5 huajai hero

Produced by Prachya Pinkaew, who directed Ong-bak and Chocolate, two of the better martial arts films of the past decade. This one definitely doesn't measure up to those. It's about a group of kids who fight a bunch of terrorists who have taken a hospital hostage. They want to get a new heart for their dying younger brother. The story is ridiculously schmaltzy and the kids are cruddy actors. They're not bad martial artists, though. The (very short) film is almost worth watching just for the climactic fight, part of which takes place in a very thin hallway that allows the kids and their adult nemesis to bounce off the walls like crazy. It seems like the movie would be ideal for kids, but it gets far too violent, with the kids constantly being shot at with AK47s.

When I picked up this movie from Amazon, I was under the impression that it was going to be a movie in the likes of Ong Bak and Warrior King, I had no idea that it was going to be a family-like fighting movie with children. And the DVD cover with Johnny Nguyen on the cover was sort of misleading as he wasn't really the lead actor or main character.

But still, as a family movie, then "Force of Five" actually was rather good. It had a nice story, that was a bit too unreal, but still a nice enough story at heart (no pun intended). And the children in the movie were actually doing a rather amazing display of athletics, martial arts and stunts. And watching these kids in action, there is a very likely possibility that we will see more of them in the future, because they did really great with the action and fighting.

"Force of Five" also had the worst possible acting performance I have ever had the pleasure of watching. Richard William Lord plays a drunken bully in this movie, and wow, oh my God, wow! That was horrible. That performance had me curling my toes in disbelief. But I guess that was sort of the comical relief in the movie. Him, and then the Japanese old guy who came to Thailand to study Muy Thai, though the Japanese actor wasn't bad.

I think that "Force of Five" will go straight to heart (again, no pun intended) with a younger audience - say children or teens - because the movie was lacking some appeal for a mature audience. Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy the movie, though I think had I been a young kid or a teen, then I would have enjoyed the movie all the better.

If you like Thai martial arts movie, and got 113 minutes to spare, then "Force of Five" is well worth a watch if you have nothing better on your schedule.

The people who have released Force of Five on DVD here in the UK have been very sneaky, the cover prominently featuring actor Johnny Nguyen (Warrior King) striking a heroic pose, when he is, in fact, the villain of the piece, while the carefully worded synopsis on the back is deliberately vague. Only those who study the postage stamp sized images on the reverse might realise what is afoot. Despite being from the producers of Ong Bak and Warrior King, as the cover proudly boasts, this isn't another brutal beat 'em up in the same vein: it's a bloody kids' movie!

The 'four young heroes' described in the blurb are actually pre-teens whose hobbies include Thai boxing and racing remote control cars, both of which come in very handy when the kids have to enter a hospital held by terrorists in order to find the replacement heart needed so badly by their little brother. With the ever-so-nasty baddies between them and the transplant organ, the kids have no choice but to put their skills to use, bashing the adults with fists, feet, elbows and knees while dodging bullets. It's all very silly, with Nguyen and his henchmen becoming bruised and battered despite being heavily armed and twice the size of their opponents.

The first half of the film, in which the kids practise their fighting, fall foul of bullies and an inebriated brute (quite possibly the worst example of drunken acting I have seen), and teach Muay Thai to an old man, is pretty tough going, neither exciting nor funny. The second half—the hospital based action—is better, with the tough Thai tykes pulling off some impressive moves, although, at the end of the day, it is still child's play compared to the action in Ong Bak or the Warrior King.

From the same Thai camp that brought, Ong Bak, Chocolate, and Raging Phoenix comes the latest from them, "Power Kids". The story line in cute but what turned me off about it is they use a lot of foul language for being a kids movie. Not recommended for family viewing.

There is another down side to this movie...the fighting is not believable....on the plus side we get to see another up and coming star of the genre, a young lady called Sasisa Jindamanee, you might remember her from "Born To Fight".

Get it for collecting purposes if you are in to that.

p.s. The version I got is 1:12 mins long.

I don't know how the guys behind the films Ong Bak, Warrior King and Chocolate keep coming up with exciting, enthralling films but they do.

Okay the story is a little corny and schmaltzy but it does enough to make you engage with the characters to care what happens to them.

Likewise when I first imagined children taking on adults you can't help but thinking "really, won't it be them just stamping on feet like some awful Home Alone series".

Far from it, these kids know how to fight and even the biggest man can fall from a well placed knee in the nether regions or an elbow right under the chin.

The fighting is just amazing including a final sequence in a tight hallway which is balletic and breathtaking and a sequence after that which will have you clapping, laughing and gasping in it's intensity and invention.

Fabulous entertainment and proof that these guys really know how to show us proper fighting. Great fun.