(Now, a little background: Tony Jaa is a Muay Thai master and probably the best martial arts star since Bruce Lee. Yes, the movies are just as cheesy, but the bloke, like Lee, is a star and something very special. His stunts are all "live", no wires, no CGI, just astonishing physicality.)
Movie reviewers have said things like:
Suddenly The Matrix looks about as relevant as VHS tapes.
and:
Christ, the fight scenes are good. So good, Pinkaew could have replaced the rest of the film with linking, silent movie-style title cards (‘KHAM ENTERS RESTAURANT, STILL ELEPHANTLESS’, ‘KHAM WANDERS INTO BURNING TEMPLE FOR SOME REASON – NOT IMPORTANT’), chopped the running-time to 30 mins, and we’d still recommend you go see it.
So, having watched Ong-Bak and Warrior King, seeing "Battle Warrior" in the video shop was like a red rag to a bull.
Now, I saw this as someone who has sat through any number of bad, poorly dubbed martial arts extravaganzas and enjoyed them:
Do not, under any circumstances, watch this movie.
It is awful. It's beyond awful. It's not so bad that it's good. It's so bad that it's not good. It's not going to be a cult classic. It's just shit. Toe-curlingly hideous, overblown and stupid. And it's also a lie: it's not a Tony Jaa movie, he has about 2 minutes of screen time.
Do not watch this ... paint a wall and watch it dry instead. It is a better use of your time.
2 comments:
Was watching Warrior King this weekend actually; plot to Tony Jaa movies are the most hilarious things on the planet and all revolve around the same basic premise:
1. Thugs steal (insanely weird thing to steal) object with particularly significance to village full of peasants...
2. Jaa uses this as an excuse to redeem lost object whilst similtaneously making a social commentary on lost cultural heritage and kicking numerous asses, accompanied by a fat geezer who looks like Thailands answer to John Candy commenting on how wonderful he is.
3. Fight at the end could go either way (but doesn't) once Tony realises the power of ancient ancestral wisdom/elephant bone batons/magic bag of peasant woo/him being significantly harder than anyone else in the room.
4. Film ends.
...and yet its still brilliant.
thanks for the heads up about Battle Warrior.
BTW did you spot Jackie Chan in the Warrior King?
I don't remember seeing Jackie Chan, no. I'll have to watch it again to see if I spot him.
What a chore! :o)
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