Les fils du vent

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.

The plot is simple. A French youngsters who are into extreme sports go to China and get in trouble with the local triad mafia. Just because the training ground they use happen to be on their turf. Without really having anything to do with it they get into the gang warfare. And without choosing any sides they try to fight a way out.

The story isn't very spectacular. But the fighting and acrobatics are. The actors are mostly the same as Luc Besson's Yamakasi. And if you have seen that film and those acrobatics and you combine them with martial arts. Then you will understand what makes this film so good. Those men "REALLY" Jump of buildings and "REALLY" climb them barehanded (of course they are protected with cables). But instead of the cable doing all the work it's them. If you want an evening of relaxing and giving your eye some original spectacle without having too much of a plot than this is the movie for you. Enjoy.

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.

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!)

BANGKOK NINJAS: SONS OF THE WIND is a messy, plot-goes-all-over-the-place type action film designed to show off the talents of a group of Parkour practitioners who spend the entire running time showing off their skills in jumping across, up, and down buildings without causing serious injury. And there are no ninjas in it.

For an obviously low budget production, this has a surprisingly intentional feel; it's a French film set partly in London and mostly in Bangkok. A group of Parkour enthusiasts head to Thailand to set up their own school for the young and underprivileged, but this soon gets forgotten in favour of helping a brother and sister to tackle Yakuza and Triad gangs.

The storyline is slim in the extreme and merely serves to link a series of Parkour scenes which are a little disappointing if I'm honest. The opening sequence is lively, but subsequent shots are badly directed, with the director over-editing them to remove genuine spectacle from the shots. In one scene, a guy jumps out of a high window, we see him sailing through the air, only for the camera to cut and shoot another angle as he lands. It makes the whole thing feel false, even if the stunt was done for real.

The acting is very limited, which you'd expect from a film of this type, although there's a small role for old-timer Burt Kwouk as a gangster chief. There are plenty of plot twists which are a little annoying rather than intriguing, along with a supposed large-scale climax which feels completely pointless and tame. However, there are a few fight scenes scattered throughout the running time which are pretty good; a shame there weren't more to distract us from the problems elsewhere.