Born To Fight - Thai Style Ass Kicking

Jan

4

Born To Fight - Thai Style Ass Kicking

≡ Category: Action, Martial Arts, Movie Reviews By Country, Recommended, Thailand |
≅ Written by: Michael Kydonieus

Country: Thailand
Genre: Action/Martial Arts
Director: Panna Rittikrai
Year: 2004

Rating:

TRASH CINEMA RECOMMENDED MOVIE

When I saw the trailer for Born To Fight, my reaction was “Woo-hoo!” That will probably be your reaction too, at least if you have any affection for the crazy stunts that used to be routine in Hong Kong action films during the Golden Age (1985-1995).

Actually, the awesome stunts and martial arts aren’t the only virtue of Born To Fight. After the opening action scene in which Deaw (Dan Chupong) captures drug trafficker General Yang (Nappon Gomarachun), there is a long tranquil stretch that depicts Bangkok’s best athletes gathering for an exhibition in a small village in the North.

Those who have had little exposure to the Thai people might think that the politeness, patience and good will depicted in this section is an exaggeration. I assure you that it is not. At one point, I took lessons in the Thai language for about a year at a Buddhist temple, and that’s how Thai people really are.

These scenes are directed in a leisurely manner, which is not really a problem. We get a sense of the Thai people and their culture through the activities of these specific individuals. They’re an attractive, peaceful lot.

That makes it all the more appalling when commandos appear on the scene and start indiscriminately killing men, women and children. Director Panna Rittikrai (who was the martial arts choreographer for Ong-Bak) doesn’t spare us — the killings of these innocents are graphic and brutal. It turns out that the commandos have taken the villagers hostage in exchange for the release of General Yang. The commandos are portrayed as dead-eyed brutes, which is fine with me. One bastard in particular spits contemptously every time he kills some civilian in cold blood. Nothing like a little melodrama to get the blood moving.

Eventually, the visiting athletes and the villagers fight back. Everyone gets in the act, including old people, women and young kids — even a guy with one leg and a crutch. To the credit of the filmmakers, none of this looks easy. Even after they start fighting back, there are plenty of casualties among the good guys.

The problem with Born To Fight is the direction and editing. As fabulous as the stuntwork and fighting are, the picture doesn’t move. It makes you miss the slam-bang pacing of those old Golden Age Of Hong Kong flicks. There are times when undercranking the camera would have helped (which appears to speed up the action). For example, in several instances, trucks crash into buildings or over cliffs. That would be fine, except the trucks are obviously only moving about 15 miles an hour. That’s about as exciting as watching your girlfriend put on her makeup.

At the other extreme, sometimes director Panna Rittikrai will undercrank a scene too much, so that it is obvious that the action has been speeded up like a cartoon.

There are more flaws, if you care to dwell on them.

Some people might be bothered by all the patriotic Thai flag waving. I personally found it touching and amusing.

More problematically, when a timed bomb explodes during the grand finale, there are actually as many as twelve separate explosions. This might make sense if the explosion took place in a fuel depot, but it’s in the middle of a country village. That shows a lack of planning on director Panna Rittikrai’s part. If he wanted to blow up the village, he needed to prepare for it logically. For example, the commandos could have been shown storing ordinance in several of the buildings.

There is also some crappy CGI which calls attention to itself in a dream sequence involving the destruction of Bangkok (don’t ask).

All of these flaws prevent Born To Fight from being a great modern action picture, but it’s still fun to watch.