# Bodyguard from Beijing (中南海保镳)
**The Bodyguard from Beijing** (中南海保鏢) is a 1994 Hong Kong action film directed by Corey Yuen (元奎) and starring [Jet Li](https://www.edgepedia.org/jet-li) (李連杰) as a bodyguard from Beijing assigned to protect a murder witness in Hong Kong, with [Christy Chung](https://www.edgepedia.org/christy-chung) (鍾麗緹), Kent Cheng (鄭則仕), and Collin Chou (倪星) in supporting roles.[1](https://www.newton.com.tw/wiki/%E4%B8%AD%E5%8D%97%E6%B5%B7%E4%BF%9D%E9%8F%A2) It was produced by Jet Li's Eastern Productions with Golden Harvest, released in Hong Kong on 28 July 1994, and marketed as a loose remake of the 1992 Hollywood film *The Bodyguard* starring [Kevin Costner](https://www.edgepedia.org/kevin-costner) and Whitney Houston.[2](https://kungfutube.info/8573) • [3](https://www.avforums.com/reviews/body-guard-from-beijing-4k-2024-uhd-review.22055/) For the American market it was re-titled *The Defender*.[4](https://kungfukingdom.com/the-bodyguard-from-beijing-review/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Original title | 中南海保鏢 (Zhong Nan Hai bao biao); English title *The Bodyguard from Beijing*; US title *The Defender*[1](https://www.newton.com.tw/wiki/%E4%B8%AD%E5%8D%97%E6%B5%B7%E4%BF%9D%E9%8F%A2) • [4](https://kungfukingdom.com/the-bodyguard-from-beijing-review/) |
| Release | Hong Kong 28 July 1994; Taiwan 23 July 1994; South Korea 6 August 1994; Japan November 1995[2](https://kungfutube.info/8573) |
| Running time | 92 minutes[2](https://kungfutube.info/8573) |
| Hong Kong box office | HK$11,193,177, 29th for the year[2](https://kungfutube.info/8573) |
| Key personnel | Director and action director Corey Yuen; action director Yuen Tak; writers Gordon Chan and Chan Kin-Chung; producer Jet Li[5](https://www.cinemasie.com/en/fiche/oeuvre/bodyguardfrombeijing/) |
| Award nomination | Best Action Choreography, 14th Hong Kong Film Awards[1](https://www.newton.com.tw/wiki/%E4%B8%AD%E5%8D%97%E6%B5%B7%E4%BF%9D%E9%8F%A2) |
| Ratings | IMDb 6.4/10 (about 6,300 votes); Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer 67% from 6 reviews[6](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0111835/) • [7](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1068204-defender) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Hui Ching-yang (許正陽), played by Jet Li, is an elite bodyguard trained in a Chinese special security unit. A corrupt businessman has murdered a witness to his crime, and the only surviving witness is Michelle Yeung (楊倩兒), played by Christy Chung, the girlfriend of a wealthy Hong Kong businessman with close connections to the mainland government. Hui is dispatched to Hong Kong to protect her alongside local police officers.[1](https://www.newton.com.tw/wiki/%E4%B8%AD%E5%8D%97%E6%B5%B7%E4%BF%9D%E9%8F%A2) • [8](https://www.tvmao.com/movie/ZSgrHjY%3D)
Michelle initially resents her protector's intrusive methods, but his attention to detail proves necessary when assassins close in, notably during a shootout in a crowded [shopping mall](https://www.edgepedia.org/shopping-mall). As the two spend time together they develop feelings for each other, which Hui suppresses because his assignment forbids personal attachments. The hired killer Wong (王建軍), played by Collin Chou, pursues them to the end, and the film culminates in a one-on-one confrontation.[1](https://www.newton.com.tw/wiki/%E4%B8%AD%E5%8D%97%E6%B5%B7%E4%BF%9D%E9%8F%A2) • [8](https://www.tvmao.com/movie/ZSgrHjY%3D) • [9](https://fareastfilms.com/review/the-bodyguard-from-beijing/)
## Production
Corey Yuen, a frequent collaborator of Jet Li, directed the film and shared action direction with Yuen Tak (元德).[5](https://www.cinemasie.com/en/fiche/oeuvre/bodyguardfrombeijing/) • [10](https://tv.apple.com/sg/movie/the-bodyguard-from-beijing/umc.cmc.25pkjlevrsjp4s2mclfh952m9?l=zh) The screenplay is credited to Gordon Chan (陳嘉上) and Chan Kin-Chung (陳健忠), and Jet Li produced through his Eastern Productions company.[5](https://www.cinemasie.com/en/fiche/oeuvre/bodyguardfrombeijing/) Filming began on 12 May 1994 in Hong Kong.[1](https://www.newton.com.tw/wiki/%E4%B8%AD%E5%8D%97%E6%B5%B7%E4%BF%9D%E9%8F%A2)
**Security on set.** During production, following triad-related incidents in the Hong Kong film industry, Hong Kong police assigned nine bodyguards to protect Jet Li, an irony noted by commentators since he was playing a bodyguard on screen.[2](https://kungfutube.info/8573)
**Censorship.** The film was not released in mainland China; according to a Chinese film encyclopedia entry, censors objected on the grounds that in reality a [Zhongnanhai](https://www.edgepedia.org/zhongnanhai) bodyguard would not be sent to Hong Kong in this way.[11](https://baike.so.com/doc/944912-998800.html)
## Action and reception
The film mixes gunplay with martial arts. Reviewers have highlighted the final fifteen minutes, in which Li and Chou fight in a room slowly filling with gas, a ticking-clock premise that reviewers describe as the film's strongest set piece, with wire-assisted choreography and close-quarters combat.[3](https://www.avforums.com/reviews/body-guard-from-beijing-4k-2024-uhd-review.22055/) • [4](https://kungfukingdom.com/the-bodyguard-from-beijing-review/) The shopping-mall shootout earlier in the film was shot largely in slow motion, a choice several critics found deflating.[3](https://www.avforums.com/reviews/body-guard-from-beijing-4k-2024-uhd-review.22055/)
Critical reception has been mixed. The film holds a 67% Tomatometer on Rotten Tomatoes from six reviews and 6.4/10 on IMDb.[6](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0111835/) • [7](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1068204-defender) Common criticisms target the romance subplot and the relative scarcity of action for most of the running time; the AVForums review calls it a loose remake that "simply isn't very good" outside its final set piece, while a Far East Films review criticizes the finale's choreography.[3](https://www.avforums.com/reviews/body-guard-from-beijing-4k-2024-uhd-review.22055/) • [9](https://fareastfilms.com/review/the-bodyguard-from-beijing/) Chinese-language retrospectives have been more favorable, crediting the film with a tactical realism in its gunfight design and calling it a key work in Jet Li's transition to contemporary action roles.[12](https://post.smzdm.com/p/a8w035xn/)
The film earned HK$11,193,177 in Hong Kong, ranking 29th for the year, and ranked 44th for the year in Taiwan.[2](https://kungfutube.info/8573) In South Korea it drew 155,692 admissions after its 6 August 1994 release.[13](https://cine21.com/movie/info/?movie_id=11687) It received a Best Action Choreography nomination at the 14th Hong Kong Film Awards.[1](https://www.newton.com.tw/wiki/%E4%B8%AD%E5%8D%97%E6%B5%B7%E4%BF%9D%E9%8F%A2)
## Legacy and home video
The film is remembered as an early example of Jet Li in a modern-day, gun-oriented role rather than the period martial-arts parts that made him famous, and reviewers note its closing shot of Li standing before a billowing Chinese flag as a pointed image ahead of the 1997 Hong Kong handover.[4](https://kungfukingdom.com/the-bodyguard-from-beijing-review/) • [3](https://www.avforums.com/reviews/body-guard-from-beijing-4k-2024-uhd-review.22055/) In 2024, 88 Films released a 4K UHD edition restored from the original camera negatives in the film's original 1.85:1 aspect ratio.[3](https://www.avforums.com/reviews/body-guard-from-beijing-4k-2024-uhd-review.22055/)
## References
1. [中南海保鏢, 中文百科全書](https://www.newton.com.tw/wiki/%E4%B8%AD%E5%8D%97%E6%B5%B7%E4%BF%9D%E9%8F%A2)
2. [ターゲット・ブルー／中南海保鑣（1994）, Kungfu Tube](https://kungfutube.info/8573)
3. [The Bodyguard from Beijing 4K Blu-ray Review, AVForums (2024)](https://www.avforums.com/reviews/body-guard-from-beijing-4k-2024-uhd-review.22055/)
4. [The Bodyguard from Beijing (1994), Kung-fu Kingdom](https://kungfukingdom.com/the-bodyguard-from-beijing-review/)
5. [The Bodyguard from Beijing, CinemAsie](https://www.cinemasie.com/en/fiche/oeuvre/bodyguardfrombeijing/)
6. [The Bodyguard from Beijing (1994), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0111835/)
7. [The Bodyguard From Beijing, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1068204-defender)
8. [中南海保镖剧情介绍, 电视猫](https://www.tvmao.com/movie/ZSgrHjY%3D)
9. [The Bodyguard From Beijing (1994) Review, Far East Films](https://fareastfilms.com/review/the-bodyguard-from-beijing/)
10. [The Bodyguard From Beijing, Apple TV](https://tv.apple.com/sg/movie/the-bodyguard-from-beijing/umc.cmc.25pkjlevrsjp4s2mclfh952m9?l=zh)
11. [中南海保镖, 360百科](https://baike.so.com/doc/944912-998800.html)
12. [94香港动作片回望：《中南海保镖》何以封神, 什么值得买](https://post.smzdm.com/p/a8w035xn/)
13. [보디가드 (The Bodyguard From Beijing), 씨네21](https://cine21.com/movie/info/?movie_id=11687)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Action and adventure films (individual works) › Action thrillers, 1980s and 1990s*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license