Sadly, THE KICK is another Thai martial arts film that ends up disappointing rather than exhilarating. Don't get me wrong, I love and adore the first quartet of these Thai films I watched: ONG BAK, BORN TO FIGHT, WARRIOR KING, and CHOCOLATE are all fantastic little films that I can happily watch over and over again. But everything else that has come since has been a disappointment.
Even with ONG BAK director Prachya Pinkaew on board, and martial arts choreography from old timer Panna Rittikrai, THE KICK is an underwhelming film. There's a storyline about the hunt for a priceless and ancient kris (a type of eastern dagger) but the main narrative is bogged down by the antics of an unlikeable Korean Taekwondo team who really drag things down. The reason for their inclusion is that this film was part funded by South Korea, who obviously wanted a slice of Muay Thai for themselves.
The problem with this is that we get the likes of Tae-joo Na occupying most of the screen time. This Korean actor's acting is poor and his martial arts is little better, and the bit where he does a hip hop dance to beat up the villains is a huge embarrassment. At least the reliable Petchtai Wongkamlao (THE BODYGUARD) is on hand to bring some laughs, and the fantastic JeeJa Yanin (CHOCOLATE) stars in support as another fighter. But they really should have focused the story on Yanin alone and concentrated on doing great choreography and extensive fight scenes and then this would have been something special instead of weak and generic.
