Blog Archives

Master Z: Ip Man Legacy (2018)

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Posted on May 16, 2021 by Andrew

The Ip Man film scene has become a crowded sub-genre over the last decade and a bit. Although the four numbered titles directed by Wilson Yip and starring Donnie Yen are the most well-known, there are also the alternate takes on the historical figure in Ip Man: The Legend is Born, Ip Man: Kung Fu Master and Ip Man: The Final Fight plus Wong Kar Wai’s spin on the legend in The Grandmaster. There’s also a 2013 TV … (read more)

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Triple Threat (2019)

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Posted on July 14, 2019 by Andrew

I’ve been waiting to see Triple Threat for over two years. Seemingly caught up with distribution difficulties and generating little buzz, it nevertheless carries the potential to be an all-time action classic. Check that cast list. It’s absolutely stacked with talented action practitioners. Real ones, who know how to make fights look good. Even if not all the names are widely known, the sheer amount of experience there is mouth-watering for a dedicated action fan. Game on!

It’s always exciting … (read more)

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Paradox (2017)

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Posted on September 13, 2018 by Andrew

What a curious sort-of-series this is. Way back in 2005 SPL was heralded as a return to hard-hitting Hong Kong urban action, a description that has stood the test of time. After a ten year hiatus, SPL II: A Time for Consequences remixed the recipe with some returning cast members as different characters in a completely new story, with the notable fusion of Thai star Tony Jaa into a Hong Kong production with great results. Now we have Paradox — … (read more)

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The Protector (Tom Yum Goong) (2005)

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Posted on March 18, 2017 by Andrew

After exploding onto the international action scene with Ong Bak, star Tony Jaa and team return in an attempt to top their own bone-crunching hit.

Originally called Tom Yum Goong, the version we get in Australia comes by way of the Weinstein Company, most recently infamous for their stripped-down version of Snowpiercer. This time significant changes were made, beginning with the title. The Protector is actually not too bad — as it references the theme of the … (read more)

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SPL II: A Time for Consequences (2015)

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Posted on August 4, 2015 by Justin

Ten years ago in 2005, Hong Kong action film SPL arrived, suggesting a triumphant return to the sort of film that Hong Kong has always done better than pretty much any industry on the planet; beautifully cheoreographed and edited hard-action cinema, the sort that’s only possible when you have a cast of martial artists and an experienced crew that knows how to shoot them to maximum effect.

In the intro to my write up back then, I called it:

A … (read more)

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The Protector 2 (2013)

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Posted on August 2, 2014 by Justin

The news arrived last week that celebrated Thai action choreographer Panna Rittikrai has passed away, at the far too young age of 53. He had been the driving force behind Thailand’s new wave of action movies, touched off by his work with his student Tony Jaa in 2003’s Ong Bak. Amidst a cinematic sea of elaborate fantasy wirework, CGI-enhanced stunts and elaborate, unrealistic weaponry, Panna’s films brought a grounding in reality back to modern action cinema: hard-hitting Muay Thai, … (read more)

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Ong Bak 3 (2010)

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Posted on February 3, 2011 by Justin

Tony Jaa returns to our screens in another Ong Bak film, released here in Australia on DVD by Eastern Eye. And unlike Ong Bak 2, which shared nothing with its predecessor but the name and the lead actor, volume 3 picks up directly where the last one left off (so the rest of this review contains spoilers for that one — you can’t say I didn’t warn you!)

We begin the film with our hero Tien (Jaa) in chains, … (read more)

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Ong Bak 2 (2008)

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Posted on April 5, 2010 by Samson

Back in 2003, a little film from Thailand introduced international audiences to a unique form of martial arts known as Muay Thai and a promising new action star called Tony Jaa. That film was of course Ong Bak. It became a blockbuster in its native country and went on to become an international hit. With no CGIs or wires, the movie simply relied on the amazing physical abilities and athleticism of its main actor – Tony Jaa. It made … (read more)

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