Les fils du vent

After being quite disappointed by the first Yamakasi film, i didn't expect very much. But after watching Les Fils du vent i was literally blown away. First of all, forget about the story. It's an action movie, and not a drama, so a good story won't be that important after all. The director took a free running group from France and added some martial arts artists from Thailand(?). The outcome of the equation were some very impressive action scenes. I gave this movie 8/10 stars, because it fulfills everything i expect from an action movie. So if you like martial arts and/or those little free running clips from all over the net, you won't be disappointed by this movie.

The plot is simple. A French youngsters who are into extreme sports go to China and get in trouble with the local triad mafia. Just because the training ground they use happen to be on their turf. Without really having anything to do with it they get into the gang warfare. And without choosing any sides they try to fight a way out.

The story isn't very spectacular. But the fighting and acrobatics are. The actors are mostly the same as Luc Besson's Yamakasi. And if you have seen that film and those acrobatics and you combine them with martial arts. Then you will understand what makes this film so good. Those men "REALLY" Jump of buildings and "REALLY" climb them barehanded (of course they are protected with cables). But instead of the cable doing all the work it's them. If you want an evening of relaxing and giving your eye some original spectacle without having too much of a plot than this is the movie for you. Enjoy.

This is the second feature for the French stunt acrobat group Yamakasi. They are all very talented but director Julien Seri can't capitalize on this talent to save his life. Granted, this is a bit better than the eyeball killer YAMAKASI (2001) but not by much. The group finds themselves in Thailand and they end up feuding with a local Yakuza (!) gang. Each member is given more to do this time whether it be falling in love or re-connecting with one's long dead mystical father. There are quite a few action scenes but nothing really stands out. Director Seri has an unbelievable ability to shoot stuff in a way that it has so little impact. The only high point is a shot where three guys drop about 5 stories down a series of silos that is shot in one take. Given that Thailand produced their own badass actioner in ONG BAK the year before, it is sad to see these talented guys relying on lots of wirework. I pray that someone will utilize their parkour skills in something in the future that is a bit more engaging like BANLIEUE 13.

When I picked up this movie, I was expecting something rather different from what the movie actually turned out to be. The title "Sons of the Wind: Bangkok Ninjas" led me to believe this was a Thai martial arts movie, not some Parkour event movie.

Sure the people in the movie, the ones doing the Parkour, were really athletic and did some rather amazing stuff. But, personally, I think you really need to be into Parkour to find this movie interesting. It was so disappointing for me to sit through, waiting for martial arts, and only seeing Parkour. I must admit that I gave up about one hour into the movie.

And why was everyone speaking French in the movie? It made no sense that the Thai people spoke French as well. Sure, I could understand the Parkour people from France spoke French, but the natives Thai? Come on... Now, I got nothing against French language or movies that isn't in English, but at least keep it proper to the regions in which it take place.

It should be said that the camera work was really nice, it was almost like you were right there in the action yourself. But still, you have to be appreciative of Parkour for this to really be interesting.

This was a major disappointment to me. But it just goes to prove, that you can't always put your trust in the DVD cover.

I thought about suggesting that it might be a good idea to watch "Yamakasi 2 / The Great Challenge / Sons Of The Wind" with the sound off (it would at least eliminate the absurd French dubbing of every character in Bangkok, even local small children and Asian mobsters), but then you would not be able to listen to some pretty driving music....I'm not sure if the plot would make any less sense, though. For example, the final battle must have set some sort of record for "highest number of participants", but even our heroes seem confused as to whom they are fighting or why. If you forget about the plot and concentrate on the action, this movie does have some scenes that will have you going "Wow!", although sometimes the cutting is a bit too frantic. All the leads here (from the Luc Besson - discovered group Yamakasi) are obviously gifted athletes, and following Xin Xin Xiong's choreography, they come off as high-level martial artists as well. Special mention must be made of Elodie Yung, who is not only absolutely gorgeous and impressively fit, but a great fighter too. Her scorpion kicks rival those of Cynthia Rothrock! **1/2 out of 4.