Raging Phoenix

Film Review by Michael Lawson | 05 Apr 2010
Film title: Raging Phoenix
Director: Rashane Limtrakul
Starring: Jija Yanin, Kazu Patrick Tang, David Bueno
Release date: 12 Apr
Certificate: 15

Thailand continues its dominance of the martial arts genre with this latest effort from the producers of Ong-Bak. Deu (Chocolate star Yanin) is a rock drummer, who avoids kidnap by what we can only assume to be human traffickers with the aid of two break-dancing drunken masters. This being a youth centred Muay Thai fest, traffickers leap around on bouncing stilts with ruddy big knives attached, the main villain wears a bikini and lounges around in a cave, and there’s some stuff about revenge and pheromone perfume. It should be a riot, but sadly, it’s never as much fun as it should be. The increasingly mad plot is messily drawn and a second act lull sucks all the energy out of the piece, while a lack of crunch and obvious wirework hinder the all-important fisticuffs. That said, the novelty of break dance beatings is worthwhile, and the multiple rope bridge finale kicks no small amount of the proverbial ass.