nicholls_les
I thought this was going to be of Ong Bak quality, especially with Buakaw Banchamek in it, but sadly he is the only good thing about this movie.His fights when training are exceptionally good, his power is evident throughout but Seigi Ozeki as the lead character just didn't pull it off. He appeared weak both in character and in Martial Arts skill.The story is not a bad one, based on a true story apparently, but it just isn't executed well at all. The fight direction for the last scene was particularly poor and unrealistic.This is not a film I will be watching again.
GwydionMW
A thin plot strings together a series of martial-arts displays.The boxing looks realistic, I assume this is real Thai Boxing as it actually occurs. But the sword-fighting is improbably one-sides.A brief depiction of a border war is ridiculous.The highly interesting politics of the time is entirely ignored. Both the internal conflicts and the role of the Dutch are wholly ignored. It was a kingdom that often had civil wars and which was finally destroyed by the Burmese.The Japanese settlement was also interesting, including both Christian rebels and some of the losers from the wars which established the Tokugawa shoguns. All ignored.The real life of Yamada Nagamasa would make an excellent film, but this is not it.
Julien Ranke
I just finished watching the movie so I'm writing the review while it is still fresh. Overall the movie itself isn't good at all. Some of the acting is beyond horrible and almost made me stop the film. Even the main actor is overacting sometimes. The soundtrack isn't horrible but it gets very repetitive after a while. The movie seemly tries to copy the feeling I had when watching The Last Samurai. A nostalgic feeling was tried to create when our main character decides to never return to his fatherland and stay in Ayothaya. It was almost too painful to watch, and it didn't do the film any good.Special Effects are horrible. The blood for example is so fake you don't need to pause the film since it's too obvious.If you're planning on watching this film, be ready for a cliché story a la The Last Samurai and some Special Effects a la Spy Kids 3. Fighting parts are pretty cool overall, but not the best.
rightwingisevil
Based on a true historic figure? Wow, maybe only the in comic book? The screenplay and the scenario are just stupid and ridiculous, I just can't believe this is happening, man. The acting of the main characters are just terrible. A Japanese samurai with a mouth lips like a carp can speak Thai, playing flute as the movie's sound track, well, anything is possible in this comic book movie. The master monk's nonstop chewing is exactly like a chain smoker. But none the less, the whole movie was shot beautifully in Thailand countryside with exotic scenic landscape, but the village was designed and built too modern and so clean that even the inspector from the Health Dept. couldn't have find anything unhealthy or cross-contaminated. The traditional Thai warrior fighting technique in this movie is amazingly effective and aesthetically beautiful, making the so-called Chinese martial arts or Japanese karate more like child play. These Thai fighters should be signed up by the UFC or the Strike force to beat the crap out of those MMA fighters. This is a very stupid and very artificial movie. Just watch the fighting scenes, not the other parts, especially the claimed "historic" crap, but definitely 100% better than Jackie Chan's moronic "Karate Kid"
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