Born to Fight - Nati per combattere

Riding on the international success of Ong Bak as a sort of quasi-sequel, Born to Fight works on the simple principle that it's easier to teach fighters to act than actors to fight. It was this that prompted me to watch it without subtitles, not speaking a word of Thai. Bear that in mind when I attempt to explain the plot. Not that the film requires any for if you've seen 'Air Force One' or 'The Rock' you'll have seen this movie before.

Following the daring kidnap of a rebel leader in which his partner heroically dies, our hero seeks solace in a small village. There will be no peace for him for the rebels storm the village, gun down countless children and brutally execute the police officer there before demanding the government release their leader. And in the midst of this, our hero finds himself out gunned and outnumbered, and all that stands between the villagers and certain death.

The hero now wanders the village alone despatching a few guerrillas before being captured: strictly formula stuff. What makes 'Born to Fight' different from American movies is that when the inevitable fight is taken to the villains, it's not just the hero who takes on the terrorists: it's the entire village who take them on. And this is the film's real muscle: athletes and martial artists all showcasing their arcane talents in a fightback that lasts almost half the length of the film.

The low budget means that this isn't a CGI fest of Michael Bay proportions but more in the vein of the gutsy Golan & Globus thrillers of the 80's. Low on money but laden with good and often ingenious stunts 'Born to Fight' is the direct descendant of movies like 'The Delta Force'. It's got limited budget, lots of guns, knives and cheap wooden huts to be destroyed. In fact, at times it's more like playing 'Far Cry' than watching a movie, with pistols, shotguns and machetes used in turn to despatch the red-scarved rebels while the suitably repetitive soundtrack hammers away.

'Born to Fight' is a film out of time, some twenty years too late for the cinema but by no means a bad film, and a welcome one on DVD if you need to kill an hour. You genuinely won't need subtitles for this movie, just a remote control to fast-forward the few dialogue scenes. If you're in the market for more eye-watering stunts I'd strongly go for Ong Bak instead.

In 2003 Thailand produced one of the most jaw dropping action films in recent years in ONG BAK, a throw back to the reckless stunt choreography of Hong Kong cinema. 2004 continues the tradition with BORN TO FIGHT, a film that maintains the philosophy of doing stunts with no special effects, no wires and no stunt doubles. Keanu Reeves need not apply.

The plot of BORN TO FIGHT is very simple. A cop (Choupong Changprung) and his partner are working undercover to capture a drug kingpin/mercenary. The cop succeeds in an over the top opening sequence that leaves both a town and his partner blown to pieces. To get over the loss of his partner, the cop decides to accompany his sister with a group of gymnasts on a humanitarian mission to a small village. But as cinematic bad luck would have it, the thugs of the aforementioned crime boss shows up, take the village hostage and threaten to detonate a nuclear missile unless their leader is released. It is then up to the cop and the villagers to stop them.

The basic premise of BORN TO FIGHT is so standard that it could easily be used for any American action film ("DIE HARD in a village!" is what the execs would call it). What sets it apart from a majority of its action genre brethren are the astounding stunts and fight scenes. Both this film (and ONG BAK for that matter) take me back to the time when a stunt would make me audibly wince in pain for the guy on the receiving end. Knowing that person actually took the bump rather than standing in front of a green screen and being digitally made a bad ass is far more satisfying to me. The adrenaline-pumping trailer, which made the internet rounds during the summer of 2004, contains only a fraction of on screen mayhem contained in this film. The last half hour, where the villagers fight back, is a non-stop battle.

Director Panna Rittikrai, who was the fight choreographer on ONG BAK, utilizes a number of Thai athletes as the heroes. By doing this Rittikrai is able to incorporate their various athletic abilities such as gymnastics, soccer playing and the Thai sport of sepak takraw (which utilizes a hard ball that becomes a formidable weapon). This helps substantially in the film's pursuit to "one up" each previous stunt. However, that is not to say that regular action staples such as gun battles and car chases are left out of the mix. The film contains lots of bloody shootouts, including one done in a long take a la Woo's HARD BOILED. And the vehicular mayhem is ever present with a number of motorcycle stunts that qualify as the most dangerous I have ever seen in a film. In a nod to their influences (particularly Jackie Chan), the filmmakers end the closing credits with footage of the stunts as they happen. Surprisingly, the most dangerous looking ones result in the stuntmen jumping up and signaling they are okay.

With ONG BAK getting a lot of (deserved) hype leading up to its North American theatrical release, it is refreshing to see that the Thai film industry isn't resting on that film's rep. While this film may lack the plot dynamics and production value of ONG BAK (it probably cost half of that), it still manages to deliver on the promise of non-stop action. BORN TO FIGHT is a must see for anyone who was once thrilled to the sight of Yuen Biao kicking a coconut, Sammo Hung getting into a stick fight or Jackie Chan destroying an entire shanty town.

Well I'm still quite impressed or just stunned with the lengths these guys will go to for a stunt. I wouldn't be surprised if there really were some casualties at the end of the filming. But anyway, as a newcomer to Thai cinema, I can say that the actual fight sequences are choreographed pretty well, the elaborate death blows thrown in the world of Muay Thai are seen here, along with a little different touch as well. As good as the choreography is, the lack of coherency far out paces it though, which leads me to believe that the story is just somehow weaved in-between these high flying fight scenes. Which I think is further shown with the always surprising use of the slow-motion instant replay (for all of us with broken rewind buttons?), which they use for those really sweet stunts. But hey, since when do judge an action movie by it's coherence, that would take out all the fun out of it. While not a great movie it is still quite entertaining, and if you don't actually speak Thai well you can probably skip the subtitles seeing as the dialogue adds little too the movie, just watch these little thai guys running around jumping off stuff and you'll be alright.

cheers

First of all, be wary of anyone who gives a score of 1. Only completely objectionable and morally bankrupt pursuits could warrant such a score.

Kerd ma lui is an action film that follows the life of an undercover Thai cop who is ailing from the recent loss of a partner. To salve his pain and to fulfill his duty as his sister's guardian, he decides to take some time to travel to an outlying village on a mission of good will. Whilst there, the village is overrun by murderous terrorist with sinister motives, not least of which being to indiscriminately slaughter innocent villagers for all the world to see.

The story in Kerd ma lui is solid and well paced. The cast of characters are adequate and they all serve their immediate purpose. There's a good deal of nationalism in the film as it does deal with terrorism and nuclear holocaust, but the Thai nationalism was refreshing to me as it offered a perspective that I had never before experienced. It was nowhere as political as the nationalism prevalent in many US films, but it was inspiring never the less.

The real meat of the film is its action. It's a reckless brand of stunt mastery that actually inspires fear and concern for the performers. Each stunt and flawless take seems to tempt fate. For example, trucks perform jumps only to land a couple of feet away from an actor's head. And though some of the choreographed fights between the less skilled performers utilize camera tricks for impact effect, there are some fights with hits that simply aren't pulled--high flying moves full of so much momentum and speed that they need to be slowed down in order to be appreciated. Speaking of slow motion, it's used quite liberally throughout the film. I've heard complaints against this, but it's important to note that some of the choreography would simply not be seen at 24 fps.

Kerd ma lui is a good film that has a lot more going for it than Ong bak. It has a deeper storyline and characters that are likable and interesting. The suspense is more genuine and the fights aren't as repetitive. Comparisons to Ong bak aside, Kerd ma lui manages to be a decent film that is certainly worth a watch and, as always, it provides a glimpse into a foreign approach to the action genre. Without doubt, the Thais have succeeded in creating an action fighter that outperforms many of its counterparts from the west.

Reviewer Niz sums this movie up really well, but I have to add that some of the fighting was so bad it had me laughing. A lot of it actually. The inclusion of "Gymnastics Battle Bad Guys" was a really bad idea and had me laughing the hardest. The weapons a drug kingpin could buy in 2004 is amazing and the few cgi effects weren't really passable, but fit in with this movie as a throwback to the 80's.

I did feel a little guilty from the laughing as you could see they put a lot of blood, sweat, effort, and little money into making this film and some of the scenes worked really well (the first gun draw at the beginning, etc..) but the cheese scenes are grade A. I didn't see any wire work and some of the stunts made me cringe as I know they had more then one "ouchee" through this shoot and they used slow-mo a lot so you could feel the pain for yourself.

Watch the end credits to see some for yourself.