The great challenge - I figli del vento

After being quite disappointed by the first Yamakasi film, i didn't expect very much. But after watching Les Fils du vent i was literally blown away. First of all, forget about the story. It's an action movie, and not a drama, so a good story won't be that important after all. The director took a free running group from France and added some martial arts artists from Thailand(?). The outcome of the equation were some very impressive action scenes. I gave this movie 8/10 stars, because it fulfills everything i expect from an action movie. So if you like martial arts and/or those little free running clips from all over the net, you won't be disappointed by this movie.

When I picked up this movie, I was expecting something rather different from what the movie actually turned out to be. The title "Sons of the Wind: Bangkok Ninjas" led me to believe this was a Thai martial arts movie, not some Parkour event movie.

Sure the people in the movie, the ones doing the Parkour, were really athletic and did some rather amazing stuff. But, personally, I think you really need to be into Parkour to find this movie interesting. It was so disappointing for me to sit through, waiting for martial arts, and only seeing Parkour. I must admit that I gave up about one hour into the movie.

And why was everyone speaking French in the movie? It made no sense that the Thai people spoke French as well. Sure, I could understand the Parkour people from France spoke French, but the natives Thai? Come on... Now, I got nothing against French language or movies that isn't in English, but at least keep it proper to the regions in which it take place.

It should be said that the camera work was really nice, it was almost like you were right there in the action yourself. But still, you have to be appreciative of Parkour for this to really be interesting.

This was a major disappointment to me. But it just goes to prove, that you can't always put your trust in the DVD cover.

This French film sees a group of French parkour specialists heading to Bangkok where they hope to help one of their number set up a gym for street kids. Unfortunately they soon cross paths with a local gang. The gang is led by Kien, who along with his sister Tsu is helping the yakuza in their conflict with the local triad which rejected them because of their mixed Eurasian parentage. Tsu is trying to get away from the gangs and starts to develop feelings for Logan, one of Parkour group. This basis set up leads to confrontations between the various groups; all leading to a massive fight where the parkour group are caught in a fight between yakuza and triad gangsters which will require their skills to escape.

This film might not have the most original plot but that doesn't matter as the plot is just there to give a reason for the action and it is that action most viewers will be watching for. The parkour scenes are very exciting and when they are combined with martial arts fighting the thrills only increase. These scenes look very real with none of the obvious wirework you get in many martial arts films. It is just a bit of a pity that some of these scenes are over-edited with excessive cuts hiding the performers' obvious skills. The romance between Logan and Tsu is a bit of a distraction from the action but just provide some character motivation. The acting might not be the very best but it is clear most of the cast is there for their physical skills and in that department they really deliver. Overall I'd certainly recommend this to fans of parkour or martial arts which aren't too brutal.

These comments are based on watching the film in French with English subtitles.

Now, I may have had my expectations too high because the file read Les Fils du Vent, Yamakasi 2. I liked Yamakasi, even if I don't usually watch sport movies. As sports go, Free Running is pretty cool and the story and acrobatics of Yamakasi were very nice.

This movie lacks the story, the technical prowess and it's set in Bangkok, where just about everyone knows how to jump from buildings (in the movie, of course). To make the French athletes fight in the end and mix Free Running with martial arts seemed to me a very bad idea.

I could have liked this movie, though, if it weren't for the end. It's a mindless brawl where no one has any purpose in what they do. To make things worse, after this scene that seemed to be the end comes another, which practically voids the one before.

So if you are a movie lover or a Free Runner enthusiast, you will not be particularly pleased with this movie. And it has no other qualities.

Team Yamakazi get to display their amazing Free Running skills again in this their second feature film. Once again like the previous movie, the acrobatic abilities of these seemingly fearless individuals is guaranteed to leave ones mouth agape at the sheer spectacle on display here – this truly is an awesome art form and one which proves to be a perfect bedfellow for the action movie genre.

Added to the crazy physical shenanigans we are also treated to some highly stylish visuals throughout especially courtesy of the stunning scenery in Thailand and a number of instances of highly imaginative and impressive visual effects such as in one scene wherein our main protagonists are seen traversing continents in one fluid take. Great stuff!

Unfortunately however, despite the above glowing accolades, beneath all the surface gloss, it has to be said that when all is said and done the film in question has very little actual substance within.

One of the main problems here lay in the fact that there are simply too many sub stories running throughout. Each of our main characters has their own separate 'adventures' in addition to the encompassing plot. Personal voyages of self discovery, the blossoming of love, loneliness, personal ambition and home sickness all feature here which in a much longer film might have sat more easily. However at a mere 90 or so minutes the actual effect is one of disjointedness and one that in addition actually serves to detract from the main plot. Certainly there were those who criticised the first film for the same principle, but it was not nearly as pronounced there as it is here.

On the other hand, perhaps it is redundant to judge the film on such principles. After all, as an action movie this delivers some absolutely incredible set pieces; Indeed for pure kinetic enjoyment only the works of the likes of Jackie Chan or Tony Jaa etc are going to provide the same sort of adrenaline fix.

In the final analysis then I feel that it is best to judge this film on it's merits as opposed to its flaws and with this in mind I would certainly recommend it highly to fans of crazy stunts, martial arts and general urban mayhem.

Overall: An entirely respectable 7 out of 10 (Just don't go trying the stunts at home!)