You have to commend Scott Adkins' tenacity, he's been churning out movies regularly by the months now, although none as compelling as The Undisputed, one that made him staple action hero. His role here is minimum and seemingly plastered for the draw of his name. The core story is a father sets out for vengeance, its simplicity could work better if not for the awful camera display which often too close or sporadic to be enjoyable.
When the news of his daughter's death reaches him, Johnny (Dustin Nguyen) goes on a part investigation and part rampage throughout Thailand. For almost the entire part, this is the main story and the performance is fitting for rough Asian crime drama. The characters seem like the veteran cops that have street smart. However, the screenplay is disjointed, they would interrogate a person, get into a fight, then resume investigation randomly, the continuity is far from smooth.
There's an attempt to build intimate sympathy for Angel, the fallen daughter, yet the movie lacks any sophistication to make her beyond plot device or basic motivation. Simple conversation is presented with fast cut editing, changing from one face to another with extreme close-up. This is really distracting since it could've been shot in one continuous framing instead, and these dialogues made the bulk of the movie, yet audience would only see the character staring each other with rigid expression.
If the camera is shaky in simple scene, it goes horribly wrong in fighting sequences. People would get punched off screen or someone would fire a barrage and the visual zooms in the wrong way, it barely has any clear focus in the critical fights, which are so few and far between. Despite having decent roster for action, the combat is unsatisfying as it only presents a couple basic fisticuffs. Furthermore, sound effect and the spark effect from gun would be off like dud of firework.
It's not all bad though, the cinematography for scenery looks good and the display of nudity is not as hackneyed as one would think, the ambiance would benefit more from these exotic locales. However, there are too many faulty elements for the crime thriller to be appealing, and its expected action draw is disappointing as well.
When the news of his daughter's death reaches him, Johnny (Dustin Nguyen) goes on a part investigation and part rampage throughout Thailand. For almost the entire part, this is the main story and the performance is fitting for rough Asian crime drama. The characters seem like the veteran cops that have street smart. However, the screenplay is disjointed, they would interrogate a person, get into a fight, then resume investigation randomly, the continuity is far from smooth.
There's an attempt to build intimate sympathy for Angel, the fallen daughter, yet the movie lacks any sophistication to make her beyond plot device or basic motivation. Simple conversation is presented with fast cut editing, changing from one face to another with extreme close-up. This is really distracting since it could've been shot in one continuous framing instead, and these dialogues made the bulk of the movie, yet audience would only see the character staring each other with rigid expression.
If the camera is shaky in simple scene, it goes horribly wrong in fighting sequences. People would get punched off screen or someone would fire a barrage and the visual zooms in the wrong way, it barely has any clear focus in the critical fights, which are so few and far between. Despite having decent roster for action, the combat is unsatisfying as it only presents a couple basic fisticuffs. Furthermore, sound effect and the spark effect from gun would be off like dud of firework.
It's not all bad though, the cinematography for scenery looks good and the display of nudity is not as hackneyed as one would think, the ambiance would benefit more from these exotic locales. However, there are too many faulty elements for the crime thriller to be appealing, and its expected action draw is disappointing as well.