Imagine you and your buddies are in high school, and one of your friends is Tony Jaa, and you want to make a little movie to show off Tony's awesome talents, like that ninja guy you see on youtube. Then imagine that the Thai government gives you a couple of million dollars to do it professionally. That's how this movie comes off.
The plot and characters are pretty forgettable. I guess if you know nothing about Buddhism or Thailand you might get something out of it, I don't know. The real reason to watch this movie of course is for Tony Jaa. And don't worry, you won't miss anything. Every time Tony does something cool, which is often, you get to see it two or three times in slow motion. I didn't mind it here because this is my introduction to Jaa, but now that he's got a few movies under his belt he should probably cut back on that stuff.
The fight choreography was a mixed bag, IMO. There was a lot of pausing between moves, which made it seem a bit old-fashioned. The opponents were pretty uninspired too; I don't think much thought went into them.
It's exciting to see a talented young martial arts performer like Jaa come along, but for anyone who thinks Jackie Chan (who Jaa borrows heavily from) or Jet Li have something to worry about, you're dead wrong... at least for now. I look forward to the next one.
The plot and characters are pretty forgettable. I guess if you know nothing about Buddhism or Thailand you might get something out of it, I don't know. The real reason to watch this movie of course is for Tony Jaa. And don't worry, you won't miss anything. Every time Tony does something cool, which is often, you get to see it two or three times in slow motion. I didn't mind it here because this is my introduction to Jaa, but now that he's got a few movies under his belt he should probably cut back on that stuff.
The fight choreography was a mixed bag, IMO. There was a lot of pausing between moves, which made it seem a bit old-fashioned. The opponents were pretty uninspired too; I don't think much thought went into them.
It's exciting to see a talented young martial arts performer like Jaa come along, but for anyone who thinks Jackie Chan (who Jaa borrows heavily from) or Jet Li have something to worry about, you're dead wrong... at least for now. I look forward to the next one.