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Starring
:
Tony
Jaa
Petchtai
Wongkamlao
Xing
Jing
Johnny
Nguyen
Nathan
Jones
Bongkoj
Khongmalai
David
Asavanond
Action
:
Panna
Rittikrai
Writer
:
Prachya
Pinkaew
Kongdej
Jaturanrasamee
Producer
:
Prachya
Pinkaew
Sukanya
Vongsthapat
Director
:
Prachya
Pinkaew
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TOM
YUM GOONG (2005)
A.K.A.
- Honour Of The Beast; Honor Of The Beast; Warrior King;
The Protector
Reviewed
by Phil Mills
When
'Ong
Bak' was released back in 2003, the film was
internationally acclaimed for introducing a new action movie
messiah in the form of Tony Jaa. This young Thai actor
showed a spark that many had thought to be extinct within the
action movie hemisphere as he demonstrated an impressive
onscreen presence combined with an extraordinary ability in
the Martial Arts (not to mention a willingness to suffer a few
cuts and bruises for the sake of his art). The huge buzz
surrounding Jaa and 'Ong Bak' naturally meant that a follow up
film would be on the cards and it wasn't long before 'Tom Yum
Goong' came to fruition, but would it live up to all the hype
or was 'Ong Bak' a one hit wonder?
Kham
(Jaa) and his father live the simple life in the heart of
Thailand, raising two beloved elephants who they hope will
eventually be offered up as a token of their love for the
majesty of Thailand. However, before they are able to
fulfil their destiny, the elephants are stolen by an
international mafia syndicate who smuggle them out of the
country. Kham is furious and decides to follow the gang
to their native land of Australia in an effort to bring the
missing members of his family home. Once there, Kham
finds himself being chased by both sides of the law despite
doing nothing wrong and it doesn't help that he has no grasp
of the English language. Luckily for him, he manages to
beat the information out of members of the gang and it isn't
long before he is hot on the trail of his elephants. Now
Kham must go head to head with some of the most powerful
fighters around in an effort to reunite his family!
As
far as the story goes for 'Tom Yum Goong', its highly likely
that this outing will suffer slightly more during the
translation process than it's predecessor did. This is
not to say that it possesses an overly complicated scenario
but rather that it relies heavily on the spiritual
significance that elephants hold in Thailand, a concept that
will undoubtedly be considered outlandish by an often
blinkered mainstream Western audience. Unfortunately,
this isn't aided by the fact that the plot often fails to go
beyond the extremely basic "man searches for
elephant" boundaries and is regularly used as nothing
more than groundwork for the next fight sequence. That
said though, what this film does offer is a lack of typical
Western action movie clichés as it maintains its own
distinctly Thai roots for points of reference. This
gives the film a refreshing approach and style that, although
lacking in the slick production values of it's Hollywood
counterparts, is attractive in a raw sense and brings back a
little of that magic that once dominated Hong Kong cinema in
its early stages. What worries me though is that Jaa's
films (much like a lot of the kung fu films of the 1970s) have
already built up a small following that may never experience
the film's distinctively Thai elements as these are the same
people that have the tendency to fast forward through all the
so-called "boring bits" just to see the action.
Assessing
'Tom Yum Goong' on acting merits is another hefty challenge
considering there is very little room for any of it's stars to
prove anything beyond their adeptness at on-screen
fighting. It is obvious to anyone though that Jaa is a
talent who is very capable of holding down a leading role as
he employs all the heroic mannerisms where necessary and
clearly grasps your attention with ease (although I would say
his voice is occasionally weaker than it should be).
Alongside him, Wongkamlao pops up once again as
the comic relief although quite where his humour lies is often
beyond me but it is fair to say that I may be missing out on
some superior wordplay thanks to the language barrier.
However, he can't really use that excuse too regularly here as
he attempts to speak English for the majority of the film
(which is sometimes very difficult to understand) and his
lines are basic and more often that not unwelcome ones.
The western cast however easily win the award for worst
performers as their line delivery is truly atrocious, making
one wonder whether the casting directors just waited outside
the 'Neighbours' studios looking for any possible cast offs
that would work for free.
In
all honesty though, all of the above can perhaps be considered
secondary as a huge majority of people watching this film will
approach it with high expectations on the action and little
regard for the surrounding cinematic fundamentals. On
this basis alone, I'm happy to report that 'Tom Yum Goong'
will not fail to entertain and delivers on almost every
account. Tony Jaa is once again absolutely outstanding
in his displays of physical dexterity and stuntwork, making
the fights here invigorating and exhausting to watch.
Rittikrai also does him proud by choreographing each sequence
with a refreshing originality and inventiveness that has
rarely been seen in action cinema throughout recent
years. One sequence that perhaps highlights this fact
sees Jaa fighting a group of bad guys as he ascends numerous
flights of stairs but what makes this standout is that the
entire scene is all shot in one single take! This type
of action does come at a price though and even though it is
amazing to watch, one can't help but feel that a lot of the
sequences are centred around showcasing Jaa's obvious talents
and often appear transparently staged. In my opinion,
viewers need to feel a sense of urgency and danger within
these scenes (an element of action cinema that Jackie Chan has
down to a fine art) to allow you to become fully immersed in
the film and without this, we could just be watching any
fighter's showreel.
Let's
face it though, no matter what reviewers like myself report on
this film it is still going to be a huge success because the
action alone makes it standout from the crowd. However,
I am happy to say that 'Tom Yum Goong' is definitely a worthy
follow up to 'Ong Bak', maintaining it's uniquely Thai flavour
and serving up some action that is truly out of this world but
just don't expect a storyline to match.
Rating:
 
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