Insane stunts, unbelievable fight scenes, explosive action sequences, all done without wires or CGI…The Weinstein Company’s double-disc Dragon Dynasty series release of Born to Fight does not disappoint on any of these fronts, and that’s really all that matters to fans of martial arts films.
Over the past few years Thailand has quietly usurped Hong Kong’s throne as the premiere producer of martial arts/action thrillers. These films, set in modern times and including some dark and disturbing imagery, are first and foremost about the unbelievable fight scenes and stunts, using paper-thin plots and one-dimensional characters as a basis to stage intricate action sequences. Thanks to the success of recent films like Ong-Bak and The Protector, both starring the immensely popular Thai action hero Tony Jaa, the plots and characters are receiving more attention from Thai filmmakers, without losing any of the intense action the films are known for. Primarily known as the man behind Tony Jaa and as a stunt coordinator and martial arts choreographer (including on the aforementioned Ong-Bak and The Protector), director Panna Rittikrai decided to remake a film he’d made on a shoestring budget over twenty years ago, and Born to Fight is the result. When a successful drug bust ends tragically for undercover police officer Deaw (Dan Chupong, Ong-Bak), he decides to accompany his sister and a coalition of Thai athletes on a goodwill mission to a poor township. Almost as soon as they arrive, the village is overtaken by a group of militant criminals intent on negotiating the freedom of their druglord boss (the target of the aforementioned drug bust) or blowing up Bangkok with a nuclear missile…whichever comes first. They get more than they bargained for when Deaw rallies the athletes and townsfolk to fight back, lest their homeland be blown to smithereens. Casting real Thai athletes in the major heroic roles really works in this film, as we see them use their particular skills (tae kwon do, gymnastics, Thai boxing, soccer, rugby, and sepak takraw, which is basically volleyball using your feet instead of your hands) against their enemies. All the players manage to hold their own, but none will win any acting awards.
The real stars of Born to Fight are the action sequences and fight scenes. Rittikrai said that safety is his primary concern when making a film, but one could be forgiven for questioning that after seeing the dangerous stunts performed in the film, particularly one where a combatant is pushed off of a moving truck, bounces off of the truck next to it, and comes within inches of rolling under the still-spinning wheels of the truck he was thrown from. The patriotism angle of the plot is a bit too syrupy-sweet, though. It’s nice that these villagers rise up against the criminals in the name of king and country, but it would have been more believable if their decision to fight back had been based solely on the fact that these evil people marched into their town and massacred half of the citizens. Before the characters found out about the nuclear missile in their midst, Rittikrai expertly conveyed the pain and anguish of the survivors with his lingering shots of children cowering in fear, tears streaming down their faces, or the whole town converging around the body of a murdered Thai monk to pray. At this point, there really was no need for the nuclear angle. The anger born of that pain and anguish would be enough to make anyone fight back.
The two-disc set includes the theatrical trailer and a U.S. promotional trailer for the DVD release, as well as a 10 minute compilation of some of the action sequences, including some prep work and aftermath shots of each one. I was really excited to see the 60-minute documentary chronicling the making of the film, but it turns out that it’s more of a 60-minute interview session featuring the producer and director, Dan Chupong, and the other athletes who had roles in the film. There is a segment dedicated to some of the work that went into the stunts, but it was far too short in my opinion. Sure, it’s great to learn the story behind the making of the film from all those involved, and it’s nice to hear the athletes explain what they felt they brought to the film, but Born to Fight is an action movie and it would have been nice to see detailed breakdowns of the action and fight sequences, too. Almost making up for this is the feature commentary from Hong Kong cinema expert Bey Logan. He makes sure the Weinsteins get their money’s worth on each of the Dragon Dynasty releases, and he does not disappoint here, either. He starts talking as soon as the title cards come up and he doesn’t stop until the end credits are finished. And he never runs out of stuff to talk about, either, offering up little tidbits of information about the stuntwork, comparisons to other similar films, even pointing out the shortcomings of the film and making little jokes about some of the scenes. It’s refreshing, to say the least.
Born to Fight is a martial arts enthusiast’s wet dream. Besides the excellently-choreographed fight scenes, it’s full of awe-inspiring stunts, many of which you’ll want to watch two or three times. The acting is understandably subpar, considering that the major roles are performed by athletes, not actors. The bonus features are fair to middling, at best. But, boy oh boy, the action is incredible and the stunts are death-defying. There’s no need to release films like this in theaters. The replay value of the action scenes alone is enough to make fans of the genre wait for it to come out on DVD. I’m no martial arts buff, but I’m sure this film will get a couple more turns in my DVD player over the years, and that’s the point, isn’t it?
