A new Donnie Yen movie is always a must-see event for action fans. After surprising audiences in 2023 with his role as Caine in John Wick: Chapter 4 and his wuxia epic sakra (which he directed and starred in), as well as his memorable semi-recent turns in rogue one and the series Ip Man, the legend of Hong Kong is back with the prosecutoronce again as protagonist and director.
Yen will be the first to tell you that this film strays from its usual theme: the prosecutor is primarily a courtroom drama, although the star and director, of course, added their trademark eye for action and skill in on-screen fighting to the mix. Loosely based on a true story, the film follows a former police officer who changes his badge to begin a new career as a prosecutor. But the justice-driven lawyer quickly ends up at odds with his new boss and co-workers when he believes the person they're prosecuting is innocent.
While it may not fully resolve the thorny conflicts raised by its intriguing premise, the prosecutor However, it is a very competent and engaging genre exercise, mixing solid, high-octane action sequences with the standard courtroom drama genre. Polygon spoke with Yen over Zoom about how the project came about, how he was convinced to take it on, and how new technology offers new opportunities for old-school ways of filming action.
This interview has been edited for conciseness and clarity..
Polygon: What interested you? the prosecutor?
Donnie Yen: I wasn't interested at all. At first, when the company pitched it to me, I said, “I have no idea how to make this movie. I make action movies. That's my world. Why do you want me to do this? And they only thought two things. First, they really felt that how I live as a person (they know me, they're my friends) would make me perfect for that role.
Secondly, these are companies that I've worked with several times in the past, like on the Ip Man series. And they said, “Oh, we were preparing for the other movies, man ip 5 as well as Flash point 2. We are going to produce these movies and the public wants to see them. But you've never made a movie like [The Prosecutor]. Let’s try it.”
Image: Well, come on, US Entertainment.
So it took me two months to convince myself. I said, “I really have to think of an angle to make this movie. We see tons of them, these kinds of sophisticated courtroom scenes. “I am going to make a film that combines the two elements.” First, of course, is my core audience. They want to see Donnie Yen in action. How do you combine them?
Second, I don't want to create a world where people get caught up in the realism of the case itself and suddenly there are people flying and kicking. I wanted to use the case more as a driving force for the movement. So when a person is in action, the audience can feel the emotion behind them. Ultimately, what I mean is that the film is about pushing the audience to synchronize their emotions with how I want them to react, so that they get excited and emotionally attached to the story, rather than the theme itself. We had to put in the action scenes diligently; We couldn't just include a bunch of action scenes. The audience needs to believe that the characters need to go to those moments of action, that's why they were planned very carefully.
Something that caught my attention about this movie and sakra This is how old-school martial arts cinematic techniques are combined with new technology: drones, POV action sequences and more. What is your philosophy on combining the two and what excites you about it?
I simply call it the technique of telling a story through stylized camera work. In old school martial arts movies, we didn't have those kinds of options. We had a camera, a still camera, and you just fight. At that time there were no computers. I used to cut my film with old school film cutters. And now, of course, we are faced with modern technologies: artificial intelligence, phones and all.
Image: Well Go USA Entertainment
I don't like to rely on technology unless it's really necessary. There was a scene in the middle, in a nightclub with drone shots, and it was all real, not even a bit of CGI to enhance it. I prepared the directions, I choreographed the movements. We spent a whole day filming that and half the night going over it with the stuntman. And then, in the second half of the night, the drone cameraman tests the shot. And I received the vaccine. That's what I wanted, to get back to the basics. So what I'm trying to say is that when it comes to filmmaking, I still believe in real, old-school emotions, whether it's a [intellectual] expression of emotion or a physical expression of emotion. They have to be real to be compelling, so that the audience can participate in your narrative.
You're using the new technology that's available to you, but you're still focused on wanting it on camera, because you want it to feel real.
Absolutely. You have to. The shots come to me during the script process. I'll be going over a script with my writers or actors and shots are already forming in my head. He's kind of like a musician. Maybe because I play the piano or something. Some kind of musical rhythm I have in my head brings out these images.
the prosecutor now showing in cinemas.