The Plot:
Legend tells us that back in the good ol' days, if a King had an awesome warrior elephant, he'd be unstoppable in battle. Awesome elephants did have weaknesses though, and it was the job of the Protectors to help them. These protectors were masters of Muay Thai, and they also raised the elephants for the king. Years later, Kham and his father are elephant raisers. Young Kham helps his dad raise an elephant, Por Yai. Por Yai and Kham are inseparable. One day, Por Yai, finds a mate and the two have a calf. 10 years later, Kham meets the calf, Kohrn. Kham's father take Por Yai to the elephant inspector for the King so that he may be approved for royal living. Unfortunately, this turns out to be a ruse and Kham's dad is killed. Kham chases after the men who tried to capture Por Yai, and little Korhn is captured. Kham interrogates one of the men posing as the inspector and is told the elephants have been taken to Sydney. Kham travels to Australia, looking for a man named Johnny. After many fights and searching, Kham finds Johnny, only to be beaten by his thugs. Meanwhile, the police seem to think Kham is a drug dealer and a killer (I have no idea why they thought this) and search after him. Eventually, Kham finds Johnny and defeats him. It is revealed Johnny works for a Lady Rose who runs an illegal business of selling exotic animals as food. Kham is worried Kohrn is killed, but it turns out Korhn is unharmed. Kham and Korhn seek shelter in a Buddhist temple with the help of an officer, who is also blamed for killing and drug running. (I guess Australia doesn't bother with facts and evidence, just dumb hunches) Kham fights some other guys and eventually finds Lady Rose. Lady Rose has killed Por Yai and "uses" his power to make her the ultimate leader, but Kham and his knees of awesomeness defeat Rose. Kham and Korhn head home after a hard days work.
The Good:
Tony Jaa. He kicks some much butt in this movie. It's awesome. This movie shows off his skills and stunts in all the right ways. Kohrn, the cute little elephant. That's right, that baby elephant is freakin' cute.
The Bad:
The story. I mean, I get the gist of it, but there are so many unexplained things too. Why does Lady Rose need an elephant? Why does Kham instantly get in the cops radar as soon as he enters Sydney? How come the cops are so incompetent? Is Tony Jaa a superhuman? The acting's not all that great either. Tony Jaa doesn't say much in this movie, which I would feel closer to him if he wasn't beating everything up. Dude, show some emotions, give me a reason to feel for you. Plot holes, oh so many plot holes. How did Kham find the fake inspector? How did he find Lady Rose? So many things left unexplained. I like Tony Jaa, I really do. But, if you're going to bother with a story, try to actually show it. Don't skip around and expect me to follow what's going on.
Conclusion:
This movie's good. Just not compelling story good. Tony Jaa is impressive to watch, but he needs to show more emotion and maybe talk. Don't use the martial arts as an excuse to tell a story. The fight scenes are awesome, and it wasn't a let down like Ong Bak 3. I'd suggest watching this on Netflix for a fun 90 minutes. Other than that, it's one long fight scene basically, but at least it's a awesome fight scene.
3.5 flying knees to the face out of 5.
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