Brief Story Line
Story was set somewhere in South East Asia where a group of young children had been missing for quite some time. A journalist named Matia (Jeeja Yanin - Triple Threat, Tom Yum Goong 2 etc) was trying to uncover the truth but somehow ended up missing herself. While investigating her disappearance, Matia's husband Navin (Joe Taslim - Mortal Kombat II, The Night Comes for Us etc) found access to some child traffickers who he believed to be responsible.
Meanwhile a Chinese mute handyman (Xie Miao - The New Legend of Shaolin, The Thousand Faces of Dunjia etc) was visited by his young daughter Rainy (Yang En You - Lighting Up the Stars etc) who tried to convince him to return to China. When Rainy was going out by herself, she was taken by a group of kidnappers that included the very strong Ho (Brian Le - American Born Chinese TV series etc). Rainy's father tried to do all he could to get her back by investigating the kidnappers himself and ended up working together with Navin.
So what would happen to them and how would the story conclude? You could find out in this movie.
End of Brief Story Line
Yes, the movie plot was indeed that simple. Just two people from different background who joint forces to fight a very dangerous group of bad guys who used all sort of violence to achieve their goals. But the story simplicity was exactly what I was hoping for in this kind of full action movie. There was no need for over complication of the plot and I could just sit back enjoy the ride. And boy what a ride it was! All the positive comments from people who had seen this movie were really spot on. My wife and I were totally entertained by the brutality and amazing fight choreography across the film which was almost nonstop. Through out the 113 minutes (including closing credits without any mid or post end credit scene), there were little conversations here and there which were not long enough to make us bored as they were brief. The rest were just fights, fights and fights.
Xie Miao and Joe Taslim were truly awesome in this film where they were able to show off their wonderful fighting abilities using Kung Fu and Judo respectively. However, the villains were incredible as well and they really made all the fights worthwhile. We got to see Brian Le using brute force which was suitable for his large built and of course the two major enemies Joey Iwanaga (Rurouni Kenshin: The Final, Alice in Borderland season 3 etc) playing the boss Paklung and another Indonesian Yayan Ruhian (Ben & Jody, Who Is Erin Carter TV series etc) as the right hand man Tak both showed why they were the perfect opponents for the protagonists. The fights though were not just among them but also with various other people in different kind of environments. I was in awe with all the fight scenes with my favorites the one in the ice factory and that extraordinary long but truly satisfying finale. It was something that I never saw before, and you would totally agree with me when you see by yourself the brilliance and awesomeness.
None of the above would have been entertaining without the directing of Kenji Tanikagi who had directed Enter the Fat Dragon and Legend of the Seven Monks previously. But it was his work as Stunt Coordinator & Action Director for numerous top Japanese and Hong Kong action movies such as live action Rurouni Kenshin & its sequels, SPL: Sha Po Lang, Sakra, Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In and many more that truly put his name to the action genre. His camera work and the intelligent use of various items available in the location were also the best highlights. Btw, this film relied heavily on the action from fighting, so it was not the highly explosive kind. There was even only 1 car chase scene which was combined with brutal fight.
Aside from the names above, the movie was also supported by Thailand cast such as Sahajak Boonthanakit as Mr. Song, Manatsanun Phanlerdwongsakul (Sweet Dreams TV series, The Edge of Daybreak etc) as Police Sergeant Yadong and several others. It should not be surprising as the film was shot entirely in Thailand even though it is a Hong Kong production. Of all the positives of the film though, we did notice few shortcomings like the poor dubbing (my wife said they were too clean and clearly done in studio) which actually made some of the actors look bad and the subpar editing which resulted to some abrupt cut between scenes. However, they were not such a major factor that totally ruined the whole film. Plus the movie also has a satisfying ending.
Overall this was one greatly done, no nonsense, full action movie where you could truly enjoy multiple well executed fight scenes choreographed by very experienced action director & stunt coordinator. The action was made entertaining due to the excellent choice of cast who were able to perform brilliantly. Critics and audience have universally acclaimed this film with many dubbing it as the best action movie of the year (even decade) which I had to agree. I understand people might be comparing this to another famous full action Indonesian film The Raid, but I personally felt that one was more bloody (gore) & violent from start to finish whereas this one though brutal but we could see a lot of the bad guys were just beaten down. Plus The Raid focused on Silat martial arts while in here we can see several types of them. In the end, if you are a fan of full brawl movie then you definitely would not want to miss this. But if you prefer a film with good scenario, wonderful acting & full of explosions action, then this might not satisfy you. For me and my wife, this is well worth the effort to see in the cinema.
Mike's movie moments rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
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