Bangkok Adrenaline

look, the story, acting, dialog... NONE of these things are why you would watch this movie in the first place! throw all that crap out and just sit back and enjoy the ride as the incredible stunts and fight scenes take place. the fights feature some incredible martial arts, fast paced, well shot and edited. this is NOT a Hollywood, or American movie at all. it is a movie made in thailand so u need to understand that there is a different format and sense of humor than films made here.

honestly if ur one of these overly critical film bashers then you WILL NOT enjoy this film. but being a stuntman and martial artist myself... as well as someone who enjoys Asian cinema and can just have fun watching action for actions sake... i loved it.

This movie is not bad at all! Its a very low budget film made by some amazingly talented stunt men in Asian Cinema. The basic plot revolves around a few foreigners in Thailand who gamble away their money and decide to make some more by kidnapping the daughter of a rich millionaire. Very ordinary plot by any standards. The comedy is good but the timing and delivery is very poor. Then, when you're just about to leave the theater and curse the fact that you wasted 10 minutes of your life, you get a glimpse of some good action from Daniel O' Neill. That leaves you pondering over whether the movie is really that bad. As you watch more, you realize that the acting gets worse, the comedy gets a little better but the action becomes glorious!

Of course, if you aren't interested in Martial arts, then this film is going to be a completely forgettable experience. Considering that the creators were all part-time stunt men who wanted to break big, I really do have respect for them. I want to see Daniel O' Neill in more movies.

Please allow me to get one thing out of the way right from the start: If what Eli Roth makes is what people like to call "torture porn", then this film might as well be "action porn"...doing away with any pretense of a plot in the name of action sequences. It's certainly a bit lacking in story, but who cares? There's a very, very good chance you weren't watching this for the plot twists and deep philosophical implications. And that's just great, because everything besides the story is pretty badass.

The basic plot is 4 friends (all inexplicably with different accents) travel to Thailand and run afoul of some criminals while gambling. Two of the friends have some pretty wicked martial arts skills, one is enormous, and the other is...well...he's pretty much just some useless hippie-looking guy. Then there's a whole kidnapping thing that reminded me The Big Hit, but again, this movie is just a vehicle for pure, unadulterated violence. This, apparently, the only way Thais know how to make action movies (and I love them for it). As per usual with modern Thai martial arts movies the stunts and action scenes are very well done and...wait...was there any other reason to watch this movie? In any event, it's massive amounts of fun provided you don't expect it to be a thinking man's movie. Just sit back, open a beer (or 6) and enjoy.

Well, i'm impressed. This film and others like it give me hope that Thai/South east Asian movies are trying to recreate the magic of 80s Hong kong action flicks. Its a good attempt too. Lets get down to the nitty gritty though.

As you'd probably expect the story and the acting is laughable. Feels like an amateur college production, but who cares right? We're here for the action?..... wrong. There's a little too much of the bad acting and terrible comedy for my liking.

However when the action finally shows up every now and again, it's a pretty good effort. I'll stress that its not perfect in my opinion (having watched a lot of martial arts flicks). My biggest gripe is the directing. The camera work is shoddy on the most part, flicking between limbs and not showing many stunt falls in one take.

I'd definitely recommend this film after a night out. Grab a few beers and laugh. At least they're trying to make real action, something we don't see a lot of these day. A+ for effort!

This independent Thai film was penned by an Aussie, directed by a Dutchman, and led by Englishmen. Each of these men have clearly spent a lot of time in Thailand, and have gained the support of the film community there, but my god, I only wish they would have refined a lot of things here before starting production!

Bangkok Adrenaline is so badly written, directed and acted, you feel like its 90 minute running time doubles in length as you painfully sit through the dreadful comedy sequences, most of which director and co-star Raimund Huber is on-screen for along with co-writer and giant, Conan Stevens. Its completely unfunny, with poor comic timing and happens way too much. So much so, that apart from the lengthy (and messy) end fight, Huber focuses way too much on trying to be a comic actor than letting the action happen.

Conan of course, has starred in many Hong Kong and Thai productions, but even he is dreadful in this and doesn't get to do much in the way of action. The handsome Gwion Jacob Miles has the looks and the moves, but his acting isn't the best. That isn't helped by his trying to be a tough guy with a posh English accent...

In fact, the only saving grace of Bangkok Adrenaline is the gorgeous Daniel O'Neill who looks amazing on screen, in action, and in his brief on-stage strip-bar scene. He plays Dan, the leader of this group of friends who get into trouble with some gangsters, after gambling in Bangkok. The set out on a plan to kidnap a millionaires daughter to raise the money owed, and things get out of hand!

Gorgeous Dan, who plays Dan in the film, was lucky enough to get to Hong Kong in the early 2000's to be a stunt performer on Jackie Chan's Accidental Spy, and The Medallion before getting to fight the man himself in The Twins Effect. The English born actor and martial artist looks incredible in his moves, and I only wish we could see more of him - and preferably under the eyes of a better director.

Raimund Huber, who has a few martial arts action films behind him now, delivers a very uneven, messy and below average flick. The scenes between Dan's fights are both boring and drag on far too long. The direction on shots jumps from flat to WTF, with the camera work on some of the end fight being so close and personal, you lose sight of what is going on. The making of documentary on this release is shot better...

The team behind the fights and action is pretty decent, including a young Tim Man (who gets a brief fight against O'Neill), Ron Smoorenburg and more, resulting in some fun fights. If I were Huber, I'd stop getting in front of the camera, and re-edit this film into a short where the amazing Daniel O'Neill just fights his way across Bangkok to save his friends!

Overall: Painful to watch for the most of it, but worth sitting through to see Daniel in action!