In the Hong Kong action thriller The Prosecutor, a young man named Ma Ka-kit lives with his Uncle Ma in a low-income home. He rents out his address in an effort to make some extra money, but he receives a package containing a kilogram of cocaine and gets arrested for drug smuggling. Chan Kwok-wing, the second defendant in the drug smuggling case, is found to be the one who purchased Ma Ka-kit’s address.
Ma Ka-kit (Mason Fung) is convinced by his defense lawyer Li Sze-man ( Shirley Chan) and legal executive Au Pak-man (Julian Cheung) to plead guilty to reduce his sentence. But once the case reaches leniency court, Ma Ka-kit is sentenced to 27 years in prison while Chan Kwok-wing (Locker Lam) is acquitted. Now, Ma Ka-kit’s fate rests in the hands of Fok Chi-ho (Donnie Yen), a former narcotics police detective turned public prosecutor.
Written by Edmond Wong (Ip Man 1-4, The Monkey King: Havoc in Heaven’s Palace), The Prosecutor is inspired by the real case that transpired in 2016. The film is also directed and produced by Donnie Yen (who also directed Sakra).
Fok Chi-ho is brought to the DOJ or Department of Justice under the tutelage of pupil master Bao Ding (Kent Cheng) and is told flat out upon arrival that the DOJ typically leaves decision-making in the hands of chief prosecutor Yeung Dit-lap (Francis Ng).
Surprisingly, Donnie Yen was hesitant to accept this role since most of the action was injected into the film once he signed on. Yen wasn’t familiar with legal dramas initially, but worked with Edmond Wong and his stunt team to create a film that is dramatically engaging with dynamically unique action sequences.
In foreign martial arts films, it’s often that the action is great but the story and acting are pure trash or lackluster at best. But The Prosecutor is a thrilling and engrossing drama first highlighted by its action. Donnie Yen turns 62 this year, but his martial arts is as hard-hitting and breathtaking as ever. What works in The Prosecutor’s favor is a solid script from Edmond Wong and Yen being surrounded by a talented cast.
There’s an ongoing conflict between how the legal system and DOJ specifically operate and how Fok Chi-ho is as a new prosecutor. Fok fights hard for Ma Ka-kit and this one case specifically solely because he’s a young man with a bright future who is stuck thanks to his practically nonexistent relationship with money. Everyone at the DOJ is constantly ribbing Fok over Fok’s troublesome mindset of giving the little guy a fair shake despite whether or not it’s normal protocol. It’s essentially the government with endless wealth at its disposal and a cut-and-dry mentality versus the financially destitute underdog.
The Prosecutor isn’t overloaded with action but features several memorable sequences that should be considered some of Donnie Yen’s best. The opening is a drug bust that shows Fok on his last big outing as a police officer. He gets a hold of a police shield and demolishes everyone as the camera shifts to a first-person POV. Donnie Yen throws in a few dropkicks for good measure.
Once Fok shifts careers, former subordinate Lee King-wai (MC Cheung Tin-fu), takes over as police inspector. The two collaborate on an insane action sequence in an alley that features Lee King-wai doing MMA takedowns not unlike what Yen did in Flash Point. The scene is highlighted by Yen Tokyo Drifting a white car into the tiny alley flawlessly followed by jumping out of the car and beating everyone down with a hockey stick.
There’s also the club sequence that’s already eye-catching thanks to its dynamic lighting, but features some crazy drone camera shots and Fok holding off 100 men on his own. The absolute best sequence in the film is the subway finale. Seeing so much bone-crunching action in a tiny moving space is jaw-droppingly great.
My initial desire upon hearing about The Prosecutor is that Donnie Yen would shout OBJECTION! or OVERRULED! regularly and then he’d beat up criminals with a flurry of punches, no less than 17 dropkicks, and top it off with an emphatic suplex. That’s basically what you get with The Prosecutor, but it’s also surprisingly well-written with solid acting from an all-around superb cast.
