Triple Threat (2019)

If art for arts sake is a widely accepted philosophy, then action for action's sake must also be a thing. And while I acknowledge that a visual media like cinema can exist without any didactic need to explain itself beyond its own autotelic value, I prefer to have a little story in my action movies. Triple Threat delivers both, with emphasis on 'action' and the 'little' being literal.
A mission to free Thai prisoners from Indonesian captors ends in a massacre and a double-cross, leaving wronged parties on both sides. What follows is a story of payback involving many squibs and some of Southeast Asia's best martial artists, the kind who prove that well-choreographed action can itself be an art form. The dialogue is mostly English language, with some Chinese and Thai. It's occasionally badly dubbed, but it's tolerable.

2½ local assistants out of 5

Raging Phoenix (2009)

JeeJa Yanin's second film is a strange one. She plays Deu, a woman unsuccessfully coping with being alone. The martial arts side of things is in response to a gang who are abducting young women for evil purposes.
It lacks any kind of proper context for a long time. The middle section is better, despite the clichés, but the last third goes awry with scenes in unusual surroundings, probably because someone thought they looked cool and not for any practical story purposes. And rather than rely wholeheartedly on JeeJa's natural ability, they add ridiculous action scenes reminiscent of a Hollywood summer action movie. The music is fine during the quiet emotional scenes, but is often painfully weak during the more energetic ones.

2½ kicking chasers out of 5

The Kick (2011)

It's recognisably Pinkaew. A priceless item is stolen (a Kris), there's a rubbish car chase (mercifully brief), and the martial arts are astonishing.
But there are differences, too. There's more than one protagonist. It's a family of five, and they're South Korean practitioners of Taekwondo, not Muay Thai. The family unit adds something new to the formula. They squabble like a real family do, and even though they often fight solo there's an undercurrent of interdependence from time to time. Factor in a plot thread that carries a small but important message about following your heart and, even though it's a long way from perfect, it gets points for trying.
On the flip side, the villains are still blank, their primary function, outside of the aforementioned theft, being to give the hero(es) something to overcome.

3 cloth ears out of 5

Jukkalan (2011)

aka This Girl Is Bad-Ass

A Thai action/comedy starring the very agile JeeJa Yanin as a love-struck bicycle courier who carries packages for the local mobsters. Almost everyone else is love-struck too, which gives rise to hijinks that are hit and miss. Some of the insults were creative. At least they were to a westerner like me. They may well be commonplace in Thailand.
The stunts, often either on bikes or involving bikes, are as frenetic as you’d expect considering the pedigree of talent involved.

2½ face failures out of 5

Chocolate (2008)

JeeJa Yanin's amazing début performance. She plays a young autistic woman named Zen who may not be able to describe the nuances between right, wrong, or doing wrong for the right reason, but she knows when someone she loves needs help. Zen is instinct honed to perfection. She's 'don’t judge a book by its cover' and she doesn't back down from a fight.
It's a Thai martial arts movie from Prachya Pinkaew that goes for the heart almost as much as it goes for the throat. Fights often resemble Jackie Chan’s, but without the self-imposed restraints they're more violent.
Yanin is more diverse than Pinkaew’s other go to guy, Tony Jaa. She makes a stunning finale involving signs on the side of a building look easy.

4 inspiring imperfections out of 5

Warrior King 2 (2013)

aka Tom-Yum-Goong 2 / The Protector 2

Warrior King (2005) had some minor use of green screen but the stunts performed in front of it were dangerously real. The sequel uses the screen often and goes further by adding wire-work. There’s no law that says Tony Jaa can’t use wires, but his insistence that they not be used in previous films was what made him exceptional, like Jackie Chan. Remove the exception and you’re left with a great martial artist in a movie that isn't as far removed from Hollywood action as it ought to be; it’s just sweatier.
It’s worth watching to see Jaa and JeeJa Yanin together, though. More of that, please, but in a better film next time.

2 fiery feet out of 5