michael p
Tony Jaa goes for "serious" moviemaking, usually a mistake in his cinematic line of work. This foray is not an exception. Petchtai Wongkamla again provides some comic relief, but it's small beer compared to the first two films. The narrative is largely incoherent. Fight scenes are mostly pedestrian, but Jaa brings his screen presence, as usual. Worth watching as a fan, but certainly not a good place to start.
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
03/30/23
Full Review
Audience Member
My wife loves this movie, I think it's quite decent, the moviegoing public hates it - that's how I've come to view this one. But in interest of a greater breakdown, this movie does have some amazing action in the second half of the movie, even when the setup for the action is REALLY, REALLY contrived. There are also some incredibly long and in-your-face spiritual elements, and honestly, I actually really like these bits - The crux of the movie, at least in terms of Jaa's part, is a man that is completely broken, physically and mentally, being completely repaired by undergoing a spiritual rebirth, the repairs to his body being a physical manifestation of the spiritual journey he makes. This is a bit out-there for general audiences as it's not actually clear if this movie tells this story as allegory for the Buddhist faith, if it's knowingly exaggerating what they believe to indeed be true, or if this is a Tony Jaa version of a Pureflix film (just for Buddhism); mind you, I'm not actually saying I'm against ANY of those three, but knowing which of these it's supposed to be would go a LONG way in appreciating this movie, as I don't know if this is supposed to be watched as a powerful historical story, or as a Thai epic fairytale. Along with that, the first 20 minutes of the movie is pretty much just a series of good-guys arguing about how to help Tony Jaa interspliced with moments of torture-porn. Then, he is ultimately rescued via a silly plot contrivance, and the ending... man, that ending..... a LOT of people hate the "Reset Button" ending, and I am one of them, as it takes a very dark and daring ending that isn't emotionally satisfying, but is narratively satisfying (well, except the very end), and then LITERALLY rewinds time and does a do-over!! I still can't really watch this part without getting mad that the movie simply didn't just take one ending and stick with it, or just give us a variation of the brutal ending, have it not be QUITE so dark, and then just followed it up with the ending they went with.. Oh, and how this is done is not at all explained, and by that I don't just mean it's given a spiritual explanation that nobody in the west would understand -- No, literally no explanation is given, at all! Oh, and salt in the wounds: The villain you grow to utterly despise because of what he did to Tony Jaa isn't even taken down by Jaa..he's taken down by another villain who because the primary antagonist........ Now, I really don't want to sound like I hate the movie, as I genuinely don't - There are moments of amazing action, there's moments of wonderful serenity, the musical score and cinematography are absolutely amazing, and Tony Jaa himself gives a shockingly poignant performance, showcasing how much better of an actor he became over a decade or so. If you can forgive its very deep-rooted flaws, I'd recommend this movie rather strongly, but these flaws are back-breaking, making this one of the few movies that I like, but I completely understand the perspective of everyone who hates it.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
01/23/23
Full Review
Liam D
It's not worth the hate it got but it's still a entertaining finale with some action and Tony Jaa doing what he does best
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
06/01/21
Full Review
Audience Member
More good martial arts action and good character development. Not as good a part 2, but, still enjoyable. Is part 4 coming?
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
01/13/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Weirdes mix of cool action and absurb camp. The cheese was great with this one. Demons and martial arts? Tony Jaa is a superhero? Or Thai Jesus? Whaaaaat? Campy forced silly drama. I liked it, it was fine, but just so ridiculous. The story editing and transitions weren't good.
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
02/27/23
Full Review
Audience Member
what was I watching?
Rated 1.5/5 Stars •
Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars
04/12/18
Full Review
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