The great challenge - I figli del vento

5 years after YAMAKASI failed to introduce Les Groupe Yamakasi's brand of Parkour to the wider world, the members are reunited by director Julien Seri for a semi-sequel, this time taking the action to Bangkok for a change of scenery. The group are all a bit more mature, and so is the film - not so much a kids movie anymore. Time does not appear to have diminished their "Free Running" skills - in fact I *think* they've gotten quite a bit better. I have to qualify that observation because it's really hard to tell - the director belongs to that school of thought which says that action scenes are more exciting if you can't tell what on earth is going on :( That was the main problem with the first YAMAKASI film, and I really hoped some lessons would have been learnt and this time they'd leave the camera in one place a bit longer and actually let us see the Parkour the group are performing... that _is_ why you'd hire them all to be in a film, after all.

Sadly, Julien Seri seems to have missed the point entirely, and shoots all the action in the most infuriating way possible. He proudly tells us in the extra features that he used 4 cameras to shoot the action, and he really enjoys "just getting the camera on my shoulder and running about" when he's on set, but "the most creative part is in the editing room". What this means is that as soon as the cast start moving at more than 3mph, the camera starts zooming and shaking and we rarely get a shot that lasts more than 1/3rd of the second before it cuts to another angle. What we do get to see of the action looks amazing... the film mixes up Parkour with Muay Thai and other martial arts styles in a way that could have produced an absolute classic. In the right hands this could have been the beginning of a whole new action film style, as exciting an action film as ONG BAK. Sadly, Seri clearly does not have the right hands :( I suppose some comments about the story are appropriate... it's rather daft. The Yamakasi go to Bangkok to help set up a gym for poor kids, and accidentally get involved in a turf war between the Triads and the Yakuza (who all speak French. In Thailand). A pair of French-Chinese siblings are the catalyst for much of this - a brother who wants to get into the Yakuza because the Triads rejected their mixed blood, and his sister who thinks all this crime is maybe a bad thing.

The film suffers from chronic "orientalism" - the insidious form of racism which certainly doesn't think Asian people are inferior to westerners, no way Jose - in fact it thinks they're great... with their ancient traditions, quasi-mystical religions and mad martial arts skillz - they probably just need a group of westerners to spend a few days with them and sort out their generations old blood feuds (and teach their ladies how to love). The Bangkok setting is beautiful, but it seems to be populated entirely by gangsters, monks, Muay Thai rings and alleyway markets.

LES FILS DU VENT could have been great - the design of the action scenes is brilliant, and Les Groupe Yamakasi really deserve a vehicle that showcases their skills rather than trying to hide them. Again they've been let down by a director who's so in love with himself he's perhaps afraid that if he let us see them in action for more than half a second we'd start thinking it was *their* film, not his. If that was his worry, he definitely shot himself in the foot (actually head), because all he accomplished with his camera work and editing was to make me hate him.

The film still manages to be enjoyable, but you have to look past what you're actually seeing to what was really being done to appreciate it. I'm torn between loving the ideas and the actors and hating what was done with them on screen. That leaves me somewhere around... 6/10.

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.

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!)

This is the second feature for the French stunt acrobat group Yamakasi. They are all very talented but director Julien Seri can't capitalize on this talent to save his life. Granted, this is a bit better than the eyeball killer YAMAKASI (2001) but not by much. The group finds themselves in Thailand and they end up feuding with a local Yakuza (!) gang. Each member is given more to do this time whether it be falling in love or re-connecting with one's long dead mystical father. There are quite a few action scenes but nothing really stands out. Director Seri has an unbelievable ability to shoot stuff in a way that it has so little impact. The only high point is a shot where three guys drop about 5 stories down a series of silos that is shot in one take. Given that Thailand produced their own badass actioner in ONG BAK the year before, it is sad to see these talented guys relying on lots of wirework. I pray that someone will utilize their parkour skills in something in the future that is a bit more engaging like BANLIEUE 13.