to date, showing a level of restraint and balance that’s been lacking in his directorial efforts so far. The fact that it delivers his best contemporary action performance since 2014’s Kung Fu Jungle (a whole 10 years ago!) is the icing on top, proving that it’s still possible to innovate in Hong Kong action cinema in 2024, a fact that makes it worth checking out alone.

Paul Bramhall’s Rating: 7.5/10