Power Kids (AKA Force Of Five/Five Heart Heroes) (2009) - A Review

 

Power Kids is a children's movie not safe for children.

Power Kids (also known as Five Heart Heroes or Force Of Five) is a Thai action/martial arts/comedy movie released in 2009. It stars Nantawooti Boonrapsap, Sasisa Jindamanee, Paytaaai Wongkamlao, Nawarat Techarathanaprasert, Pimchanok Luevisadpaibul, Johnny Trí Nguyễn, and Darun Tantiwichitwech. Power Kids was directed by Krissanapong Rachata.

From left: Pong, Woot, Jib, and Cat.

 

In Power Kids,Woot (played by Nantawooti Boonrapsap), Cat (played by Sasisa Jindamanee), Pong (played by Paytaaai Wongkamlao) and Woon (played by Darun Tantiwichitwech) are friends who live together at their teacher's Muay Thai school. Woon, Woot's younger brother, has a heart condition which is worsening. After an incident with bullies sends Woon to the hospital, they find out he needs a heart transplant as soon as possible. Luckily (or unluckily, depending on your point of view) there is a donor at another hospital in the city. Things are set up and ready to go when terrorists invade the hospital where the donor is located, locking the whole place down. With the knowledge that the donated heart can only survive four hours after being taken out of the donor, Woot vows to get the heart for his brother. Woot, Cat, Pong, and Jib (played by Nawarat Techarathanaprasert) infiltrate the hospital to retrieve the heart before the four hours are up. Along the way they make unlikely allies and fight off gun-toting terrorists!

These terrorists are not messing around!

 

This is one peculiar movie! Though the tone of this film is of a family friendly type of movie...there are some violent scenes in here! Truthfully, this is one of the most violent kids movies I've ever seen! People are getting shot to death (with blood spraying realistically, at least), people falling to their deaths, people being set on fire; it's just wild! It's funny because the movie starts off like a typical kids movie. You don't expect it to go that far! The first sign that this movie is not safe for kids is when a drunk character enters the Muay Thai school cussing up a storm in English! The kids savagely beat him up, naturally. Actually, at the start of the movie there is a violent shoot out between soldiers, so...that would be the first sign this isn't a regular kids movie!

I actually did not like this movie when I first watched it. I usually don't mind a mixing of genres, but this one was a bit too far. On my second viewing of Power Kids (for this review), I actually liked it a lot! I don't know, I just went with it! The movie is a bit funny, at least (the best comedic scene is when Pong and Jib are in the hospital morgue). Though, there is some comedy based on child abuse... so be prepared. The kids are pretty good actors, especially Woon's actor. You really feel for him and hope everything turns out for the best for him.

Woot and Cat go hard on their opponents!

 

The action in Power Kids is pretty good! It's not Hong Kong style, it is based more on Muay Thai. Woot and Cat throw brutal knees and elbows at the heads and faces of their opponents. Sasisa Jindamanee, who plays Cat, is awesome in this. She can really kick some butt! Nantawooti Boonrapsap, who plays Woot, is great too. In one scene he knees a guy through glass, and he doesn't even cover his face while going through the glass! That kid is hardcore! Johnny Trí Nguyễn, who plays the second in command of the terrorists, is a great fighter. He does take a beating from these little kids, though! As for the other action in this, there is violent gunplay, stabbings, and explosions. It's got everything you would want in an action movie!

So, should you watch Power Kids? I have to say yes. This is a movie you have to see to believe! I would advise that you do not show little children this movie! 3 Ninjas this is not! The story is simple, but serviceable. The action is hard-hitting and surprisingly violent. There is some good comedy in this, and it can get sappy at times, but it's undeniably entertaining. Give it a shot!

The cover of the Blu-Ray I watched for this review. I bought it for $1 at Dollar Tree, can you believe it? A dollar for a martial arts movie? I'm there!

 

The back cover of the Blu-Ray. It even hints that this movie is not for kids!

The Blu-Ray disc itself.

 

 

 

 

Reviewed by David Williams

Chocolate (2008) - A Review

 

Chocolate is an amazing movie.

Chocolate is a Thai martial arts movie released in 2008. It stars Yanin "Jeeja" Vismitananda, Ammara Siripong, Taphon Phopwandee, Hiroshi Abe, and Pongpat Wachirabunjong. The movie was directed by Prachya Pinkaew, with fight choreography and stunts by Panna Rittikrai.

Jeeja Yanin plays Zen, a young autistic woman who is able to mimic the martial arts styles that she sees. At first she sees muay thai fighters training and starts mimicking and training like them. She sees Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan movies on TV and is able to mimic their styles. She even mimics Tony Jaa! Her friend Mangmoom, or Moom for short (played by Taphon Phopwandee), uses Zen's lack of fear, and skill in catching objects thrown at her, to make money on the streets. Zen's mother, Zin (played by Ammara Siripong), has cancer and can't pay for the chemo treatments or medicine. Moom finds Zin's book of people who owe her money, and decides to ask them for the money owed so he can pay for Zin's treatments. Well, Zen loves her mother very much, and won't take 'no' for an answer when the debtors refuse to pay. She beats up all the workers of the debtors/bosses that they encounter! This catches the attention of Number 8, the former crime boss of Zin and Musashi, Zen's father (played by Hiroshi Abe).

Zin writes a letter to Musashi (who is in Japan) warning him about what is going on. Moom gets kidnapped, and Zin and Zen go to confront Number 8 to get him back. As you can imagine, all heck breaks loose from there!

This is a very cool movie! I think it was so cool that even though Zen is autistic, she is not portrayed as weak. Yes, Zen has her fears, but she is not scared to stand up for herself or her family. Zen is a very strong and determined person!

There is a wide variety in action scenes. The first few fights are inspired by martial arts movie legends Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan. The Bruce Lee scene takes place in an ice factory (if you know your Bruce Lee movies, you know what that's referencing). I will say, she has the classic Bruce Lee mannerisms down, but the fight scene isn't really Bruce Lee-like. She actually doesn't punch that much during this fight, and Bruce had some fierce punches in his movies. The Jackie Chan fight takes place in a warehouse, and Zen uses her surroundings in the fight. Pretty cool fight scene. The best fight scene in the movie, to me, is Zen's fight against Thomas, a B-boy who moves erratically. Thomas' timing and tempo of fighting confuses Zen at first, until she mimics his style. Really cool fight!

Of course, the movie footage of Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan had to be removed, but if you are a martial arts movie fan, you will recognize the homages. The end of the movie also shows the outtakes where the stuntmen and Jeeja herself get injured. Thailand has some of the most brutal stunts in movies today, so it is important to see what the stuntmen go through when filming. I will tell you, I feel bad for the stuntmen in Thailand! 

So, should you see Chocolate? I would say yes! Jeeja Yanin is an amazing martial arts actress, and she struts her stuff in this movie fighting-wise, but also acting-wise! The movie starts off with a dramatic backstory for the characters, and ends up going crazy action-wise! The version I watched is the edited international version, so I really want to see the unedited Thai version some day. Nevertheless, don't miss out on this movie! Jeeja Yanin is really underrated and deserves more recognition.

Front cover of the DVD I watched for this review.

Back cover of the DVD.

The DVD disc. I need the unedited version of this movie on Blu-Ray!

Reviewed by David Williams

Tom-Yum-Goong (AKA The Protector Unedited) (2005) - A Review

 

Tony Jaa ready for action!

 

Tom-Yum-Goong is a Thai martial arts movie released in 2005 starring Tony Jaa, Mum Jokmok, Bongkoj Khongmalai, Xing Jin, Damian De Montemas, and Johnny Tri Nguyen. The movie was directed by Prachya Pinkaew, and fight choreography was done by Tony Jaa and Panna Rittikrai. Tom-Yum-Goong is known as The Protector in the United States in an edited version of the movie.

Tony Jaa plays Kham, the last guard of the royal elephants in Thailand. He grew up around elephants, particularly Por Yai (full grown) and Kohrn (baby elephant), who he considers family. These elephants are stolen at the New Year's festival, and Kham's father is injured in the process. It is Kham's responsibility to protect those elephants, so he goes in search of them.He ends up going to Sydney, Australia in his quest to find them. While there, he joins forces with a fellow Thai cop named Mark (played by Mum Jokmok). Tony Jaa becomes falsely accused of a crime and becomes hunted by the police. In all of this, Chinese triad bosses jockey for leadership, which affects Kham's quest.

Admittedly, the plot of the movie is a bit simplistic. Kham wants his elephants back. A lot of people made fun of this back when it was released in America. I didn't have a problem with the story. It was what Kham was raised and trained to do. I guess in the American edit, the importance of the elephants and Kham's true relationship to them aren't really thoroughly explained. In the original version, we see the townspeople praying for the missing elephants. We are shown why the elephants are so important, and why Kham goes through all the trouble he does to get them back.

Then there is the main villain, played by Xing Jin. She is a trans woman, and the other triad bosses don't take her seriously because of it. It is a bit complicated how she is treated in the movie. The rival triad bosses treat her disrespectfully. To Kham, it doesn't matter. To me, it does not seem like she is portrayed as evil because she is trans; she is evil because she is overly ambitious and greedy. I really hope I am reading that portrayal right. The backstories of villains don't interest me much, but hers' is pretty interesting. I will say, the corrupt cop working with her is a dead ringer for an older Andrew Garfield!

The action is really good in this one! Kham's first fight in the movie has one of the best hero entrances ever! The fight in the subway is awesome; a lot of creative choreography and stunts in that one. Then there is the one-shot fight scene, where Kham goes up a flight of stairs fighting off bad guys. Really cool to see a one-shot fight scene like that, and man that must have been tiring to prepare for, film, and perform in! Kham has awesome fights with a capoeira fighter (Lateef Crowder) and a wu shu fighter (Jon Foo). Probably my favorite fights in the film! There is the fight scene where he destroys dozens of guys' limbs and joints with bone cracking submissions, strikes, and holds. At the end he has to fight a bunch of roided up fighters (with Nathan Jones being the main one). It's a good fight scene, creative and hard-hitting, but the roided up guys are not very mobile.

So, do I recommend Tom-Yum-Goong? Yes I do! As I said before, the plot is a bit simplistic, but the action more than makes up for it. Tony Jaa is a dynamo in this! Plus, if you've ever wanted to see a musclehead fling a young elephant across the room, this is the movie for you! Try to watch the full version of the movie, though. It has a nicer pace, and has more scenes expanding on the plot and motivations of characters. Some characters' fates are changed as well (as compared to the American edited version).

 

I watched the Dragon Dynasty DVD release of this movie!

I really need this movie on Blu-Ray!

Disc 1 is the American cut, called 'The Protector'.

Disc 2 has the original cut of Tom-Yum-Goong.

 

Reviewed by David Williams

Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior (2003) - A Review

 

One of the many posters for Ong-Bak.

Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior is a Thai martial arts movie released in 2003, starring Tony Jaa, Mum Jokmok, Suchao Pongwilai, Pumwaree Yodkamol, and Chattaphong Pantana-Angkul. The movie is directed by Prachya Pinkaew, with fight and stunt choreography by Panna Rittikrai.

 In Ong-Bak, Tony Jaa plays Ting, a skilled muay thai fighter who volunteers to find the stolen head of his village's Ong-Bak statue. The village is small and impoverished, and they give the little money they have to him to help him survive the city they suspect the lead suspect lives in. In Bangkok, Ting meets up with George/Humlae (played by Mum Jokmok), his cousin who has abandoned his humble village's values. One thing leads to another, and Humlae steals the villagers' money and bets it all at an underground fighting tournament. Ting unwittingly enters the tournament and wins his fight easily. This embarrasses Komtuan (played by Pongwilai), the local crime boss, and gets Ting on his radar. From there, Ting and Humlae team up to find the Ong-Bak, with chases and fights galore!

This movie was Tony Jaa's break out role, and it is a showcase for his incredible martial arts and acrobatic skills. In the first chase sequence, you see Tony doing incredible acrobatics to run away from a crowd of thugs. The way he slides under an SUV is amazing. Not only that, he jumps over two moving cars twice in a row, all without wires! Tony Jaa makes gravity his b****!

The fight scenes are choreographed to show off a more traditional form of muay thai, and to show off Tony Jaa's fighting prowess. His second underground tournament fight is hard-hitting, and he takes on three different opponents (including a very Bruce Lee-like fighter). This is his first major fight in the movie, and he impresses! There are other fights with crazy stuff in them, like when he does a knee, then a multi-spin kick to a guy's face...with his legs on fire! Literal fire kick! Of course, the final fights are the best. You see his quickness, his agility, his weapon ability, and the power behind his strikes in these fights! The fights in this movie may not have the incredible choreography of Hong Kong movies, but Panna Rittikrai does a great job showing the power of traditional muay thai and the skill level of Tony Jaa.

The story is a bit simple, I will admit, but there is nothing wrong with that when you have characters and  action scenes that make up for it. Humlae, though a bit of a greedy scammer at the start, is great throughout this movie. You grow to like him. He is really funny, too! Komtuan, the main villain, is a very flawed character. He is very powerful, but he is confined to a wheelchair and has to talk with an electrolarynx. Even so, he is a very proud, greedy, and petty man. What a jerk! As is Don, the guy who steals the Ong-Bak head in the first place! I hate that guy!

The version I watched was the edited version released by EuropaCorp. A subplot involving Muay's sister is apparently edited out, and the final fight between Ting and Saming is shortened. It also has a hip hop/techno soundtrack, as compared to the Thai rock the original had. All in all, three minutes are edited out. Even so, I would like to see the original version. This version is very good, though! I like some of the music in it! I have to get this on Blu-Ray!

So, should you see it? I would say yes! Just keep in mind, the story is a bit basic. If you've never seen Tony Jaa in action, you need to see this NOW! I just hope Tony Jaa will gain that superstardom that has eluded him since. He is way too talented to not be starring in huge action movies!

Front cover of the DVD I watched for this review.

Back cover of DVD.

Disc of version I watched.

Reviewed by David Williams