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The Prosecutor
Theatrical poster
Traditional Chinese	誤判
Jyutping	Ng Pun
Directed by	Donnie Yen
Written by	Edmond Wong
Produced by	Donnie Yen Raymond Wong
Starring	Donnie Yen Julian Cheung Michael Hui Francis Ng MC Cheung Tin-fu
Cinematography	Noah Wong
Edited by	Li Ka-wing
Music by	Chui Chit-ho
Production companies	Maoyan Entertainment Huace Pictures Mandarin Motion Pictures Huace Pictures
Distributed by	Mandarin Motion Pictures
Release date	21 December 2024 (2024-12-21) (Hong Kong)
Country	Hong Kong
Language	Cantonese
Budget	~HKD$300 million

The Prosecutor (Chinese: 誤判) is a 2024 Hong Kong action thriller film directed and produced by Donnie Yen, who also stars in the film, alongside a cast that includes Julian Cheung, Michael Hui, Francis Ng, and MC Cheung Tin-fu. The film revolves around a prosecutor who risks his life and career to help a wrongly accused defendant.

The film was theatrically released in Hong Kong on 21 December 2024.

Plot

Police detective Fok Chi-ho leads his team in the pursuit of an armed robbery gang. Although they capture all the gang members, the leader leaves no trace linking him to the crime and is released without conviction. This incident causes Fok to lose faith in policing, prompting him to leave the force and read law.

Eight years later, Fok joins the Department of Justice and becomes a public prosecutor. Under the mentorship of pupil master Bao, he receives his first case involving drug smuggling. The defendant, Ma, receives a parcel from Brazil containing a kilogram of cocaine. Ma insists he is innocent, claiming he has only borrowed his address to a friend, Chan, who promises him money to alleviate his family's debts. However, Ma's defense lawyer, Li, and legal executive, Au, mislead him into believing he is likely to be convicted, urging him to plead guilty for a reduced sentence, which Ma and his grandfather, Uncle Ma, agree to. When Li approaches Fok to discuss the plea bargain, Fok finds it suspicious that the terms require Ma to take full responsibility while Chan is completely absolved. Nevertheless, chief prosecutor Yeung accepts the terms, believing they provide the best chance for a conviction. During detention, Ma learns from fellow inmates that Li has deceived him, causing him to reconsider his guilty plea out of fear of not seeing his grandfather again. Fok, who believes in Ma's innocence, allows him to change his plea, which dissatisfies Yeung. In the first trial, Au and Li serve as prosecution witnesses. Despite Ma's lawyer attempting to prove that they have misled him during negotiations, his claims lack evidence and are easily dismissed. Fok begins to defend Ma and question his own witnesses. The judge attempts to stop Fok, leading to a clash where Fok argues that the prosecution should focus on those who are truly guilty rather than simply securing a conviction. This argument damages Ma's reputation with the jury, resulting in Chan being acquitted while Ma is convicted of drug smuggling and sentenced to 27 years for showing no remorse.

Realizing his mistake, Fok seeks to help Uncle Ma, who initially rejects him until Fok saves him during an assassination attempt. Uncle Ma reveals to Fok that they hired Li based on a recommendation from Lau, the owner of the restaurant where Ma works. After learning about the assassination attempt, Bao agrees to help Fok investigate, leading them to discover that Yeung has been the prosecutor in every case involving Au. Bao infiltrates a nightclub owned by Lau and overhears a conversation revealing that Lau and Chan are half-brothers. They learn that one brother solicits people to lend their addresses for drug smuggling, while the other pretends to offer pro bono legal assistance through Li and Au, who actually have them take the blame. Fok assists Uncle Ma in applying for an appeal, but Ma is later assassinated in a cha chaan teng. With the half-brothers as the only lead, Fok approaches other victims and eventually locates a girl willing to testify against Lau. Knowing Lau is exposed, Au attempts to persuade him to turn himself in and take full responsibility. However, he is murdered by Sang and Tung, Au's drug lord associates. Meanwhile, Fok confronts Yeung, discovering Yeung's innocence, and the two sets their differences aside.

During the retrial, Yeung serves as the prosecutor and buys time for Fok, who seeks to locate the hiding Chan. With the help of Inspector Lee, Fok's former protégé, they find and convince Chan to testify. However, they are attacked on their way to court, resulting in Lee being severely injured. Fok and Chan continue to the courthouse by MTR, encountering Sang's assassins during the ride. Fok dispatches them all and manages to reach the courthouse, where Chan delivers his testimony against Au. Ultimately, Ma is acquitted, while Au and his syndicate receive appropriate sentences.

Cast

• Donnie Yen as Fok Chi-ho, a righteous police detective-turned-public prosecutor
• Julian Cheung as Au Pak-man, a law-educated drug lord who runs a barrister's chamber
• Michael Hui as Grand Judge, a "callous" high court judge who presides the drug smuggling case
• Francis Ng as Yeung Tit-lap, an apathetic chief prosecutor of the Department of Justice
• MC Cheung Tin-fu as Lee King-wai, a police inspector and Fok's former subordinate
• Kent Cheng as Bao Ding, the "hangdog veteran" pupil master of the Department of Justice
• Lau Kong as Uncle Ma, Ma Ka-kit's grandfather
• Yu Kang as Kam Hung, a Cambodian assassin and Sang's right-hand man
• Adam Pak as Lau Siu-keung, a restaurateur serving as Au's right-hand man in his drug-trafficking syndicate
• Locker Lam as Chan Kwok-wing, a drug dealer and Lau's half-brother who becomes the second defendant in the drug smuggling case
• Shirley Chan [zh] as Li Sze-man, a rising young barrister and the wife and accomplice of Au Pak-man
• Mason Fung as Ma Ka-kit, a young man from a low-income family wronged as the first defendant in a drug smuggling case
• Chu Pak Hong as Cheng Ho-yin, Ma Ka-kit's defense lawyer

In addition, cast members credited as special appearances include Ray Lui as Sang, a Cambodian drug lord who has been arrested by Fok years ago; Mark Cheng as Tung, Sang's rival drug lord who also receives supplies from Au; Sisley Choi as Leung May-yee, Fok's former detective partner; Justin Cheung as Cheung Man-bing, an armed robber arrested by Fok but released without conviction; and Mandy Wong as Cheung Man-bing's defense lawyer. Also appearing in the film are Max Cheung [zh] and Leung Chung Hang as Fok's fellow prosecutors; and Philip Chan as a judge. Liza Wang cameos as the Secretary for Justice, while Klyster Yen, Donnie Yen's father, cameos as Fok Chi-ho's father.

Production

Development

In May 2023, Mandarin Motion Pictures announced the development of a legal thriller under the working title Misjudgement at the 76th Cannes Film Festival, with Donnie Yen attached as the lead actor and Raymond Wong as the producer. Yen also served as the director and co-producer, while Wong was the primary investor. The film's budget exceeded $HKD 300 million. On 27 September, Yen confirmed that pre-production would soon be wrapped during the 10th Silk Road International Film Festival. In November, Julian Cheung and MC Cheung Tin-fu joined the cast, with singer MC Cheung being handpicked by Yen for a role he deemed suitable for him. Adam Pak was announced to be part of the cast in the same month. In May 2024, the film was presented at the project market during the 77th Cannes Film Festival, coinciding with the release of a promotional poster that appeared on the cover of Screen International. An official trailer was released in September, with Francis Ng and Kent Cheng revealed to be part of the cast.

Filming

Principal photography began in October 2023. A group of Japanese action choreographers and stunt actors was invited to join the production crew. Yen served as the action director alongside his frequent collaborators Kenji Tanigaki and Yu Kang. On 14 November, filming took place in Sai Wan. Yen then took a brief hiatus to attend an awards ceremony in Singapore, and filming resumed on 19 November in Sai Ying Pun, where Yen and MC Cheung were spotted on set. Filming spanned across January 2024, and ultimately wrapped on 6 February 2024.

Release

The Prosecutor was theatrically released in Hong Kong on 21 December 2024.

Reception

Box office

The Prosecutor debuted with HKD$1.90 million, rising directly to the top of the box office, and maintained its position for six consecutive days following its release, grossing over HKD$5 million during Christmas. It accumulated over HKD$18 million after two weeks, and reached HKD$20 million after 17 days, entering the top 10 highest-grossing Hong Kong films of 2024.

Critical response

Edmund Lee of South China Morning Post gave The Prosecutor 3/5 stars, praising its action, particularly the "thrilling opening scene" in a first-person shooter style and the "action-packed climax", but lamenting the lackluster portrayal of the villain played by Julian Cheng, which led the film to "morph into a conventional thriller". Lee also ranked the film 16th out of the 36 Hong Kong films theatrically released in 2024. Whang Yee Ling of The Straits Times gave the film 3/5 stars, describing it as an "energetic but melodramatic blockbuster" that features "explosive action" from the Donnie Yen Stunt Team and a strong performance by Michael Hui, while critiquing its "dense yet simplistic" narrative and overly dramatic elements. Tay Yek Keak of 8days also gave the film 3/5 stars, praising the action and the face-off scenes between Donnie Yen and Michael Hui, while noting that the legal settings are underdeveloped and the villains are one-dimensional, yet the film effectively blends genres with moments of humor and social commentary.

Ho Siu-bun of am730 called the film a "high-quality Hong Kong action film", acknowledging both the upsides and downsides commonly seen in the genre, praising Takahito Ouchi's impressive action choreography and the humor in Michael Hui's performance, while noting that the dramatic elements feel laid-back, with character development being too slow and unclear, and the dialogues being "hilariously predictable". Alex Chung of HK01 called the film a strong entry in the Hong Kong action genre for its effective blend of action and drama, particularly highlighting the "intense" MTR fight scene reminiscent of John Wick 4 (2023), commending the performances of the ensemble cast, especially MC Cheung Tin-fu's impressive action work, while noting that the court scenes, although less exciting, still reflect Yen's effort to merge the two genres.

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External links

• The Prosecutor at IMDb

• 2024 films
• 2020s legal thriller films
• 2020s Cantonese-language films
• Hong Kong thriller films
• Films shot in Hong Kong