Clash

I picked out CLASH from the shelves on the strength of it being a Vietnamese martial arts thriller – and knowing the calibre of recent Thai fare in the same genre, I was hoping it would be up to the challenge. Sadly, it turns out to be a bit of a lacklustre effort, one that's hampered by a low budget and a lack of creativity and freedom in delivering the action.

As soon as the central team are holed up in a dilapidated, run-down old country house as their base of operations, I knew this would be a shot-on-the-cheap kind of movie. And so it turns out to be. Strangely, the plot seems to be virtually copied from the Frankenheimer movie RONIN, right down to the hotel stakeout, the double cross, and the reveal of one character's background at the end. Needless to say, it doesn't hold a candle to that movie.

Instead, this is the kind of predictable and slightly cheesy fare that appears to have been done on the cheap. The script is poor and the performances are nothing to write home about, which leaves us with the martial arts to contend with. I can report that the fights are pretty well staged, if not reaching the same level of greatness that we saw in ONG BAK, for example. Johnny Nguyen is a great fighter, but the camera doesn't love him like it loves him in WARRIOR KING and it's all just a little bit by rote. The same goes for Ngo Thanh Van – she's arresting, but only on a B-movie level.

The result is a film that's average at best, and which feels a little bit stale and past it's sell by date. Nevertheless, I plan to check out a few more Vietnamese movies to see what they're capable of delivering.

Bay Rong or Clash is more than just a fast paced action movie with solid fighting scenes, rough shooting sequences and a few car and motorcycle chases even though these elements are very present in this worthwhile flick.

The movie also has a story line that seems to be quite thin at first sight but it gets more and more developed as time goes by. One even gets a few twists towards the end that keep the pace of the movie high until the end. With a little bit more than ninety minutes, the movie hits a nearly perfect running time for a flick like this.

The good effects caused by the well elaborated story is also due to some major character development. While some characters seem superficial at first sight, they get more and more important as the story goes on. Especially the main characters played by a charismatic and cool Johnny Tri Nguyen and a tough and powerful woman with a breakable side portrayed by the amazing Thanh Van Ngo really impress and are well chosen for their roles. They also develop a convincing partnership and later on love story that develops logically and without too many stereotypes throughout the movie. Only the villains are less convincing as their side of the story is not very well explained and the movie wastes some potential on here as the main villain is intriguingly portrayed.

The movie is overall very well done and should please to fans of action movies of all kinds and maniacs of Asian cinema in general, too. On the other side, the movie somewhat lacks of impressive moments. There are some well done emotionally charged parts, the action choreography is professional enough to convince and the story also has its highlights but nothing truly stands out or will make you keep this movie in mind for a long time. It's a flick that I would definitely watch again with my friends as it's profound enough to grip your interest but also entertaining enough to be watched during a party without paying that much attention. That's why this movie is just situated between a seven and an eight point rating for me but as it lacks a little bit of identity, I ultimately chose the lower rating.

I was line producer this film. Today I find it in here. It is pity I can not find my name in "Cast and Crew" How can we miss the important position in here. I was worked so so hard for this film. From pre to shoot, I think we should respect all of positions,

Sorry find this issue too late in here.

Through the shooting time, I was hard to find the good location and manage crew. You know, it was afflicted to shoot the action film in Vietnam in 13 years ago.

Shortly, if it was miss from IMDb in the typing "Cast and Crew" part. Please look the poster again to fill in this part "Cast and Crew". My name is Nguyen Thi Minh Son or shortly in MINH-SON NGUYEN. Necessarily, this is the legitimate interests of film maker.

Thank you!

Son.

I watch quite a few foreign language films(from all over the world), and find that many of the most original and entertaining films being made today are not coming from Hollywood. Korea is producing some astounding drama/action films and Vietnam and Thailand are making some of the best out and out action films of the last few years. Tony Jaa opened the worlds eyes to the type of films that haven't been made since the early days of Jackie Chan, Chocolate showed that female leads can match or outdo many male stars in the genre. I say all this because going into Bay Rong I had hoped the film would be a combination of the best bits of Asian cinema, sadly I was disappointed. The acting is not really all that bad but as someone else has mentioned feels like it belongs in a soap opera at times. If the action is good I can overlook some bad acting, I'm thinking of the Warrior King and the brutal fight scenes it had but dire acting. This film never seems to reach the heights(or depths) that would make it stand out, the action isn't bad but it isn't great either, the fights felt very choreographed and didn't have the brutal and dangerous feel of films like Ong Bak or Merantau. I wouldn't recommend this film to anyone but at the same time there are far worse films out there. If you like Asian cinema and can see it cheaply it might be worth seeing, I gave it 5 out of 10, I didn't hate it but didn't love it either.

Romance, action, mystery, suspense, humor; and all the persistence the Vietnamese are known for. Not bad at all. Seen on Tubi, the free streaming site.