Merrick again...
Here's Jaymo with a look at THE PROTECTOR (aka TOM YUM GOONG), from the astounding Tony Jaa.
To avoid the flury of "this is old news!" Talkbacks, I should probably point out that...while this film has been in global circulation for a while now...it won't hit the U.S. until September 8 (courtesy of the Weinsteins).
Which makes it new news to us, even though it's old news to others, and maybe some of us. Or, something like that.
Here's Jaymo, who seems to feel the movie is both hit & miss. We appreciate the write-up!
I’ve always been a fan of world cinema, especially eastern cinema. So when a small cinema in London (where my buddy works) started showing Tom Yum Goong AKA Warrior King in the UK (The Protector in the US) I was there in an instant was only on for a couple days so made sure I got a ticket and made the trip.
I have been a fan of martial arts movie since I saw fist of fury in the early 80’s when I was an impressionable young dude. Ill be the first to admit that the martial arts genre has been very subdued over the last few years, The top stars in the business are greatly misused in the west, like jet and Jackie Chan, both of which have become legends thanks to the work they did in Hong Kong a decade or so ago. Jet Li has been given some dreadful attempts at movies to star in. Romeo Must die is an absolute joke. It infuriates me that one of the best martial artists in the world is put on strings for effect. Now don’t get me wrong, that effect works well in the realm of fantasy and mystique, (like in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) but on the modern streets of LA. Please. Sorry that was a bit of a rant but it’s this misuse of talent that is hurting the genre.
So When Tony Jaa came on the scene in ONG BAK, I was blown away. Yes the movie is made cheaply by modern Hollywood standards and is a little disjointed, but that adds to the charm for me. It concentrated on what it was, a showcase for the extaroindary physical talents of Tony Jaa. Not only can he do stunts that make a contortionist wince, he has the martial arts skill in Maui Tai to back it up. This guy is for real. The instant he hits the screen you know whatever happens, you want to witness it, and you just know he can become a true great in the genre.
This is why I was very anxious to see Warrior King, because I knew that it had more money thrown at it to make it bigger, and bigger isn’t always better. It is Thailand’s most expensive film to date. I feared that it was going to be a gold plated turd. I was worried I was going to witness the start of a misuse of another talent.
When I was sat down in the theatre I was so excited I nearly forgot to see the fact me and my buddy were the only ones in the theatre. It just goes to show how little the film is advertised in the UK. This is where some of the money should of gone, marketing.
I won’t go too heavy into the plot details or spoilers not because it has twists or turns or great surprises but I simply do not want to ruin some of the most jaw dropping stunt work I have seen for years.
The story follows Jaa’s Character growing up following the tradition of protecting his family of elephants, for one day the elephants may be called upon to be used by the king. Even in modern Thailand, this is still a tradition practiced with pride. I was very impressed by the way they handled the relationship between Jaa and the elephants. It could have easily been hammed up and look silly. But the makers managed to not only keep this in check but incorporate enough feeling between Jaa and his elephants that they become important to the dynamic of the film, real characters. You can even see him train with them. They help him hone his skills. So when these Elephants are stolen and shipped to Australia you really want Jaa to go and find them, and kick shit loads of skull in on the way.
That is the basic premise of the film. On the way he befriends a Thai cop, who gets framed by the elephant thieves, gets entangled in an illegal rare animal restaurant. All of the bad guys work for a Thai ladyboy (yes they went all crying game) who speaks Mandarin. I know this because I speak it myself. Why this is, is never really acknowledged or explained, but you come to expect this from Star Vehicles. Australia was clearly chosen because it is cheap to film there and there are a lot of massive fighters in Australia these days. Men like Nathan Jones. So he duly appears as the unstoppable Juggernaught in this movie. I’m impressed by Jones; he picks small roles in good movies. He was the US champ fighter in fearless. (Jet Li’s last movie) He was also in troy as well a fighting machine. Its ok I don’t think he is worried about getting typecast. It will be hard not to as a 7ft behemoth. Every actor from Ong back reappears in this movie, this is nice to see, it creates an element of fun and family for the viewer, even if the actor only appears for a minute or so.
The only things I will say on the negative side are the language and pacing. The film is set mostly down under. So the Thai cop that Jaa befriends speaks English. Well in fact he doesn’t. These scenes become laughable, like he is reading off of a cue card, luckily they don’t happen very often and Tony Jaa does not speak a word of English, so he is left to converse in his native tongue.
The pacing of the film is not as good as Ong Bak. The fight scenes and stunt pieces are paced and shot to perfection, but the film as a whole suffers. He jumps around to much without giving you time remember why he beating the crap out of everyone.
Below is a spoiler, I have to put this one in because I honestly just have to tell someone!
!!!SPOILER!!!
During a fight, the infant of the elephant clan (still way bigger than Nathan Jones) gets picked up and thrown threw a plate glass window. Out of nowhere. It was incredible. I was in shock when I saw this. Trust me you have to see this. I checked no elephant was harmed during the making. Just the idea of it alone is enough to do a double take when you watch it.
!!!END SPOILER!!!
Overall the movie didn’t let me down, it’s a fun, fantastically over the top martial arts film, but it keeps its stunts and it fights (apart from the elephant tossing!) as real as possible and at the end of the day, if you have that, your martial arts movie will always be half decent. It does more for Tony Jaa than the Thai film industry or the Martial arts movie Genre but then I think that’s good. He is a genuine star, he has the look, the talent and if he works with some Talented film maker’s in the west, he can be the biggest action star for many a year.
This review may sound like the film sucks, and yes on many levels it does. But the thing is, it works. It does have the feel that it was made to ship abroad, so everyone can see Thailand’s newest sensation. It doesn’t have the same sense of home roots that Ong Bak did.
In ending, martial arts films are self explanatory, if you like martial arts go and see it. If you don’t, you shouldn’t. If you do you’ll love it, it won’t be ground breaking but it will give you something to chew the fat over a couple beers with your buddies. Take this film for what it is, a Vehicle for Tony Jaa, hey I’m happy for that, just as long as I can ride shotgun for his journey to making classic martial arts pictures.
Let’s hope this is a stepping stone for many great Tony Jaa films, and he is not misused like so many other before him.
If you use this you can call me Jaymo. Thank you kindly.
