bolofan
02-19-2009, 10:14 PM
http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/5396/somtumrm7.jpg
I started watching this film really hoping to enjoy it. What a shame it just came across as painfully average.
Firstly, I enjoy Thai cinema enormously and I did not expect this film to be a ground breaking piece of martial arts cinema, nor did I expect it to be the pinnacle of dramatic or comedic films.
I just expected it to be an enjoyable 90 minutes, relaxing and watching a bit of choreographed destruction.
Sadly though, in my humble opinion this film fails on all fronts.
Nathan Jones stars as Barney, a mountain of a man who has been robbed and left without money or a passport in Thailand. To be honest, he gets off to a promising start in this film as his acting is kept to a minimum and he passes through one scene to the next quite well.
It doesn't take long to realise that he can't act at all and sadly this seems to be a trend in this movie as every english speaking cast member in this film may as well carry the script around with them, because at times, it borders on excruciating.
I won't go into details on the wafer thin plot (lets just say bad guys, valuable diamond, prevailing friendships etc) but there is hardly a moment in the film where I found myself feeling anything for any character or any situation they have got themselves in. But enough bitching about plots and acting, I'm in this for the violence.
Nathan Jones doesn't actually do that much himself in this film except reel off a handful of wrestling moves, which given his previous career, can't have been too stressful for him. The majority of the action is played out by Sasisa Jindamanee who plays Dokya and to be fair, she deals out punishment like no child I've ever seen. Throw in a small role for Dan Chupong and you have yourself just enough action to keep this turd floating. It may be just me, but it felt like Chupong just phoned it in on this one, he doesn't break any ground at all in his fight scene but I guess that is down to the choreographer.
Watch it and judge for yourself as I am sure there will be mixed reviews for this film. But for me, it felt like an action comedy with a handful of passable fight scenes and very little comedy. It attempts the heart warming ending but by that point I felt a bit cheated considering the cast and also considering it was choreographed by Panna Rittikrai.
PROS
A mini muay thai warrior with a big heart deals out pain.
Dan Chupong fans get to see him for a bit.
CONS
Nathan Jones is as awkward as a buttplug.
The BADDIES just suck major balls.
A lot of the thai actors have quite a few english speaking lines, which you still need subs for. But to be fair, they made more sense than Nathan Jones.
Nathan Jones.
Nathan Jones.
Nathan Jones.
Rating: 2.5/10
I started watching this film really hoping to enjoy it. What a shame it just came across as painfully average.
Firstly, I enjoy Thai cinema enormously and I did not expect this film to be a ground breaking piece of martial arts cinema, nor did I expect it to be the pinnacle of dramatic or comedic films.
I just expected it to be an enjoyable 90 minutes, relaxing and watching a bit of choreographed destruction.
Sadly though, in my humble opinion this film fails on all fronts.
Nathan Jones stars as Barney, a mountain of a man who has been robbed and left without money or a passport in Thailand. To be honest, he gets off to a promising start in this film as his acting is kept to a minimum and he passes through one scene to the next quite well.
It doesn't take long to realise that he can't act at all and sadly this seems to be a trend in this movie as every english speaking cast member in this film may as well carry the script around with them, because at times, it borders on excruciating.
I won't go into details on the wafer thin plot (lets just say bad guys, valuable diamond, prevailing friendships etc) but there is hardly a moment in the film where I found myself feeling anything for any character or any situation they have got themselves in. But enough bitching about plots and acting, I'm in this for the violence.
Nathan Jones doesn't actually do that much himself in this film except reel off a handful of wrestling moves, which given his previous career, can't have been too stressful for him. The majority of the action is played out by Sasisa Jindamanee who plays Dokya and to be fair, she deals out punishment like no child I've ever seen. Throw in a small role for Dan Chupong and you have yourself just enough action to keep this turd floating. It may be just me, but it felt like Chupong just phoned it in on this one, he doesn't break any ground at all in his fight scene but I guess that is down to the choreographer.
Watch it and judge for yourself as I am sure there will be mixed reviews for this film. But for me, it felt like an action comedy with a handful of passable fight scenes and very little comedy. It attempts the heart warming ending but by that point I felt a bit cheated considering the cast and also considering it was choreographed by Panna Rittikrai.
PROS
A mini muay thai warrior with a big heart deals out pain.
Dan Chupong fans get to see him for a bit.
CONS
Nathan Jones is as awkward as a buttplug.
The BADDIES just suck major balls.
A lot of the thai actors have quite a few english speaking lines, which you still need subs for. But to be fair, they made more sense than Nathan Jones.
Nathan Jones.
Nathan Jones.
Nathan Jones.
Rating: 2.5/10