Justice! 2012's Dredd

Ahh, Judge Dredd. Jury, executioner, and Judge. A no nonsense guy who will stop at nothing to see justice served the best way as possible. Originally a comic book series, Judge Dredd has gained a cult following over the years. He's been mentioned in other comics, video games and recently Hollywood. In this review, I'm doing the 2012 remake of Dredd, not the 1995 Sylvester Stallone version. First of all, this movie gets right what Stallone's did wrong. This movie doesn't stroke the ego of some lame (personally, I'm not a Stallone fan) action star. It sticks (mostly) to the comic books, though it's a tad bit more serious. The comics are basically political satire, amusing to read, not easily translatable on the silver screen. Let's get to the review!

 

 

Easy there, I'm on your side!

In the future, the world is a nuclear wasteland. Humanity resides in Mega Cities, stretching millions of miles, sheltered from the deadly wastelands. With so many residents, everything is in a Mega something. Mega Blocks (not the toy) Mega Highways, Mega Banks....you get the point. Though this being the future, crime still manages to cling on and ruin everyone's day. In come the Judges, peacekeepers who fight crime and are allowed to give sentences on the spot. For example, you jay walk, a Judge can give you two years in isocubes (aka prison). Enter Judge Dredd. The top Judge. The name itself brings fear to criminals and law abiding citizens alike. He's assigned to assess rookie Judge Cassandra Anderson (played by Olivia Thirlby). Anderson failed the Judge test, but the Chief Judge gives her a second chance due to the fact that Anderson's a mutant with psychic abilities. Dredd (played by Karl Urban) is skeptical, but takes Anderson out on assessment. A triple homicide is called in and the Judges go to Peach Trees apartments (a mega block). Turns out the triple homicide leads to something bigger than they thought and the plot thickens! The Ma-ma clan, run by Ma-Ma, produces a fancy new drug known as Slo-Mo and the killings were a warning to other drug lords. (Slo-mo is a narcotic that makes the brain feel like it's moving at 1%.) Dredd and Anderson raid a drug den, taking one of Ma-Ma's lieutenants in for questioning. Ma-Ma gets word of this and locks down Peach Trees using the security control room. She then announces to Peach Trees that she wants the two Judges dead and no one gets out until it happens. Dredd and Anderson now must fight for their lives in order to escape.

After a series of gunfights, punching, Gatling guns, and incendiary rounds, Anderson gets captured by her prisoner. Dredd understandably gets ticked off and goes after Ma-Ma and her gang. Now, there is a pretty cool twist involving crooked Judges and a fight between good and bad Judges. It's pretty intense. Anderson manages to free herself and meet up with Dredd. Then Dredd and Anderson fight their way to the top of Peach Tress to finish Ma-Ma once and for all.

The Good:
The special effects. This movie keeps it simple with the effects and only uses CGI when it's necessary. The scenes when the Slo-Mo drug is used seems to me that they're enhanced with CGI but, it's not cheesy. Also from what I could tell they were the only scenes with CGI. The story's decent too. The writers kept the story simple and it works. Go in, bust bad guy, stay alive, get out. Seriously, that's the plot in a nutshell. No insane plot twists, one location, and simple character roster. The people you're supposed to care about get screen time and the one's who are nameless and get taken out, well, you don't feel anything. And it works. Karl Urban as Judge Dredd. Move over Stallone, Urban's officially Dredd. He's got the iconic scowl down, the gruffy voice, Urban nails it. Olivia Thirlby does well as Anderson too. She grows as a character though the movie and you witness it. She starts out unsure and somewhat passive, then grows into a fully fledged Judge. In the beginning, when Dredd and Anderson are about to bust the drug den, Dredd comments on her not looking ready. Then, towards the end Dredd mentions that she looks ready when they're about to take out Ma-Ma. Anderson's also not some damsel in distress either. She's a badass girl who takes care of herself and that's nice to see in this day of age.  There isn't a whole lot bad to say about this movie.

The Bad:
Ma-Ma. She's not given a whole lot to work with. I mean, I wouldn't want to be living in the same building as her, she's pretty evil. I just wish she was given more back story. She's pretty much a cliche bad guy. To be fair, on the DVD, there is a comic book thingy that explains how she became who she is, but eh..not a whole lot of people are going to watch that. Lena Headey, who plays Ma-Ma does well for what's she given though.

Overall:
Overall, this movie's pretty darn good. It hits the right spots, and doesn't overdo anything. As said before, this movie keeps it simple. The casting for the Judges was spot on. The effects weren't over the top and made it feel more realistic. Hopefully, there will be a sequel and hopefully, they use the same recipe as before. Keeping it simple.

Bonus Round!
Wait, what? Bonus round? I wasn't notified about this! Anyways, this bonus round goes to the Lawgiver! That's the gun Judges use to dispense baddies and do other crime fighting stuff. The movie made the Lawgiver look utra realistic and something that might be used in the future. Look at this thing:   

   That's awesome. Where can I get one?

Score:
4.5 lawgivers out of 5.

X Men: Days of Future Past

Time travel. The mere mention of spiraling through time and space sends shivers down sci fi lovers and possibly some scientists necks. It's a fairly common theme, I mean look at all the different media that involves time traveling.  The Time Machine, Terminator, Terminator 2, Doctor Who...the list goes on. Well, comic books also involve traveling through time, so Hollywood took one of said comic books and made it into a movie. I'm talking about X Men: Days of Future Past. Now, this particular comic book did come out in the 80s, and there were a few things different from the movie in the comics. However, the plot somewhat remains the same: Giant mutant killing robots are taking over the world and a mutant must go back in time to stop these killing machines before humans and mutants are no more. So turn on your lava lamps and get in your Cadillac, we're going into the...70s!

As mentioned before, Days of Future Past is based off a series of X Men comics in the 80s, but with a few things switched around. First of all, Kitty Pryde (the girl who can run through solid objects) is sent back into the past. In the movie, Wolverine (played by Hugh Jackman) is the lucky guinea pig. The story is this: Sentinels, mutant killing robots, enslave anyone who is either a mutant, human helping mutants, or a potential genetic candidate to have a mutant offspring. Thankfully, John Connor- I mean, the X Men, start up a resistance to put an end to this. Problem is, the Sentinels have a cheat code; they can use mutant powers to fight mutants. This puts the X Men at a disadvantage, obviously. However, Kitty (played by Ellen Page) has a new, unexplained power, and can send people's consciousnesses back through time. Kitty uses said unexplained power and warns Professor X and some other X Men about the Sentinels, so they can come up with a plan. The plan is this: Send someone back through time and stop Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) from speeding up the Sentinel Program and possibly murdering a scientist, Bolivar Trask. Wolverine is the best candidate and he is sent back into the 70s.

Wolverine must get Prof. X and Magneto to work with each other so they may convince Mystique that killing is kind of a bad thing to do. It won't be easy though, Prof. X has lost his powers and Magneto is well...locked up. Wolverine must convince the former to save the latter and also must give Prof. X his confidence back. There's some neat little cameos and a really cool scene or two, but the movie focuses on Magneto and Prof. X. Wolverine plays a secondary character, but when he's in the spotlight, he does a decent job. Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique does well too, but there a a few minor things that could have been left out. Micheal Fassbender and James McAvoy do show some good chemistry and I daresay they do as well as Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen together. Hugh Jackman -is- pretty much Wolverine at this point, though he didn't say "Bub." as much. The story's well writtten, however, it would have been interesting if they had followed the comics more closely. We need more well written heroines and an X Men movie with Kitty as the lead could have been different. Hollywood came up with some lame excuses as to why they couldn't have a female lead so, there's that. Then there's Quicksilver. He had the coolest scene in the movie, and he's only in it for 10 minutes. Seriously? And I have no idea how they're going to explain how Quicksilver's in his 20's and not as old as the hills in the new Avengers movie. Anyways, on to the good and bad.

Yeah, I don't trust him either, Blink.

 The Good:
Overall, Days of Future Past is a good movie. The special effects are visually stunning, and the casting was well done. The story is interesting and at times well paced. And some of the mutants, guys. Personally, Blink is my new favorite X Man (X Men?) Why? Freaking portals. There are the classics too, Colossus...that's about it. The casting for the most part is well done. Everyone does a decent job and there are some convincing moments. For example, Prof. X and Magneto have an argument about loss and Magneto nearly crushes the plane they're in from anger and how you should fight instead of giving up. That was really well done. Another is when Wolverine is trying to boost Prof. X's confidence as Prof. X's powers come back. James McAvoy does a well done performance there. The old school Sentinels are pretty badass.  And Quicksilver. He stole the show.

The Bad:
Kitty's new powers. Where did they come from? How does running through solid objects give you mental powers? They never explain this is in the movie. I would have been okay with it if they'd come up with something. But no, we're just stuck with, Kitty can send people back through time, deal with it. Then there's the mutants. Man, they got screwed in this movie. Their powers are so watered down it's pathetic. We have Warhawk, a native American, who's only power is to sense where things are. That's like, seriously racist. Oh, he's good with knives, but that's not a mutant power. In the comics, the dude's 250 pounds of muscle and makes Captain America look like a wimp. Then there's Storm, the woman who's considered a Goddess in the comics, become a useless "I can shoot lightning like Thor." She dies first, (surprise, surprise). Quicksilver seriously needed more screen time. In fact, the whole plot could have been solved faster,  (possibly less messier too) if he had stayed longer. And the mutants from First Class? Screw 'em they're dead. Not a one alive, except Havok. Whoop de doo, he gets 2 minutes and is never heard of again. And Marvel's favorite thing to do in movies is....trust the bad guy who was obviously evil in the first movie, but this time he's changed, only to find out he's still bad. Marvel, I'm obviously to keep giving you my money, but stop this. I already know the bad guy is still bad. Loki is still bad, Magneto is still bad, The Red Skull is still bad, stop! You can't keep doing this and acting like it's a new thing.

Overall:
X Men: Days of Future Past is a good sequel to X Men: First Class. And it's indefinitely better than that train wreck that was X Men 3: Movie that Shall never be Mentioned. And yeah, they hint at it like it's still there, but thankfully the movie erased 50 years of stupid history so it never happened. Anyways, decent movie. I'll keep watching it for the time being. If you're an X Men fan, this is a good film to watch.

Rating:
3.75 lava lamps out of 5. 

Rush Hour...2!

"Get on with force, don't stop til you get enough." -M. Jackson.

These wise words are sung in 2001s Rush Hour 2. The- oh yeah. Hey fellow movie watchers! It's been a long time since I reviewed a movie. There are going to be a few changes to this blog too. First of all, I'll be reviewing movies of all genres now. Now, that doesn't mean I'll stop doing kung fu flicks, just maybe less. Secondly, this blog shall henceforth be renamed The Shaolin Fist of Movie Reviews! And third, I'll be asking my loyal follower(s)? suggestions of movies that they'd like to see reviewed. So, leave a message in the comments! On to the review!

Today, I'll be reviewing the second movie in the Rush Hour movies. Why start with the second, you ask? Why not. Anyways, to the movie! Rush Hour 2 is the sequel to the first where we follow Inspector Lee and Officer Carter in their hijinks in Hong Kong. Lee and Carter are having fun, well, just roaming around Hong Kong doing Lee's police work. The U.S. Embassy in HK is attacked and Lee is called to the case. Carter, who's on vacation, reluctantly joins Lee in the case and they have to stop the Chinese Triad from importing....something. They join forces with a double agent, Isabella Molina to stop the Triad's evil scheme. Fists and feet of fury fly through out the flick! And there's Las Vegas too, so that's cool.

Not pictured: Las Vegas.

So that's the gist of it. Let's get on to the good and the bad parts of the movie.

The Good:
Personally, I like this movie a tad bit more than the first one. There's more action, jokes and more scenery. Chris Tucker does a good job reprising his role as James Carter, as well does Jackie Chan as Lee. The story's not too bad either, though this being a comedy, you can't take it too seriously. The action scenes are pretty well done and you feel pumped when Carter and Lee do their super high five thingy. Isabella's a nice touch to the story as well. She's not a useless female character that the males have to keep saving. She has her useful moments and keeps the boys alive when it's needed.

The Bad:
The bad guys. Bleah. Seriously, does every action movie bad guy have to be so cliche? "I want more money." "I want to sell drugs." "I want to steal diamonds and sell drugs." My goodness, I just want a bad guy in a kung fu movie I can get behind when their motives are more realistic. Or better written. Not to say that Ricky Tan is badly written, it's just that he's so cliche. And the double agent thing. You know, can we trust the agent or are they actually a bad guy too? Every time it's the same. The agent is protecting the others and trying not to blow their cover at the same time. And there's Carter. While Chris Tucker is slightly funny, Carter is a bit too sex maniac at times. It gets old when he's hitting on everything in sight, including walls. Then there's the slightly racist jokes. Sure, it's funny maybe once or twice, but telling the same joke over and over loses it's panache. 

Over all:
Rush Hour 2 is a fun movie to watch when there's nothing better to watch. It's still somewhat amusing after all these years. (Man, I can't believe this movie's 14 years old.) Chan and Tucker perform well, and I daresay that this is one of the few sequels better than the first movie. So, if you're in a mood for kung fu and comedy, pop in Rush Hour 2. You might enjoy it.

Rating:
3.5 Micheal Jackson songs out of 5.

Super Cop: The Cop that Can't be Stopped!

Howdy all! I know it's been awhile since my last post, but I've finally had some free time to sit down and watch a movie for you all! Today, I'll be reviewing Super Cop. If there's one thing Jackie Chan likes doing, it's doing cop movies with action. Let's get to the review!

Super Cop!
This is the third Police Story movie, but I guess Jackie Chan wanted even more ridiculous plots and stories going on in this movie. It's good, and the action's intense as usual, but unfortunately, this movie does have its flaws.

The Plot:
Kevin Chan or Ka-Kui (in the Cantonese version) is volunteered to join the Interpol in stopping a crime boss/ drug lord. He's sent undercover to gain the trust of Panther, said crime boss, and stop whatever Panther and his older brother are planning. His partner, Jessica Yang (played by Michelle Yeoh) joins Kevin and helps him on his mission. However, their cover is blown and the game plan has changed. Will Chan and Yang make it out alive, or will they fail? Find out on the next episode of Dragon Ball Z!!! Kidding.

Since there are two martial artists....Michelle Yeoh.

The Good:
 The action. Obviously. Jackie Chan movies always impress with the stunts and action sequences. Even Michelle Yeoh delivers quite a punch with her screen time. And, since it's a Police Story movie, there are parts that are quite humorous. The scene above for example, when Jessica tosses the chop sticks, then Kevin does the same except, he yells, "Die!" while pointlessly throwing the chop sticks. The story's not too bad, it's got some good dialogue and some parts of said story give you an adrenaline rush. The end action scene is pretty wicked awesome too. It involves a train, a helicopter and a motorcycle. You'll have to see the movie for more details though.  Oh, and Jessica Yang. She's strong, useful and very independent. Heck, most of her ideas actually help out the mission more than Kevin's do. Jessica Yang is awesome and props to Michelle Yeoh.

The Bad:
 Now, this isn't for all of the movie, but Kevin (who has a girlfriend as stated in this movie and the last two Police Stories) is a bit of a chauvinistic jerk. When Kevin first meets Jessica, he starts hitting on her! What the hell? Dude, you have a girlfriend! I know Jessica is pretty, but sheesh. Thankfully, Jessica doesn't fall for this and treats him like a kid. The drug plot (again). I swear, every time I watch a 90's movie with Jackie Chan in it, there's always drugs involved or some mustache twirling villain with a stereotypical evil occupation. Don't get me wrong, but come up with some new material man! Kevin's girlfriend. Oh, look, May is back and she's being silly again! I've already said my thoughts on May in Police Story, and I'll say them again. May is immature, stupid and surprise, surprise, ruining whatever job Kevin is on. Spoiler: She does something to ruin this job.

Conclusion:
With that being said, Supercop is a decent film. Sure, there are flaws, but the movie makes up for that with action and cool stunts. Jackie Chan and Michelle Yeoh work off of each other really well, and it's always nice to see a girl who can kick ass and take names. I'd recommend this movie to anyone who likes the Police Story movies and Jackie Chan. Fun for the whole family!

4 flying chopsticks out of 5. 

The Forbidden Kingdom

Gambei and greetings! It's certainly been awhile since I reviewed a movie, and apologies for keeping those who read this blog waiting! I did watch a kung fu movie called The Iceman, but it was so bad I didn't want anyone to suffer as much as I did. So, I watched another one, The Forbidden Kingdom. It's more of a westerny movie, but it has kung fu, so let's take on the Jade Empire together and review!

The FORBIDDEN KINGDOM:

Despite the title, this movie has no forbidden kingdoms in it. Or, I didn't notice any. Anyways, let's check out the plot.

The Plot:

Long ago, the Monkey King (legendary figure that supposedly came up with Monkey Style) disobeyed the Jade Empire and angered the Jade Warlord. The Jade Warlord (played by Collin Chou) spars the Monkey King (Jet Li) but turns him into a statue. Before the M.K. is 100% statue, he sends his magical staff away in hopes of a hero to return it to him. In the present, Jason Tripitikas (Micheal Angarano) finds the staff and is sent back to return it to it's owner. Joined by a drunk, a monk, and a girl (sounds like a set up to a bad joke) they set off on a journey to free the Monkey King. Will this band of misfits succeed or will the Jade Emperor continue his reign of terror?

The Good:
Some of the fight scenes are pretty decent.  Jet Li vs. Jackie Chan was all people could talk about before the movie even came out and that was pretty awesome. Chan and Li had never been in a movie together, so this was a pretty big deal. The overlying story is pretty decent, and some of the roles were well filled. The diversity of kung fu styles was also pretty interesting. For example, there's drunken fist, praying mantis, monkey, even a few Bruce Lee blips. It's also interesting to see a westerner's point of view on the Monkey King and how the story is told.

The Bad:
Plot holes. So many plot holes. How does a jade hair pin kill an immortal? Why doesn't the Jade Emperor come back from his 500 year meditation to put an end to the tyranny of the Jade Warlord? Why does Golden Sparrow speak in 3rd person? There are too many questions asked and not enough answers. Most of the story is told like how an adult would tell a child a bedtime story (fun fact: this was a bedtime story). It's one thing to tell it to a kid, but it's another thing to tell an audience and not answer every question that's asked. There are some parts in the movie that seem pointless and redundant. Jason spends alot of time sitting around campfires flirting with Sparrow, or Jet Li and Jackie Chan are doing things to amuse the audience. It feels like there's no sense of urgency to return the staff to the Monkey King at all. I have a feeling if that our heroes sat around long enough, the Jade Emperor would return and set things right. But seriously, 500 years? Obviously, the dude wasn't meant to rule. Giving power to your oh so obviously evil lackey is just bad leadership. Let's talk about Jason for a bit. He's a flat character. He's supposed to learn about kung fu and whatnot, but doesn't seem that he learns anything. And then there's the mystical sayings, like "A student who honors his teacher honors himself." or "Master and student walk the path together until their paths go separate ways." Look, I understand that there's supposed to wisdom in these sayings, but the movie uses them way to much.

Conclusion:
The Forbidden Kingdom is pretty decent movie. There's some decent fight scenes, and the story's not too bad. Jason is a flat character and there should have been some sort of urgency during the plot. Sparrow speaking in 3rd person gets annoying, while Li and Chan keep the movie funny and light hearted. The diversity of different styles of Kung fu is always a good thing. Just watching this movie once will impress and hopefully open doors to more kung fu movies for the beginner. Side note: Don't watch Iceman. It's bad.

3.75 wasted cups of tea out of 5.

Shaolin Mantis and 13 Assassins

Kamehameha and hello! It's been awhile since I posted a review and I figured I'd give you all a break from the mass wave of movie reviews for awhile. Hopefully, you're all caught up and ready for more! Today will be a double feature review, so sit back and get ready to rumble!!


Shaolin Mantis:

Alrighty, let's talk about Shaolin Mantis first. This movie was produced by the famous Shaw Brothers, creators of 36th Chamber of Shaolin, Five Deadly Venoms, and many others. Shaolin Mantis is overall a pretty decent flick and I enjoyed watching it. Let's go to the story!

The Story:

A scholar, Wei Fung (played by David Chiang) is recruited by the Emperor to spy on a potential rebel, who might be plotting to kill said Emperor. Wei goes to the Tien manor under the guise of a teacher to tutor the Grand Master's unruly granddaughter, Chi Chi (played by Wong Hang Sau). Things become more complicated and Wei's life may be in danger. Will he be victorious, or will the Master of the Shadow style end Wei once and for all?

The Good:
I'll admit, this is a pretty cheesy kung fu movie, but it's cheesy good. The action sequences aren't all too bad for an old kung fu flick.  Towards the end, it gets better because there's much more action.

The Bad:
The sound effects. I understand that this was made in the 70s and things weren't as high tech as there are now, but the amount of hitting noises were a bit overboard. There are a few fights were Wei and generic master of  <insert style> lock hands and there has to be hitting noises even though the actors aren't even hitting each other. As for the sword/ metal weapons sound, they used the same pattern of ping, ping, chuang!!! over and over. <sigh> It got old fast. The story was pretty slow paced as well. Wei doesn't even do Mantis style until the last 15 minutes of the movie, which is alright, I suppose. However, he just kind of smiles and acts goofy. Chi-Chi. Why does almost every kung fu movie have to have an annoying girl? She likes kung fu, I'll give her that, but she's also too much of a show off. There should have been a scene were Wei shows her his kung fu and maybe have embarrassed her or something. I don't like Chi-Chi.

Conclusion:
Shaolin Mantis is a fun Shaw Brothers flick and I recommend that you should at least see it once. As said before, the action's not too shabby, so it's fun to watch.

3.5 mantis strikes out of 5.



13 Assassins:

This time we travel even further east to the mystical land of Japan. And instead of kung fu masters we are introduced to samurai. Now, 13 Assassins is a great movie. The story's amazing, the action is spine chilling good, and the acting is superb. All in all, 13 Assassins is probably one of my favorite samurai movies. Let's give it a look see, shall we?

The Story:
In the 1840s, a sadistic evil man, Lord Naritsugu, the Shogun's half-brother, is causing trouble and must be stopped. Sir Doi, the Shogun's Justice Minster, realizes something must be done and seeks out an ex samurai, Shinzaemon. Shinzaemon is tasked to assassinate Lord Naritsugu by any means necessary. Shinzaemon and 12 others plot a way to kill Lord Naritsugu en route to Edo before the Lord joins the Shogun's council. Will they succeed and kill this evil man? Or will their plan be all for naught and peace in Japan might end?

 Above: TOTAL MASSCRE

The Good:
The whole movie. Seriously. I love everything about it. The story's compelling, the action is well done and well choreographed. The actors are convincing and make the story believable. Even the pacing of the story is well done, making you wait patiently until BAM! Action! Lots of glorious action! This movie is just...wow. It's awesome.

The Bad:
Honestly, I can't find anything bad about this movie. It's well done. Since I have to find bad things, I will nitpick. There are some dumb things these ronin (samurai no longer bound to a master) do that would make Sun Tzu facepalm. In the scene above, it's clear that these men have the tactical advantage and they could easily wipe out a few more men before running out of arrows. But no....they have to do the stupid thing and fight 130 men (even though they do this pretty successfully) with sword play. C'mon! Just whittle down the bad guys until you have the advantage! I know there's supposed to be honor and whatnot, but at least do it with less enemies! Other than that, great movie.

Conclusion:
Just see above. This movie rocks. Watch it. Seriously.

5 katanas out of 5.

The Protector (Tom-Yum-Goong)

Yeah, two movie reviews in one day. And yes, this is another Tony Jaa movie. I promise to pace him out a bit more. I think this might be Tony Jaa month or something. Anyways, The Protector. Overall, a fun movie to watch, a little lacking on story and story telling, but still decent.

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.