Rating:

7.75

AKA: Tom Yung Goong, The Protector

Year of release: 2005

Genre: martial arts

Director: Prachya Pinkaew

Action directors: Tony Jaa, Panna Rittikrai

Producers: Kevin McGrath, Prachya Pinkaew

Writer: Kongdej Jaturanrasamee

Stars: Tony Jaa, Petchtai Wongkamlao, Xing Jing, Johnny Nguyen, Nathan Jones, Bongkoj Khongmalai, David Asavanond, Ron Smoorenburg

Rated IIB for violence and brief nudity

VCD Information

Company: Edko

Format: widescreen

Languages: Thai/English/Mandarin

Subtitles: Chinese

Extras: trailers

Notes: A very nice 3-CD set. There are no English subtitles, but most viewers should still be able to follow the movie.

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Tom-Yum-Goong

It's really no secret that action films from all over the world have, for the most part, been in a funk the past few years. As the old guard of actors like Jackie Chan and Jet Li seem to be winding down their careers, fans are constantly on the lookout for the next big star. After his debut in Ong-Bak, Tony Jaa was dubbed by many to be the next Bruce Lee. I'm not willing to go that far at this point in his career, but Tom-Yung-Goong is a damn fine action movie that should satisfy kung fu fans who are tired of seeing overly wired or CGIed pop stars posing as martial artists.

The basic plot, to be frank, is rubbish. Some poachers go into Tony's village and steal his prized elephant, and so he neads to Australia to save his friend from becoming the main course at a twisted restaurant that serves up endangered species. And the acting isn't going to win any awards -- the film was shot in English, Thai and Chinese, but none of the actors seem to have a grip on any of the languages. But die-hard action fans are willing to forgive "little" things like plot and characterization if the action is good enough, and the stuff in Tom-Yung-Goong more than fits the bill.

I still don't totally buy that Tony Jaa worked without the aid of wires or stunt doubles, but he looks damn impressive, and filmmakers should take note of how Tom-Yung-Goong is shot and edited. Of particular note is a shot where Tony goes up several levels of a club, beating up bad guys along the way. It goes on for several minutes without any cuts and is a wonderful example of Tony Jaa's potential. Again, I wouldn't call him "Fei Long" just yet, but pictures like this are sure going a long way to establishing Jaa as a force to be reckoned with in the martial arts movie world for years to come.