I really, really hope that Thailand doesn’t break its momentum. What started as an action trend explosion with Tony Jaa in Ong Bak has opened the flood gates for Thai production house, Sahamongkol. These movies are the ultimate stunt spectacles in many ways. They feature some of the most god awful plots yet make up for this dire shortcoming with the most amazing stunt work I’ve ever seen, complimented by full contact Muay Thai fighting. What began as acrobatic leaping, punching and kicking, turned into a one-take celebration of ass kicking in Thom Yum Goong and is now incorporating dancing into their fight scenes. As far as I’m concerned, with innovations like these, Sahamongkol can produce as many poorly plotted action movies as they like as long as they keep presenting me with stunts and fights that I’ve never even conceived of.
This one stars relative newcomer, Jija Yanin, who turned up, originally, in Prachna Pinkaew’s knees and elbows flick, Chocolate. She is an astoundingly capable fighter and stunt woman and it’s good to see that her career is gaining momentum. The martial arts world has always been in desperate need of a little estrogen. Feast your eyes.
