''Bodies at Rest'' is a 2019 action thriller film directed by

Renny Harlin Renny Harlin (born Renny Lauri Mauritz Harjola; 15 March 1959) is a Finnish film director, Film producer, producer, and screenwriter who has worked in Cinema of the United States, Hollywood, Europe, and Cinema of China, China. His best-known film ...

, starring

Nick Cheung Nicholas Cheung Ka-fai (; born 2 December 1964) is a Hong Kong actor, singer and director. He first gained recognition for his roles in '' The Conman'' (1998) and '' The Tricky Master'' (1999). He went on to star in the films '' Beast Stalker'' (20 ...

Richie Jen Richie Jen Hsien-chi (, born 23 June 1966), also known as Richie Ren, is a Taiwanese singer and actor. He graduated from the Chinese Culture University's physical education department. Jen debuted in December 1990 with the studio album ''Ask ...

, and Yang Zi. It is Harlin's third Chinese-language film, following ''

Skiptrace Skiptracing is the process of locating a person's whereabouts. Skiptracing tactics may be employed by a skip tracer, contact tracer (in a public health context), debt collector, process server, bail bondsman or bail agency enforcer (bounty hun ...

'' (2016) and ''

Legend of the Ancient Sword ''Legend of the Ancient Sword'' ( zh, 古剑奇谭之流月昭明) is a Chinese fantasy-adventure-action film directed by Renny Harlin and based on the video game '' Gu Jian Qi Tan 2''. The film was released worldwide on October 1, 2018. Plot Due ...

'' (2018). The film had its world premiere as the opening film of the 43rd

Hong Kong International Film Festival The Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF) is one of Asia's oldest international film festivals. Founded in 1976, the festival features different movies and filmmakers from different countries, and takes place in Hong Kong. HKIFF screens ...

on March 18, 2019. It was released in China on August 16, 2019. The movie is considered a moderate commercial success.

Plot

A pathologist Chen Jia Hao and his assistant Lynn are working late at a public morgue on a Christmas Eve. Three masked men break into the morgue, trying to retrieve a bullet from a corpse.

Cast

as Nick Chan *

as Santa * Yang Zi as Lynn Qiao *

Clara Lee Clara Lee (; born 14 January 1985), birth name Lee Sung-min () and better known by her mononym Clara, is an actress and model based in South Korea. Career Clara made her entertainment debut under her birth name in 2005 and starred in her fir ...

as Ankie Cheng *

MC Jin Jin Au-Yeung (; born June 4, 1982), known professionally as MC Jin, is an American rapper, songwriter, actor and comedian of Chinese descent. Jin is notable for being the first Asian American Asian Americans are Americans with ancestry ...

as Wyatt (

cleaner A cleaner, cleanser or cleaning operative is a type of industrial or domestic worker who is tasked with cleaning a space. A janitor (Scotland, United States and Canada), also known as a custodian, Facility Operator, porter or caretaker, is a pe ...

)

Release

The film had its world premiere as the opening film of the 43rd

on March 18, 2019. It was also screened at the

Far East Film Festival Far East Film Festival (FEFF) is an annual film festival held in Udine, Italy. It is one of the most important events promoting Asian Cinema in Europe. It focuses mainly on the films from East Asia East Asia is a geocultural region of Asia. ...

and the

Edinburgh International Film Festival The Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF), established in 1947, is the world's oldest continually running film festival. EIFF presents both UK and international films (all titles are World, international, European or UK Premieres), in al ...

. It was released in China on August 16, 2019. The film earned $18 million in its opening weekend.

Reception

On review aggregator website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, the film holds an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . Elizabeth Kerr of ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' wrote, "Despite its flaws, ''Bodies'' grabs you quickly and never really lets go for the entirety of its lean, efficient 90 minutes." She described the film as "the simultaneously derivative and yet entirely amusing hodgepodge." Fionnuala Halligan of ''

Screen International ''Screen International'' is a British film magazine covering the international film business. It is published by Media Business Insight, a British B2B media company which also owned '' Broadcast''. The magazine is primarily aimed at those involv ...

'' commented that the film "delivers what it promises and no more, but it fulfils its brief with eye-rolling relish."

References

External links

* {{Renny Harlin 2019 films 2010s Christmas films 2019 action thriller films Chinese action thriller films Chinese Christmas films Hong Kong action thriller films Hong Kong Christmas films Media Asia films Films directed by Renny Harlin 2010s Hong Kong films