Born to Fight

A lot of films try to trick you into buying/watching a movie based on some names attached and may not live up to the hype. This movie is similar in the sense it attach's tag lines such as "from the creators of Ong-Bak and The Protector" .however this movie lives up to those movies in many ways and if you loved those movies, this ones for you. Although it's a bit mindless, just look at what these guys do best and thats inventive action scenes. which include awesome fights, insane stunts. They deliver a fast paced, adrenaline fuelled movie. Iv'e watched it several times and is a must watch for action fans. Take it for what it is and don't think too much, just sit back and enjoy the action.

Overall 7/10

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.

Where ONG-BAK is a traditional martial arts film that strings a series of muay-thai fights and Jackie Chan-style chase scenes together with a simple plot, BORN TO FIGHT is an action film more akin to DIE HARD. That means plenty of John Woo-esquire gun battles and an incredibly high body count, with a sprinkling of brutal stunts. BORN TO FIGHT is not a sequel to ONG-BAK, its not "the next ONG-BAK", its simply a highly entertaining actioner that will keep fans of this director satisfied until TUM YUM GOONG is released.

The opening sequence, featuring people leaping between 2 moving trucks, is reminiscent of similar classic scenes from POLICE STORY. The story then switches gear, seemingly heading towards simple martial arts film territory (our hero is challenged by a local thug over the affections of a girl) before a hail of gunfire signals a massive change in direction. The next portion of the film is a relentlessly brutal slaughter-fest, as the evil villains randomly gun down villagers without a second thought, to levels you would never see in a Hollywood film. Hans Gruber has nothing on these guys! Finally, after a few false starts and a rendition of the Thai national anthem, our plucky villagers rise up, although quite how they manage to slaughter so many villains in revenge despite being outnumbered, unarmed, and constantly being killed in the gunfire is never entirely clear. What is clear is that the ridiculously gimmicky "gymnastics fights" are fun to watch, the ball-kicking guys who fire kettles and things at the heads of their enemies deserve a SHAOLIN SOCCER type film of their own, and there's nothing cuter than seeing a little kick-boxing girl kick the hell out of a baddie.

Our hero has a few moves of his own, but the film's focus is wider than ONG-BAK, concentrating on the efforts of a team rather than a lone individual, nevertheless he is the star of two wonderful gun battles shot in single takes without cuts: forget DOOM's first-person-shooter scene, this is the true visual embodiment of the modern shooter game, a breathtaking yet agonisingly short sequence inspired by similar sequences in John Woo's HARD BOILED and John Carpenter's THEY LIVE.

What BORN TO FIGHT lacks in coherence, it makes up for in energy. This is the modern equivalent of the kind of crazy rule-breaking action films Hong Kong could churn out so successfully in the 1980s. And its the perfect appetiser for TUM YUM GOONG to come.

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.