Dynamite Warrior
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Movie Reviews of Dynamite Warrior
Movie Review: one of my favorite thai martial arts film
Summary: 5 Stars
It's a great film, and you get to see some of the stories of what thai magic is like. Not to mention that it 1900' saim and they're rockets being used as weapons.Movie Review: The title says it all
Summary: 4 Stars
Dynamite Warrior... the title says it all. Well, obviously not really, but it comes pretty darn close. From director Chalerm Wongpim and the creators of The Protector, Born to Fight, and the popular Ong-Bak, comes a reinvention of the western, Thai style. Khon fai bin, or Dynamite Warrior on this side of the world is a surrealistic combination of old west cowboys and hardcore barefooted martial artistry set in the 1850s.
The plot is simple: Lord Wang is a corrupt harelipped businessman trying to sell the newfangled invention of the tractor to farmers and make the water buffalo obsolete. Jone Bang Fai is a masked warrior who employs a mixture of rockets and knee-kicks to steal water buffalo from wealthy cattle rustlers and gives them back to the poor farmers they were taken from, Robinhood-style. Thrown into the mix is a near-invincible rancher who has the ability to turn his bumbling sidekicks into superhero-worthy fighters, an evil dark wizard, a brawny but brainless ex-con, and a love story... okay, so maybe it's not that simple. But it sure is fun.
Dynamite Warrior is a nonstop action film in the truest sense of the phrase, with characters that are painted in such broad strokes they're almost caricatured, and fight scenes that go on for upwards of ten minutes at a time. Toss in the Black Wizard seeking revenge for a curse placed upon him and it's downright mythic. Although the plot itself might leave something to be desired, there's no question that this is a pulse-pounding martial arts movie. The fact that no writer is even listed on IMDB shows just how important the plot really is to the filmmakers. What matters here is the stupefying fight scenes and the incredible stuntwork. The cinematography is nothing to scoff at either. With breathtaking scenery and remarkable sets, Dynamite Warrior is easier on the eye than it is on the bad guys.
Dan Chupong, a stuntman on Ong-Bak, stars as Jone Bang Fai, and spends most of the movie flying through the air, though he does manage to make the time for the mandatory side love story with the Black Wizard's beautiful daughter. Every character reads as if from the pages of a comic book: the huge escaped convict who uses two gigantic chunks of wood as his weapons, the wretched Black Wizard with his boil-covered visage, and, of course, the masked hero with a mysterious past and a heart of gold.
Dynamite Warrior is the kind of action film that can only be made in the East. Every frame is seemingly filled with the desire to take stuntwork to the next level. Even the cattle ranchers who appear for a split-second on screen have the kind of skills Chuck Norris dreams about. Those looking for a good western or a good martial arts film can stop looking. Those looking for both combined into one film... well, they probably already own it.
Movie Review: Muay Thai action + menstration magic = MUST SEE!
Summary: 4 Stars
Where to begin? Dynamite Warrior is the story of a young man on a quest for vengeance against the man that killed his parents... sounds pretty unoriginal right? Well let me assure you that everything beyond the basic premise is quite fresh. Our hero Zieng is played by Dan Chupong is his second starring role after the action film Born to Fight. Here he is given a more interesting character to work with and is likeable as the "man of few words" vigilante type. His main weapon is his fantastic Muay Thai moves that have him rolling and somersaulting into bone crunching knee and elbow blows... but that's not all! You see he also utilizes rockets (in fact he even rides on one for a scene or two?!)... this is one of THOSE movies. The kind where each character you meet is a little more bizarre than the last (Takashi Miike would be proud of this eclectic group)and the situations aren't far behind. It uses these characters and the aforementioned plot to jump from one action setpiece to the next while keeping the viewer amused and interested. If you are an action fan than this works out great... others may be rolling their eyes by the second fight. Put together by the same group involved with other Thai action exports Ong Bak, The Protector, and Born To Fight (stunt coordinator Panna Rittikrai even stars as the Black Wizard) you know what to expect, slick direction and lots of exciting action. Wizards, cannibalistic barbarians, virgins-menstration-tipped-rockets(?!), and lots of fighting make this a highly entertaining and recommended release!Movie Review: When You Give Robin Hood a Rocket...
Summary: 3 Stars
The worst thing you can do before watching "Dynamite Warrior" is expect it to be Ong-Bak - The Thai Warrior. Rest assured, this is not that movie, nor is it Dan Chupong's previous outing, the equally amazing Born to Fight. As a matter of fact, this is an entire different kind of movie altogether; if you're not interested in a dose of fantasy, leave this film be and return to Tony Jaa, for this movie really can't be further from realism. With that said, the film does have its flaws that keep it from being as enjoyable as it should be, so don't expect a Marvel superhero flick, either.
The story: Jone Bang Fai (Chupong) is the dark, rocket-slinging hero of rural Thailand which has been threatened by the cattle-stealing schemes of the western sellout Lord Wang (Leo Putt, Demon Warriors), who wishes to force peasants to buy industrial tractors. Calling to his aid a beastly bandit (Somdet Kaew-ler) and a demonic wizard with his own agenda of vengeance (Panna Rittikrai, Spirited Killer), he hopes smother the hopes of the people and destroy the troubled hero once and for all.
Yeah, the story's not all that great, but that's to be expected with any action movie. The plot does take a bit of a twist concerning the backstory of the evil wizard (easily the most interesting character in the film) and his relationship to Jone Bang Fai and a mystical cattle driver called Singh (played by kickboxing champ Samart Payakarun ). There's also a bit of a romantic/dirty part concerning the wizard's daughter (Kanyapak Suworakood), but that whole angle could easily have been cut out of the movie without much loss of comprehension. What's more disconcerting, though, is how nonchalantly the supernatural aspects of the film are inserted, without any hype or build-up. Take the thief, for instance: at first, he seems like just a tall brute wielding two heavy clubs, but it turns out that when he gets hungry, he gains superhuman strength and endurance - this becomes fact right out of the blue, and it took me several minutes to realize what the deal was. Or the revelation that Singh the cattle driver is endowed with magical powers: at first, you think his fights have simply been poorly choreographed, until it becomes clear that yes, he can kick people from a distance. Pretty much the only weird aspect that is preemptively explained is that a virgin's menstrual blood robs someone of their magic powers - yeek.
The fighting content is a mixed bag: pretty much the only aspect it retains from the renowned fight scenes of "Ong Bak" is a penchant for slow-motion, but it's utilized to excess, to the point that every other blow or falling motion is slowed down for viewer scrutiny. The battles consist mainly of technical elbow and knee strikes, Singh and the wizard pushing people around like a couple of Jedi, a couple of neat stunts, and Jone riding around on rockets like surfboards; believe it or not, all of this looks more exciting than it sounds, even though the encounters a-plenty aren't as tightly wrangled as those of more popular Thai films and the occasional wire fu move looks kinda wonky. Keep in mind, folks, this is not the totally-unbelievable-but-still-possible-if-you're-good-enough kind of action that Tony Jaa has served up - this is fantasy fighting, in which people are possessed by monkey spirits and leap twenty feet from tree to tree.
In the end, I'm not a huge fan of the film, but Chupong devotees have plenty of reason to check this out. This movie's gotten kind of a bad rap among American audiences simply because they went in expecting the wrong movie, so I implore potentially disappointed folks to know their interests before making a purchase.
Movie Review: Don't expect another "Ong-Bak or Tom Yum Goong"...
Summary: 3 Stars
DYNAMITE WARRIOR (original title: Tabun Fire) is from the makers of ONG-Bak, Born to Fight, stars Dan Chupong(Born to Fight). After the major success of ONG-BAK Thai Warrior overseas, the U.S. became flooded with movies from Thailand. Some are very good (like Ong-Bak, Tom Yum Goong), most are watchable, majority are mediocre. This latest installment though, I've been reluctant to review, but what the hey, I'll give it a shot. Any movie that includes a scene wherein the hero has to use " virgin-menstrual blood" tipped rockets to defeat an evil magician consider me motivated.
An evil nobleman called Lord Waeng is in the business of importing farming tractors. He enlists his thugs to rid the land of water Buffalo to convince the townsfolk in buying his product. A " so-called self proclaimed" protector called Jone Bang Fai(Dan Chupong) will step in to save the day. However, Bang Fai is more motivated in finding his parents' murderer, which leaves him vulnerable to manipulation by an evil wizard and his beautiful daughter. This feverish quest distracts him from doing what is important; the protection of the weak.
Tabunfire (I'd rather call it by its original title) has the usual cliché, a misguided good guy, a wise man, an evil wizard, a beautiful woman, a dumb ex-con and an eccentric weirdo. The story isn't really deep or complex. I may even suggest that the plot is lacking. Think "Robin Hood" that collides with "Zorro" without the great acting. Some scenes are so campy that it is almost laughable. The director tries too hard to mix in satire and comic relief that the movie's screenplay stumbles at times. But the unsteady bravado softens the dull moments (canned drama) between action scenes with screen peculiarities and cultural idiosyncrasies that feed our curiosity on what would come next. (Lesser of two evils, anyone?)
To the film's credit, the action scenes save this movie. It attempts to blend the Muay Thai fighting system with a generous amount of special effects, wire work and a hint of mysticism. As a martial arts fan, the fight scenes are very well choreographed. Unfortunately, Dynamite Warrior is missing what most successful martial arts films have: a very charismatic lead actor. Dan Chupong is a capable action star and may fit the role, but his presence only blends with the other actors and doesn't make him "stand out". Don't get me wrong, Dan Chupong's fighting skills are nice to behold and it is his skills that sell this film, but you just don't care about ANY of the characters (except maybe the pretty girl). Director Charlerm Wongpim only has a slight grip on coherency and he relies too much on camera trickery. Too much does become a bit campy and cheesy. Perhaps this is what he intended.
PICTURE/AUDIO: 1.78 anamorphic widescreen. The transfer isn't as crisp as I would have preferred, the picture suffers from mild smearing in dark scenes. However, the daylight scenes are rich with color and depth. ENGLISH 5.1 Dolby/2.0 Surround and Thai Language 5.1 Dolby/2.0 Surround. I checked the dubbed track and I have to say, the dubbing is decent but still unattractive. The sound effects suffer with the dubbed track that I would advise watching it in its original language with subtitles. (Since the English subs are good)
EXTRAS: Making of/ Stunts/ on the set/special effects feature
In closing:
"Dynamite Warrior" aka: "Tabun Fire" isn't an efficient movie, resorting to cheesy humor at times, some viewers may find it difficult to relate to what's going on. Watch this film for the hard-hitting action and outrageous stunts..nothing else. Just don't expect another "ONG-BAK or "TOM YUM GOONG"(The Protector).
RENT IT! (3 stars)
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