The Rookies (2019) User Reviews

Bad Johnny English rather than good Bond

[kosmasp · 5/10 · 3 October 2021]

Milla Jovovich ... I mean she enriches everything she does ... doesn't she? That's a rhetorical question of course. Unfortunately she is not the main focus here ... and you will probably feel the same way - especially after she has that really great action scene near the start of the movie.

That aside and also the weird fact that Prime (Germany) decided to either have the movie dubbed in German or have the english track only (every chinese actor being dubbed, almost hillariously so, when we have a translator for Milla as one example) - which did not work in the movies favour let me tell you that much ... all that aside, the movie has some really nice action and stunt set pieces.

And these are the things that really safe the movie ... the jokes are way more miss than hit ... but if you like silly things, you may find more things enticing here than most of the other viewers.

We came for Milla Jovovich...stayed for the Potential of the Movie

[andywhata · 5/10 · 14 April 2021]

Obviously most of us came for Milla.... but we stayed for the fun and the cool gadgets plus the bond-vibes...

Look its not the best movie of the year but it definitely had its best bits... I enjoyed it, i was aware of the poor dialogues and narrative

but i loved the version of Alice/Milla she was like a Bond/MIF/Spy-vibes and i also understood why she only had a small screentime but the little she had was enough for me.

Feng was charming and Miao Miao was likable, the whole team was good, most jokes were a lil goofy and amateurish but overally bearable.

I also loved their tech/gadgets, practically interesting, the floating safety bag (as i called it) the transforming car, even the helicopter at the end was very fancy.

Finally the action sequences were very good, way better than what i have seen in holiday, the car chasings a little exaggerated but very interesting.

It also had a heart and a soul.(a lil bit) which i appreciated.

Overally its a alright*

Not enough scenes

[nalbawardi-68080 · 5/10 · 4 October 2019]

I went to watch this movie as I am a fan for Milla jovovich , the best parts of the movie are the scenes where she shows up on screen which are little unfortunately , this movie needed her to be in all scenes (( which I thought it would be)).....

Wierd, annoying

[nofavipnofa · 1/10 · 27 September 2019]

It's bad in a weird way . Few scenes were funny but still bad ! I don't recommend it even to my enemy

I GOT SO MAD AFTER WATCHING THIS

[jiayangsum · 1/10 · 28 March 2020]

I have to purposely login just to give it a low vote 1 for the effort.

IT IS BADDDDD. It Motivates me to give it a 1.

It's not Bad enough to be Good. And not even good enough, it's bad even though with decent budget it clearly have.

Lazy Scripting is plain Bad when they try to be funny it's not really funny, when it's serious the feeling is just not there, it just doesn't fit together well.' The Asian actors is bad really bad. Lots of improvements needed.

Bad character developments. For one example, the main character is a risk taker & do extreme sports like parkour, but he's like physically impaired & shame himself multiple time. Inconsistent given logic, when you give a show a bad logic at least make it consistent.

Milla can't save this mess

[joeyford-55342 · 2/10 · 2 May 2021]

Chinese try to make an EXPENDABLE movie and fail terribly. Just awful. Sad to see her go the way of Bruce Willis and Nicholas Cage, no script too bad.

Nothing but a paycheck in Milla Jovovich's pocket.

[volvorod-92131 · 1/10 · 8 March 2021]

I REALLY like Milla Jovovich and her performance in almost ALL of the movies she is part of. I LOVE the Resident Evil-movies! Those movies has Milla AND zombies. What else do a horror-loving person need..? THIS movie is (obviously) an exception. The trailer almost ONLY shows Milla - but she is only a VERY small part of this movie. This movie is only another example of hiring a well-known actor to act a couple of minutes to promote a mediocre movie. She's barely present in this movie. The only advice i can give you is - avoid.

Pathetically bad

[daisukereds · 2/10 · 21 May 2021]

I would describe this movie as a poorly crafted spy movie for kids, with an overblown budget and one of the worst scripts ever written for it's type. The pacing of this movie is off, and so is the editing at times. The dialogue (of varying noticeable-qualities when Milla is talking vs the dubbed English on the Blu-Ray) is terrible, which doesn't help the over-acted characters. When a bad guy says "hot tamales!" you know what you are in for.. Milla's cringy participation must have been backed by a big paycheck, but it's a role that is not beneath her movie history of garbage. The rest of the seemingly-super-famous actors are equally as bad.

The tone is all over the place (and the emotional parts are laughable), and there's nothing particularly memorable aside from the mess that it is. It goes off the rails on what I think is the last bit.

Beautiful locations and color usage, though! The movie is gorgeous and wonderfully crafted visually (except some CGI). Some decent parkour and post production (animations).

But is it worth watching? No. After a while, you stop laughing against the movie and being surprised by its nonsense.

Mental Fun But Totally Daft!!

[Movie-Misfit · 7/10 · 27 November 2019]

The Rookies is an action film from China that can best be described as a live action cartoon that most definitely should not be taken seriously!

Leading man, the gorgeous Talu, is an extreme sports nut who hilariously gets involved with a secret organisation who soon invite him to be a part of their team.

Reluctantly agreeing (until the money piles up) Talu sets off thinking he is the new James Bond and meets his team mates in Europe. Their main mission of course is to stop the bad guy who has a chemical weapon that turns everyone into plants...

And that isn't even the daftest part!

I can understand why most viewers would see The Rookies as a bad movie, but it's hard not to laugh the whole way through it - and a lot of those times, genuinely. It's also hard not to be entertained as director Alan Yuen rams as much visuals, insane stunts, fight action and madness into every scene!

In fact, if this had been made during Hong Kong's golden age of cinema, it would be regarded as one to watch...

Hollywood A-lister Milla plays the stone faced leader of the secret organisation, and while she doesn't bring anything overly exciting to the show, does her best Bridget Neilson impression with a few action scenes on her behalf.

I rate all my films by their entertainment value and The Rookies certainly entertains. Just switch off your brain before it starts and enjoy the ride...

Boring and annoying!!!

[tundeandfortis · 1/10 · 19 May 2021]

If you are a 5 yr old you will like this so called movie!!! Cheese over played and stupid with no story at all! The acting is BAAAD!! Wasted 2 hrs on this rubbish and Mila Jovovich was a dissapointment!!!!

Wooooow....

[gab-67599 · 9/10 · 28 April 2022]

This movie can only be described as if you were looking directly into the sun! So bright in color it just blinds you, in combination with the fact it was way too long! I enjoyed it fully but if you are not into animation or cartoonish style movies this will not be your jam. This movie was far fetched and over the top with the CGI. Just the way I love it. You could ALMOST go as far as saying you can with this one with your kids but there is blood and some adult content. So maybe more of a movie with your teenage kids? I would recommend this one to my friends only because they like this type of movie as I do.

Less serious but love the concept.

[XueHuaBingYu · 6/10 · 25 September 2019]

Su Ren Te Gong aka The Rookies is another film of Chinese and European combination that I've watched. It's kind of good to see Eastern and Western people are together in the same film. They show the unity no matter what their nationalities and races are. That's why I think there should be more films like this.

The plot is as usual, bad guys do bad things and good guys try to stop them. We've all seen such a thing in a lot of films, but I must admit that this film is quite different. I like the idea of virus that can turn people into plants. But on the other hand, I feel like it's kind of so cruel. Still, I like that idea.

The plot is quite simple. So, I'd say it's just a fine film. When I watched this film, I didn't know that Xiao Zhan and Milla would be in this film. I was so surprised when I saw Xiao Zhan. I immediately recognised him when I saw him. It's great to see him in this film. So sad that Xiao Zhan's parts are too little. I wanted to see him more in the film. As for Milla, as usual, she's amazing. I really like both of them.

Although the plot is quite simple, the car chasing and driving parts are so cool. I really love those scenes. That being said, the film is in action genre, but the actions are quite simple. If only those actions are complex. Moreover, the film seems to be less serious. It should be serious. I mean I love the jokes. But because of some unnecessary jokes, the film becomes less serious. Thus, I really wished that they could've done better than this.

There is one thing I don't understand. It's the eye. I want to know who that eye is belonged to. And also the reason why he does bad things to innocent people. But they didn't explain anything. If they have, I think it'd be better.

What I don't like is they let Zhao Feng fell together with helicopter. Before helicopter exploded, it came near Miao Miao. At that time, Zhao Feng could have jumped. But they made it look like he didn't survive. And also I don't like Zhao Feng character. He's like less serious. He's completely a jerk and acting like a kid. As the one who loves to see the main character bright, clever and like a gentleman, his character is really annoying. If they have developed a good character, it'd be better.

So, as for conclusion, although there are some mistakes in the film and the plot is quite simple, because of that fact that this film has amazing car chasing scenes, I'd say it's good. I don't know about the others, as for me, I kind of laughed and enjoyed it.

Bad story

[sambirouty · 1/10 · 27 September 2019]

Very bad story and play Very bad story and play Very bad story and play Very bad story and play

Stupidly funny

[jviramontez · 2/10 · 11 June 2021]

I use to think any movie with Milla Jovovich would be pretty good, but here she definitely seems to have just lent her name to the credits in a more minor role.

It's not the worst movie I've ever seen, but it's down there with them...

But, there a few parts where it's so stupid, it will make you laugh!

Bad Ending.....

[slankboy · 5/10 · 20 April 2020]

Just like jhony English, action comedy, the story is bad, the action is quite good, but the ending make me laugh... not good at all

Foreign film

[AurelioVentrellaJr · 1/10 · 20 April 2021]

First and foremost this movie is being sold on iTunes as an American movie not as an foreign film. Listen I personally don't like to watch a movie where the actors lips don't match up with the dialogue that is coming out of the speakers that's why I hate Netflix unless there are languages that I am familiar with!

Milla jovovich

[dreamingwolf-01253 · 4/10 · 16 July 2021]

Milla Jovovich's next movie should be called the rise and fall of Milla Jovovich. Since she did the Resident Evil trilogy I feel like she has done movies out of boredom.

Eh, not for most people

[mymyspace · 2/10 · 3 October 2021]

I give it a two because my gurl Mila is in it. If you're into that Chinese spoken, English translation delay film, then this is for you. If you're into Chinese lame jokes followed by fake laughter like this (Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha.), then this is for you. If you're into anime acting with over exaggerated fake stunts, then this is for you. The rest of you 98% shouldn't waste your time.

Not a bad movie for a night!

[WatchAndSmile · 6/10 · 29 December 2021]

So many negative reviews from negative-Nancies! It's an action comedy and not meant to be serious. Imho, had more action than the latest Bond movie almost made me fall asleep.

Yes, subpar camerawork, acting and amateurish directing and story is in a comedy-fantasy area, but I've seen much much worse from Hollywood blockbusters.

Overall, good movie for a night 5.7/10.

Waste of time.

[mogensenf · 1/10 · 15 June 2023]

This is most certain amongst the worst films I have ever seen. It's really seldom that I give a film the character 1, but this movie doesn't really deserve more.

To my surprise the producers of this Chinese / Hungarian co-production successeed in having Milla Jovovich in a quite small role. She plays the international agent Bruce. Surprising because Jovovich has made a fine career out of the Resident Evil films, and this is nowhere near that quality.

The film starts out as a try to be like a Get Smart / Johnny English kind of film, it's just that it isn't funny at all. Mainly because the lead actor Tula Wang, playing the part of Zhao Feng is really bad at playing this fresh type! The only actor that shows a bit of skill is Sandrine Pinna, as Miao Yun. Later on action in the film is nearing a try of being a James Bond piece. That fails miserably.

Directed by Alan Yuen, who surprisingly have directed more films. A film fill of stunts, CGI, and to please a younger, western public, even with a bit of rap.

There is really now way to recommend this, well, only if you are a Milla Jovovich fan, and gotta see every film she has been in.

Oh Please...

[bumbray99 · 9/10 · 28 September 2021]

Give this movie a break and a chance for pete sake,... It's funny, colorful, and action packed?

You played me first

[nogodnomasters · 6/10 · 24 June 2021]

This film is also marketed under the title:"Deadly Force Mission Budapest." Zhao Feng (Talu Wang ) is a high tower parkour climber. He has a video following that includes the bipolar Interpol agent Miao (Sandrine Pinna) pronounce meow. She wants to kill someone, anyone. Feng makes an emergency landing which lands him in the middle of a criminal deal involving a gas that can turn people into plants and the Holy Grail held by the Flamni Brothers in Budapest. A man called "Iron Fist" wants them. Bruce (Milla Jovovich) is a member of the Phantom Knighthood which dates back several centuries of Freemasons. She recruits Feng to join the group and save the world. Feng is followed by Miao and two others in his amateur group.

This Chinese film is a spoof of spy action films. It has a silly car chase. A group that looks like "Kiss" called the Robbers is shown a badge with the word "Police" on it. I had a couple of LOL moments, but for the most part the film was adolescent silly.

Guide: No sex or nudity. Almost spell out the F-word.

This was just odd!

[copasetic-x · 7/10 · 21 April 2021]

I didn't know how to rate this. The CGI & fighting was actually pretty cool. It deserves more than a 1 just for that (how much more is debatable)

Very Goofy, But Not Bad

[Fredtimbo · 9/10 · 2 May 2021]

The Rookies is a Chinese film that parodies spy action movies. Milla Jovovich kicks ass in the film, but she has a supporting role. The movie is so goofy, and the dubbed English is not great as usual, but it had some really funny scenes that had me laughing hard. The action is top-notch, and I actually wouldn't mind seeing it again.

Interesting experimrnts

[sony-16719 · 7/10 · 16 August 2019]

I don't know, why some people didn't like experiments , in my opinion this movie was very good , some people gave negative rating to this movie but this movie very entertaining