ericthered01

What has happened to Tony Jaa? I guess Ong Bak and The Protector were lightning in a bottle type moments because his movies are getting worse. This movie is the opposite of what made him popular in the first place. It was him with no wires or CGI, doing amazing stunts and hard-hitting martial arts. This movie not only uses wires, but horrible looking CGI and scenes obviously shot in front of a green screen. Not only does the CGI look bad in this movie but Jaa's fighting abilities seem to have taken a hit too. He looks slower and even a little sloppy at times. JeeJa Yanin is completely wasted in this movie too. Why even put her in the movie just to get beat up most of the time? And the RZA? He took an already bad movie and plunged it to the bottom of the barrel. He's a terrible actor and shouldn't be anywhere near a fight scene. I keep waiting for the magic of Jaa's first two movies to reappear but sadly I don't think that day will ever come.

Mike Moeller is a good martial artist but this movie is unwatchable. Very low budget and very bad acting and story. Moeller wears one of the worst wigs I have ever seen for the flashback scenes. It looks like one of those cheap mullet wigs you can find in stores around Halloween. The editing and the camera angles for the fight scenes are noticeably off as well. You shouldn't be able to see space between fists and feet "hitting" the opponent. Too many jump cuts as well. Sometimes less is more. Keep the camera back and let us see the complete moves. It is a shame because you can tell that Moeller and some of the other guys are talented. Hopefully this guy can get into a decent flick directed by Isaac Florentine or someone who knows how to film a martial arts movie.

What a disappointment the two Ong Bak "sequels" have become. In my opinion, the first one is one of the best martial arts movies of all time. Part 2 wasn't even close to being as good as the original and now Part 3 manages to travel even further down the spectrum. Tony Jaa has one fight scene in the first hour of the movie. That's right....ONE fight scene! And just like the other fights in the movie, it's really nothing special. The Crow guy from part 2 is back and actually has the best fight scene in the movie but even that is hampered by obvious wire work. The showdown between he and Jaa ranks as one of the biggest disappointments of all time. I expected way more from these two great martial artists. The entire film contains too much slow motion, not enough action, too many scenes that drag on forever, too many scenes that make no sense, and most importantly, not enough of Tony Jaa doing what he does best. I don't know what "style" he uses for the second half of the movie but to me it looks like what I see orangutans doing at the zoo. I don't know why his character abandons all the styles he learned in part 2 but then again, nothing else makes sense either. Like when after an hour of pretty much nothing, an action scene has finally happened, only it didn't because the movie rewinds itself to take it away. I wish I could do the same.

"Ninja" does something that is hard to do.... it updates something from the past but still retains a nostalgic feel about it. Sometimes it felt like it was 1985 and I was a kid sitting on the living room floor eating popcorn and watching American Ninja. But then I see Scott Adkins do an amazing aerial kick and I know I'm not watching Michael Dudikoff. "Ninja" takes a similar formula and story from those ninja movies from the 80's and combines it with a hard hitting and acrobatic fighting style seen in today's martial arts movies. This movie was a lot of fun and if you grew up watching ninja and martial arts movies in the 80s like me, you will definitely enjoy it.

"Blood and Bone" is one of the best low budget martial arts films I have ever seen. This was a perfect movie to showcase the talent of the very underrated Michael Jai White. Great fight scenes throughout that are really shot well. None of that shaky camera stuff where you can't tell what is going on. I just happened to watch this movie after watching the movie "Fighting" and I have to say that "Bone" is ten times better. The fight scenes, the music, and even the acting is better. "Fighting" had very little fighting and the little it had wasn't that great. The camera was too close to the actors and too shaky to tell what was going on. They could have been playing poker for all I know. "Bone" should have been released in theaters instead of "Fighting". If you are a fan of martial arts films and like fight scenes where you can see all the moves, check this one out.

After seeing Jacky Wu Jing in "Kill Zone", I was excited to see "Fatal Contact". That excitement died quickly when I realized it was a wire-fu movie. There's not one single fight scene that doesn't use wire work extensively. I'm not talking about a jump here or a kick there either, it's the whole fight scenes. Jacky is good. His fight with Donnie Yen in Kill Zone is classic. That's why I don't understand the overkill with wires here. Why not use the guy's real talent. I like realistic fight scenes and this doesn't have a single one. It's not impressive when a guy does a flip off of a stack of wooden pallets if he is using a wire. The same can be said for spin kicks. The rest of this movie is equally bad. Terrible dialogue, acting, story, and one of the worst endings in movie history.

Imagine the action of Ong Bak combined with a good story about the french occupation of Vietnam in the 1920's and you will get a feel for the film "The Rebel" starring Johnny Nguyen and Veronica Ngo. Nguyen stars as an agent taking out his own country's people that are fighting for freedom but eventually has a change of heart. This movie has hard hitting and acrobatic fight scenes similar to what we have seen coming out of Thailand recently. What's surprising here is that the story, acting, and cinematography are just as impressive as the fight scenes. You actually care what happens to these characters. This film marks an impressive debut for Veronica Ngo. You would never know that she had no martial arts background before preparing for this role. Very reminiscent of a young Michelle Yeoh. Johnny Nguyen is impressive in the lead as well. You may recognize him from the Tony Jaa film "The Protector aka Tom Yum Goong". "The Rebel" is both beautiful and brutal in the best way possible. Highly recommended.

I've always considered Jean-Claude Van Damme's Street Fighter movie from 1994 to be one of the worst martial arts movies that I have seen but compared to this, it's not looking too bad anymore. I hesitate to mention acting when reviewing a martial arts movie but when it's this bad you have to mention it. Chris Klein's Interpol character was ridiculous. Everything he does is so over the top and exaggerated that it looks as though he watched every cop movie from the past 25 years to get into character. Of course when you are given dialogue like "He walks through raindrops" to describe the villain's elusiveness, there's not much hope to begin with. Oh and he loves his job. So much that not one, but two scenes are punctuated with him smiling to himself and saying "I love my job". Enough about acting though because good fight scenes can save any martial arts movie but unfortunately there's none to be found here either. Kristin Kreuk is never believable at all in the action scenes. Her character is shown being taught Wushu by her father in the beginning of the film but I would describe her fighting style later in the movie as wire gymnastics. Girl can flip good though, I'll give her that. It was good to see Robin Shou again even if he does have the thankless role of teaching Chun-Li how to make a floating ball of something. He's the only one of the main characters who has any real martial arts background. The dude from The Blackeyed Peas is a pretty good dancer though. Guess that's why he got the part of Vega. What I will never understand is this: If you are going to make a martial arts movie that has a terrible script and terrible acting anyway, why not cast real martial artists. At least cast a real martial artist in a role that has only two lines of dialogue. Terrible acting, terrible fight scenes, and a terrible movie.

The 30 second trailer for this film contains all the action that you will see in this movie. I felt as if I was tricked into watching a soap opera while watching "Fist of the Warrior". Ho-Sung Pak is adept in the fight scenes.... all three of them, but doesn't really offer anything spectacular. The problem is there is not nearly enough action in this movie and there is nothing else to hold the viewer's interest for the remaining 85 minutes of this 88 minute movie. Just a bunch of nonsense about mobsters, a crooked cop and his drunk wife, a strip club, and flashbacks of the hero and his girlfriend who have no chemistry whatsoever. If you are looking for a martial arts movie about a guy who gets revenge after his girlfriend's death, this is isn't your movie. If you want a soap opera about said events, this still isn't your movie because it sucks.

"Ong Bak 2", which seemingly has no relation at all to the first movie, is a big disappointment for me. The original "Ong Bak" and Tony Jaa's next movie "The Protector aka Tom Yum Goong" are two of my favorite martial arts movies of all time. Both films showcased Jaa's amazing Muy Thai fighting ability along with his incredible ability to do his own stunts. "Ong Bak 2" is Jaa's attempt to make a classic martial arts movie but it really falls short of that goal. This is a period piece unlike the first film's modern setting, and the only stunts available for Jaa to do involve either running across the backs of, or flipping off of elephants. What set Jaa apart in his previous two movies was his acrobatic fighting style that featured incredible aerial kicks. Here Jaa seems focused on throwing every possible martial art that he can fit into one movie just to show you that he can do it. And he does pull most of it off but does looks awkward at other times too. The final 20 minutes are pretty good and are almost on par with what we have come to expect from Jaa. If you have seen the extended trailer that has been online for some time now, almost all the action contained in it is in that last 20 minutes. It has hard hitting fight scenes and here he displays incredible proficiency in several different weapons such as the three sectioned staff and the sword. Up until that point the action is very limited and the story isn't nearly good enough to keep the viewer interested. In fact, there is a lot of silly stuff in the movie including a woman who growls like a tiger, a guy dressed up as bird, and another guy wearing what appears to be a black wicker basket on his head. It's hard to take a movie with images like that seriously. I like Jaa's intentions here of showing off different martial arts styles but I kept waiting for those jaw dropping fight scenes that I've been accustomed to seeing from him and sadly they are nowhere to be found. The rest of the movie is either dull or silly and could not hold my interest. I give the movie 5 out of 10 stars and that is mostly for the final 20 minutes which was fun to watch but not nearly as exciting as the first film.

There's only one good reason to watch this movie and it's to see Donnie Yen's fight scenes. The last 20 minutes of this film include some of Donnie Yen's best. The rest of the movie up until that point is mind numbingly bad. Cheesy music, bad dialogue, corny humor, and a razor thin plot. In fact, I don't think there was a screenplay written for this thing. I think Yuen Woo Ping just started filming fight scenes and the story was written on napkins in between takes. That being said, your kung fu movie collection will not be complete without the last three fight scenes in this movie. They are classic and almost worth the wait. Just skip ahead to that last 20 minutes and I promise you won't be missing anything.

Frank Martin is back as the Transporter and this time he's transporting a girl... wait, wasn't that the plot of the first film? I'm a big fan of the first Transporter movie. I thought it was a great movie that had really inventive fight scenes and action scenes. I thought that the second one was pretty good but not as good as the first. It had great fight scenes but some of the action was too over the top. Trasporter 3 makes part 2 seem like a documentary. It's so over the top that it's just silly. It's the kind of movie where the hero can drive his car off a bridge and plunge it into a lake, deflate the tires underwater to get it to rise to the top, and then drive it off in the next scene with no problem at all. The fight scenes aren't nearly as good as the first two films either and they are so obviously "sped up" that you might think you accidentally hit the fast forward button on your remote. The car chases have the same feel to them. I haven't even mentioned the worst part yet which is the girl in the movie. She is so annoying and unattractive that I didn't care what happened to her. Transporter 3 is a huge disappointment. It tries to copy what made the first two films successful but this time around there's nothing inventive or original about it. We've seen all this before and we have seen it done much better.

The first "Undisputed" movie starred Wesley Snipes and was a straight up boxing film. "Undisputed II" is more of a mixed martial arts film even though Michael Jai White plays an American boxing champion. Since this movie has been out for a little while I'll spare you the plot details and just tell you that Scott Adkins is awesome; you won't believe some of the kicks he pulls off in this. Michael Jai White is awesome; one of the most underrated martial artists in the movies today. And "Undisputed II" is one of the best martial arts movies I've seen in recent years. The fight scenes are very well done and it's obvious that a martial artist directed this movie. That being said, there's also surprisingly good acting, a good story, and awesome music that made me want to start training when I heard it. If you are a martial arts movie fan, this is must see.

This is the best direct-to-DVD effort from Van Damme that I have seen yet. Van Damme plays a border patrol agent who is out to stop heroin smugglers trying to cross into the United States. The action in this movie is great and the fight scenes rank with Van Damme's best. Costar Scott Adkins shows why he should be the next big star in the martial arts genre. For further evidence check out "Undisputed 2". Adkins is so good in fact that before I watched "The Shepherd", I thought that Van Damme might not look very believable in defeating him on screen. Van Damme holds his own though and although he isn't quite as athletic as Adkins is, he can still kick with the best of them. All of the fight scenes in this film are very well done and the gun battles are above average for this type of film as well. The only negative thing I can say about this movie is that the story is a little underdeveloped. I think Van Damme's character's motives should have been presented earlier in the movie, especially in regard to why he carries around a rabbit. The reason he does is very cool but you don't find out until the very end. There are a couple of other things that are never really explained either but this is a Van Damme movie so you know where the priority lies in making this kind of movie and it ain't character development. Overall though, this is a solid action movie that I recommend. So run for the Damme border!

I was intrigued by this film and it's premise. You have Steven Seagal fighting vampires, I mean that alone should interest any martial arts movie fan since he hasn't really done anything like that before. The film also stars Linden Ashby who can hold his own in action movies such as Mortal Kombat. But within the first five minutes of this film I came crashing back down to the reality that this is 2009 and Seagal has been relegated to the direct-to-DVD market. This movie is so low budget that almost the entire movie takes place in a hospital that is crawling with "vampires"; although we are told at one point that they are more like mutants. Actually they are more like a hundred extras running around with pointy teeth and fake blood around their mouths. This movie is so low budget that it makes Jean-Claude Van Damme's direct-to-DVD movies look like summer blockbusters. Linden Ashby and veteran character actor Keith David spend all of their scenes yelling at each other in a military tent. Ashby's character wants to give Seagal and his vampire hunters time to clear the building and get the survivors out while David's character wants to blast it ASAP. If these scenes took more than one day to film I would be surprised. Seriously though, if I had Linden Ashby and Steven Seagal in the same movie I would at least have them in a scene together, not to mention a fight scene. Ahh, the fight scenes. Seagal walks around holding a sword for most of the movie. When he uses it, it's mostly close-ups of him swinging it at the camera. He uses a couple of guns too, but it's nothing special. He throws a few mutants around towards the end of the movie as well, but again it's nothing special. One member of his hunting crew who is on the show American Gladiators actually steals the show as far as action goes. His action scenes are actually pretty good and the only reason to watch this poor man's Blade. However it's not enough to recommend this movie.

Bruce Lee vs. Chuck Norris, Jackie Chan vs. Benny "The Jet" Urquidez, Donnie Yen vs. Sammo Hung, Jean Claude Van Damme vs. Mickey Rourke... Alright I'm kidding about the last one but if you recognize the significance of the other movie fights then you should be heading to the theater right now to watch "The Forbidden Kingdom" starring Jackie Chan and Jet Li. It is not often that two superstars of the martial arts take each other on in the same movie. The fight scene between Chan and Li doesn't disappoint and the rest of the movie is very well done. I'm not big on fantasy martial arts movies but this one has a good balance of gravity defying acrobatics combined with hard hitting action. Michael Angarano is very likable in his role as the kid from Boston who teams up with Chan and Li to return a staff to the Monkey King. Yes, I did say Monkey King. I'll admit that I was skeptical when I heard about the plot of this film but it is truly an enjoyable martial arts fantasy. For hardcore martial arts fans, there are several references to older martial arts movies especially in the opening title sequence that features poster art from classic movies starring the likes of Bruce Lee, Gordon Liu, and Jackie Chan himself. Other references are sprinkled throughout the film including Chan using the famous "Be formless like water" quote from Bruce Lee when training the kid in martial arts. There are several different styles of martial arts used as well. Overall "The Forbidden Kingdom" combines incredible martial arts, amazing cinematography, a good story, and just enough humor to create one of the best martial arts movies I have seen in the past few years and a film that will please not only hardcore martial arts fans, but everyone else as well. All hail the Monkey King!

This is one weird movie. I guess the best way to describe this would be sort of a Thai version of Robin Hood in which the hero (Dan Chupong) uses rockets instead of arrows. And boy does this guy have some rockets! He has a ton of little rockets that he shoots at the bad guys and then there's the bad boy that he can ride like a surfboard! I'm definitely going to Thailand for my fireworks this year. And apparently he has flint in his fingertips to light these rockets. That's probably good because you really don't want to be wasting time fumbling around with matches when you are single handedly taking out a large group of cattle rustlers. This is one really weird movie that also features a man who can change from a goofy guy with hair that resembles a tidal wave to an older warrior guy who can fight with the best of them. There is also a wizard, at least I think that's what he was supposed to be, a tractor, talk of menstrual blood, and guys who seem to be possessed by spirits of animals that run like monkeys and can jump about fifty feet. Did I mention the hero rides a rocket? As for the fight scenes, since this is really what it's all about, they are mostly average. Dan Chupong is good, check out the much better "Born To Fight", but he doesn't have very many moves. He can do some Tony Jaa-like kicks and flying knees but they don't have quite the same ring to them as Jaa's. And the director of this movie really loves to show guys getting hit and then spinning in the air about ten times before hitting the ground. That's all good once in awhile but it gets old after about the fifth time. There is a couple of good stunts in the movie as well but unlike Ong Bak, this movie uses CGI and wirework for a lot of stunts. If you think a guy riding a big rocket would look ridiculous, you are absolutely right. And judging by some of the extras I watched, this was apparently supposed to be a comedy as well as an action movie. You will definitely laugh but not at the intended humor which doesn't translate well to the American audience. So in conclusion, the fight scenes were nothing special and this was a very weird movie.

Did you know that in an explosion, if you get behind a Coke machine you will be safe? One of the many useful things that I picked up while watching Double Team. Oh and there are certain guns that can shoot the d**k off a humming bird! I didn't even know that humming birds had d**ks but I know what I'll be aiming for next time I see one! Let's see what else... Van Damme's stunt double is far more impressive than he is. How about that flip and kick off the carnival game table or that leaping double kick that he does into Mickey Rourke's stunt double's chest! That was sweet! I also learned that Dennis Rodman defied the odds and can now claim the title of World's Worst Actor away from Van Damme himself. Oh and do not, I repeat DO NOT attempt to fight Van Damme by kicking your shoes off at him or by kicking at him with a knife between your toes. It will only make the beating you receive worse....trust me on that one. Probably the most useful thing of all that I learned is that if you come across a tiger the best thing you can do is throw a sidekick at it! Now that goes against everything that my instinct tells me but as you will hear not once, but twice in the movie Double Team....The best defense is a good offense!!! Now enjoy the movie, I'm off to find a tiger and a humming bird.

Ong-bak is a martial arts movie from Thailand that is getting a theatrical release here on February 11th. If you like martial arts movies, you MUST see this one. A guy named Tony Jaa is the star and he was only a stuntman until this movie. This guy is incredible and the best that I have seen in a long time. Ong-Bak is old school, using no wires or effects. His fighting style is mostly Muy Thai and the fight scenes are just realistic and brutal. Not only is Jaa an incredible martial artist but the stunts he does are amazing too. He's jumping over cars, sliding under a car, doing backflips, running across his opponent's shoulders........there is even a scene where his legs are on fire and he is still kicking! Some of the stunts are shown 2 or 3 times like the old Jackie Chan movies did so that you can see it's really him doing it and because they are so amazing.

I hope this movie ushers in a new wave of old school, realistic martial arts movies. I'm tired of watching people flying around like Superman and running across water while boring music is playing and a bunch of leaves are blowing around to make it look "pretty". Ong-Bak is the real deal. Now go see it! :)