Skin Trade

"There is no such thing as a bad Tony Jaa movie." Well this could be the exception.

On paper this was a "dream team" movie and I was anxious to see it.

Lundgrin both produced and wrote. That sounded very promising.

Not only is Tony Jaa in the film but he speaks English and his character is named "Tony." Also very promising.

Also starring Michael Jai White. In my review of Falcon Rising I called him "the most under-used action hero" in the business. Very very promising.

But here the total is less than the sum of its parts:

1. Lundgren wrote himself into a part meant for a 40 year old and he himself is pushing 60. Not cool.

2. Jai White is completely wasted (again!) and wears a suit all the time...?

3. The script is weak and the direction is terrible. Even the action scenes seem "off" by a few seconds here and a few seconds there.

Could have been so much more. The opening is the best part and is downhill from there. Perlman is great. but he never gives less than a great performance anyway.

What's extra entertaining about SKIN TRADE is knowing that 57-year old Dolph Lundgren gets to fight Hellboy a.k.a actor Ron Perlman and Spawn a.k.a actor Michael Jai White, and that Ong Bak dude, Tony Jaa, in this one movie. All joking aside, with all of the superpowered superhero movies out there that keep bombarding our theaters every weekend, it's a nice change for us action fans to receive something like SKIN TRADE, a throwback to those 80s R-rated brutal B action flicks that you and I grew up watching.

In this Ekachai Uekrongtham-directed film, co-scripted and co-produced by Lundgren, a tough NY Cop named Nick (Lundgren) is on a task to hunt down Russian mob and human trafficking kingpin Viktor (Ron Perlman) but in the process, Nick kills Viktor's son and of course, that comes with a retaliation, such that forces Nick to go all the way to Bangkok, the hub of Viktor's activities. Meanwhile, a Thai detective (Tony Jaa) is made to believe that Nick is the bad guy until he learns otherwise. Then they team up to terminate Viktor's human trafficking business OK, I admit, the plot is very thin and if you've seen Liam Neeson's "Taken" a thousand times (the first movie, not the sequels that blew) then the concept of SKIN TRADE is nothing new, in both cases you have this very hard pressing and present modern slavery problem as the background, but most of the time, the action takes a front seat. It's a treat to see Lundgren duke it out with Tony because they have different styles, and the fight choreography itself is more intense than Lundgren Vs. Jet Li in "The Expendables" movie. I think the way the production utilizes the streets of Bangkok is very intricate. The sequences are fast-paced and brutal. You can't help but be impressed at the fact that after all these years, even when his better days and better movies are way, way behind him, Dolph Lundgren managed to get something like SKIN TRADE made just to satisfy us old school action fans Read more at Ramascreen.Com

aHere's a movie of it's worn ilk, that comes off better than you think it will, thanks to some nice little plot differences, it's realistic end, a surprise, leaving a kind of sting in your tale. Face it. There's been so many movies on Human Trafficking, almost more than I've had hot dinners. ST is almost a fresh take on these movies. An aging Dolph who heads a task force against human trafficking, butts heads with a slave trade owner (Ron Pearlman, a nice choice of casting) who in an act of family revenge, (think The Punisher) kill's his beautiful half Asian wife (what a waste) and supposedly daughter. Lundgren's not the only aging actor. His boss and friend, is an almost bald Peter Weller, who looks (pardon me) bloody awful. We also don't have a team player in this task force. Lundgren's furious and no holds barred vendetta to kill Pearlman, becomes the driven plot, in what is an engaging and well made action pic, with not just action to boot. Dolph's force is not the only ones with eyes on Perlman. A Japanese task force is also in operation, a female colleague, working undercover as one of the bought girls. Lundgren's rage and wild antics of course, jeopardizes the Asian operation, headed by Tony Laa. When Dolph enters their territory, being mistaken for the guy who shot Laa's partner and close friend, now he too becomes fueled with revenge. Cary Haya Tagawawa co stars as a another corrupt force and we see a familiar Asian face, at the start, we've seen in too many of these movies, again playing a low down pimp. Skin Trade is exciting action entertainment, a few notches better than others in this weathered slave trade/genre. Don't snub it just cause of it's stereotypical appearance.

Action fans might be familiar with Skin Trade theme or actors. It has mainstay names of the genre and the addition of brazen stunts by Tony Jaa with his vicious stunts. The plot revolves around the titular skin trade or human trafficking as the back drop of high octane combat sequences. It's not an in-depth commentary of the subject nor does it overcome the occasional narrative familiarities, however the fast pace clash of knuckles and barrage of bullets will entertain the genre aficionado.

Story follows two different cops whose interests are aligned as they uncover the a human trafficking industry led by Dragovic (Ron Perlman). Nick (Dolph Lundgren) is a police at New Jersey, he has to resort to unorthodox method as Dragovic is raising the stake as he utilizes brutal methods. Tony (Tony Jaa) works on different angle in Bangkok by performing his own investigation. The direction of story doesn't veer too much from revenge or rescue theme.

There are a lot of subplots that could be explored, but the film focuses on the fundamental premise only. Human trafficking issue is a delicate one, the film takes a safe route and it doesn't always pay off. Sometimes it rehearses the material too often and becomes trapped in hero saving damsel in distress stereotype. Antagonist side has some potential as Dragovic has several sons vying for his approval, however the characters aren't fully fleshed out. One of the sons even snorts cocaine in every scene he's in, almost as a comedic effect.

Fortunately, the veteran actors are robust enough to carry the plot and action. Props to Tony Jaa as he brings a decent performance even in almost entirely English spoken movie. His acting isn't that developed yet, but he's definitely presentable as international action star. Perlman and Lundgren are already famous name, and they deliver what is expected from them. Michael Jai White also has a charismatic presence on screen as he rounds up the cast.

Action is where the movie is at its best. Practically any Tony Jaa's movie has unabashed ferocious stunts. There are many well-choreographed fights here, along with vehicular mayhem and a couple of acrobatic or parkour scenes. It also brings the Rambo carnage at some points with one man army gimmick, the movie is an amalgamation of western and eastern action.

Though the plot might be simplified and familiar, the collision of big names in bigger brawls is a spectacle for genre fans.

Obviously just going through the list of names should and will get people excited (who are into the action genre that is and know their favorites). Having Dolph "team up" with Tony Jaa is a great move. Though it doesn't really matter which side of the law people are, based on the decisions they make during the course of the movie. Which also means, there is quite a bit of fighting ahead of you.

Ron Pearlman does a good job with his accent (playing a Serbian) and there is one particular fight scene (about 20 minutes before the movie ends) that is really good. But there are also cuts in the movie that seem to take note on the "jump cut" book, but don't really work. The overall story is easy to tell, the core of it is something that unfortunately is happening all over the world.

Also Tony Jaas English performance was captured a lot better in Fast 7, there are some weird lines he has to deliver here (not convincingly then). Decently made then, but could've been better