This is my first film review EVAR, so we will see how it goes.
I just finished watching
Spirited Killer, one of Thai wunderkind
Tony Jaa's first movie efforts.
The film opens with a local witch doctor selling an immortality potion which kills whoever drinks it. One of his victims escapes, and a group of enraged townsfolk attack and kill the doctor.
Fast forward five years. Two groups of adventurers - one from China, seeking a vein of "holy metal", and another from Japan seeking ancient relics - converge on the village just as a seemingly indestructible stranger begins killing everyone in his path. The two groups of adventurers join forces with the villagers to try to stop the killer, with Tony Jaa leading the offensive.
But is the killer the master, or the apprentice?
Oh: there is a musical number accompanying Jaa's introduction.
The default for the DVD is the dubbed version, so I suggest you set up the movie for "Thai" language and "English" subtitles before the first frame rolls. Even by the generally atrocious standards of English-dubbed martial arts flicks, this one is pretty bad.
The subtitles were written by someone with an excellent grasp of English. However, I sometimes wondered if this person knew much Thai. I don't speak Thai, but it really seemed sometimes that the subtitles didn't really fit what was happening onscreen.
Most of the film involves people running from point a to points b,c,d...z, and at each point getting the crap beaten out of them by the bad guy. The fights themselves are fairly realistic from a physics point of view - no wirework or CGI - but the amount of punishment these people soak up before succumbing to injury is superhuman. Half of the sword slashes draw no blood, and the visible wounds are quickly washed away by sweat and buckets of water.
The writing and dialog (subtitles version) jumps wildly between being mediocre and superbly cringe-worthy, particularly in the interactions between the locals and the two groups of adventurers.
The actors themselves are obviously accomplished martial artists and display a speed and agility which put to shame even the super high-budget
American efforts. The director put forth special effort to showcase several different styles, although in the end they all kind of looked like a Thai spin on Chinese kung fu.
I recommend watching the movie for the fight scenes and fast-forwarding through much of the dialog. If you MUST watch the whole thing, make sure you have subtitles ON and English dubbing OFF.