Somtum

I recently watched Muay Thai Giant (2008) on Tubi. The storyline follows a man who is drugged and robbed while on vacation. While out looking for the money, he accidentally ruins a family-owned restaurant and promises to pay them back. He teams up with the two daughters of the restaurant's owner to find a way to make some money and recover his stolen funds.

This film is written and directed by Nontakorn Taweesuk (Monkey Twins) and stars Dan Chupong (Monster Hunter), Nathan Jones (Mad Max: Fury Road), Philip Hersh (Red Cliff), and Damian Mavis (Bang Bang).

The movie reminded me of the Mothra trilogy in how the kids drive the storyline and pull the adults into their universe and behaviors, making it completely unbelievable and annoying in just about every way. This is more of a kids' movie than a martial arts film, even though it does have some fight scenes. There are scenes with kids beating up adults and awkward stripper scenes with kids watching. Other than the beach cooking montage, there's really nothing I enjoyed about this film, and it was painful to get through.

In conclusion, Muay Thai Giant is a disaster that likely has a hard time finding a target audience. There's nothing to see here. I would score this a 2/10 and recommend skipping it.

It was a great movie in regards to the martial arts and basic plot line, but some of the situations in the movie were a bit senseless. Some of the antics of the younger sister are slightly annoying. While I'm a long time martial arts action film fan and I understand they don't all come with the greatest plots or character developments. I would have liked to seem some redemption in the youngest sister during a particular portion of the film where it was obviously a great place for her character development.

Regardless of that, this is a fun movie to watch. The fight scenes are pretty light hearted as well as the storyline. Everything is choreographed well. Sasisa Jindamanee does a great job as the tougher and a bit more sensitive sister. While I didn't particularly care for Nawarat Techarathanaprasert's character, she did a good job in her role. Nathan Jones does a good job as a clumsy gentle giant. Overall, everyone handles their roles well and it makes for an entertaining film.

A real surprise: who would have thought a kids film starring an ex-WWF wrestler could be this good? While the mainstream laps up the antics of Tony Jaa and Jeeja "CHOCOLATE" Yanin, the Thai film industry continues to create fresh, original, and very well made films that don't get as much attention: see SARS WARS for another example. SOMTUM is a light-hearted action comedy that mixes some fantastic kick-boxing action (both in and out of the ring) with some gentle, endearing and, very funny comedy sequences to great effect.

While Nathan Jones, as the naive tourist who "hulks up" at the taste of the spicy "somtum" dish, is a nice screen presence, the stars of the show are the two young Thai girls he befriends. Nawarat Techarathanaprasert shows a good command of English as the street urchin with a penchant for theft, but Sasisa Jindamanee, as her muay-thai kick-boxer older sister, is a total revelation! I urge Pracha Pinkaew and/or Panna Rittikrai to have her square off against Jeeja Yanin in a film as soon as possible: she's that good! The film itself is well-written, well-constructed, and solidly acted: even the "farang" actors, normally an afterthought, do well. There are two awesome cameos: Danny Chupong (BORN TO FIGHT, DYNAMITE WARRIOR) has a brilliant Jackie Chan-style kitchen-battle, and Kessarin "Nui" Ektawatkula (Chupong's sister in BORN TO FIGHT) is hilarious as a market-stall hawker using fruit-and-veg-kwon-do to beat up the bad guys.

"Spice, size, and suburban crime collide in a film that's more quirky than compelling."

Somtum, also known internationally as Muay Thai Giant, attempts an unusual blend of comedy, action, and fish-out-of-water drama, thanks to a premise that starts strong but wobbles under inconsistent execution. The movie stars Nathan Jones as Barney Emerald, a gentle giant vacationing in Pattaya, who's drugged, robbed, and left destitute. He befriends two Thai sisters (one a Muay Thai champion), and together they try to recover his stolen passport and rebuild a destroyed family restaurant. The twist? Somtum (spicy papaya salad) triggers a physical transformation in Barney, giving him bursts of strength that become crucial in confronting local gangsters.

What's interesting is how the film leans into the "gentle giant" trope with sincerity. Nathan Jones' physical presence is imposing, yet the film often uses his size for comedic contrast rather than just brute strength. The Thai sisters provide warmth and local flavor, though the emotional stakes surrounding them are underdeveloped. Fight scenes are sporadic: some choreography surprises with intensity, while other action feels staged or awkward, especially when tone shifts abruptly between slapstick and violence.

Technically, Muay Thai Giant delivers in setting-the warmth of the seaside, restaurant life, street-scenes in Pattaya-but struggles in pacing. The mid-section sags with repeated small setbacks, and the climactic moments lean toward spectacle over character resolution. Still, there is charm to be found in the exaggerations, the food jokes, and the cultural touches.

Rating: 4/10 - A curious, uneven film with moments of novelty but too many missed chances.

Though, I'd say the film just powered thru based on the OngBak and related Muay Thai craze from that era and to appease the friendly dopey white Falang movie-goers. The film was barely about the main protagonist becoming a Muay Thai fighter. Maybe 10 minutes of the entire film was dedicated to the Muay Thai Giant. However, there are a couple of Muay Thai fight fight sequences in the film, but they are nothing to write home about. The plot is entirely nonsensical and is slow-moving. Around 4/5s of the movie we finally see how smugglers interact with the Muay Thai Giant and pals™. The wait was not worth the payoff. It was fairly yawn-inducing and the method of "escape" was inane.

Furthermore, I know little about postproduction, though I know enough to say that the crew that cobbled this together made many amateurish mistakes and used many amateurish gimmicks (although it may fit in the movie as a light goofy lovable falang in Thailand audience members). Seriously, the Looney Toons styled red channel filter is maddening.

The protagonist is also unlikable because he is weak and blissfully oblivious (or to certain audiences a goofy kind lug). I don't know why but I also laughed at the poor dialog they gave him especially because the beginning of the film sets a different tone of the film. I'd say it led me to believe it was going to be Ryan Gosling in Drive sort of film with all the silence. Then he opens his mouth with that goofy dialog, Australian accent, and bad acting. I had to pause and laugh for like 5 minutes. I later did it twice again at some more ridiculous dialog.

Anyway, the film is weak on too many points and dead boring so, I'd pass on it entirely unless you want a timewaster