It's Bangkok
baby! And it looks spectacular. The nightclubs, the canals, the tuk-tuks,
the little neighborhoods, the markets, the outdoor street food, the fabulous
rooftop bars, the temples. That wonky building that looks like it was built
with Lincoln Logs is right down the street from where I live. What a great
city. Just ignore all the dead bodies that pile up like a game of pick-up-sticks.
And the evil spirits. They can be an inconvenience at times. The dead bodies
we just learn to step over. This film is as dumb as dirt and makes no sense
, but it's Bangkok and I felt right at home. Nice to have a Western film made
that doesn't go into the seamy side of Bangkok. Sure it has two wizards -
the Ying and Yang - who want to take over the world and remake it. Hell, I
wish I could these days. I didn't know it when I watched this, but extensive
research tells me that this is a sequel to the TV series, Wu Assassin, which
I have never seen and likely never will. A quick look at Wikipedia will catch
you up on the series.
There are three male friends - one of whom
is the Wu Assassin - the last one after thousands of years. He has some sort
of magical force. One of the other friends is a martial artist and the other
is something or another. A friend has been murdered - not sure if this happened
in the TV series or not - but they have come to Bangkok for revenge. Where
better for revenge. Relax in the day time around the pool and go hunting at
night. They hit a nightclub filled with great looking women and I wondered
why I was here and not there - oh because they would probably not let me in
with my shorts and Tintin T-shirt. A few of the patrons are Jiangshi - familiar
to those who watch Hong Kong films - not the hopping kind - but when you
kill them they blow up into dust particles. The group is told through possessed
people to go to a temple on the following day. Where a man tells them that
the person they are looking for is his sister (Yayaying Rhatha Phongam) and
she is at a hotel. And she is the Queen of the Underworld. With apparently
hundreds of minions. And that is probably more detail than anyone wants to
know.
There are a few solid action set pieces
that are surprisingly brutal and I thought quite fun. A boat chase on one
of the canals. Another set piece in the tourist area of Khao San Road. And
a couple more later on. We have gotten so spoiled by incredible martial arts
films that when one comes along that doesn't match up, people are overly disappointed
- especially I think because the Wu Assassin is played by Iko Uwais who has
starred in The Raid and other Indonesian action films that bring on hard-ons
to action junkies. The action here is fine compared to most Western action
films. The action isn't helped though by the choice of dreadful songs to
play along with it. Lots of action and a few females to boot - Pearl Thusi,
JuJu Chan and Francesca Corney who acquit themselves just fine. The idiot
plot brings it down a few steps but I love Bangkok.
