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(Vintage Film Reviews) - Tom-Yum-Goong

I saw the Trailer to this recently and thought it was due to be out, but I believe they were re-releasing it under a different name.

This film is also know as 'Warrior King' over here, 'The Protector' in the US, 'Neak Prodal Junboth' in Cambodia and 'Honour of the Dragon' in the Netherlands. So don't work if you feel yourself talking about the same film with two different titles to your mate(s) as it actually has five.

For those who have seen 'Ong Bak' and hated it, then this is definitely not for you. But if you saw 'Ong bak' and liked it, this one is much, much better!


Just like 'Ong Bak' Tony 'Merkah Man' Jaa (my name for him by the time the film did finish) plays a Thai man named Kham, who is peaceful and calm until his Elephant's were stolen from his home and taken to Sydney (Australia). In Thailand, the natives respect elephants and regard them as close to family as normal people. These elephants are treated just like family. So then Kham sets out to find his Elephants.

The storyline is slightly dry, however, I do respect the values and morals behind it.
The film starts off with the friendship built between a young boy and an elephant and his father. This part of the film is dry. However, to understand why a man should receive a ‘flying knee to the face’, then this part of the film is imperative to watch.

Once the elephants go missing, that is when the action starts and when I say action, I mean, ‘kick a man in his face who is behind you and had just asked you, "have you ever received a foot in the face" and you don't even turned around to even address him’. That kind of action.

In some elements of the fighting scenes, you can see a thinner, faster and taller Jackie Chan. The guy is so nimble; there is a part where you see him slide through a 10cm slit in a fence. No effects, real.

For those who haven't see any Tony Jaa film, I’ll break it down briefly.
This guy moves fast, he is agile, and he will merk a man in one move. So in saying that, there are times in the film where it seems as if the director said "you, camera man, follow him, all you other fighters, just attack him". Because there is a part in the film where Kham runs into a building and the camera man follows him and Kham is just brucking up everyone who approaches him and there are no cut scenes at all. All in one take.

This is a superb film and I would say, if you want action with a tiny touch of comedy, like the bit where a woman is telling off her partner about buying pirate DVD’s, then you will love this film.
Otherwise, if you don't like fighting films, just watch the first couple of minutes because the rest of it is pure unadulterated one man kicks everyone’s arse throughout the whole film. And with a film like this, who needs a superb storyline?

12th December 2006 at 02:10pm

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