Tag: D.Y. Sao

BANGKOK DOG – Review

As long as there’ve been undercover police operations, there’ve been movies about one of them staying so long with the bad guys that he’s become bonded with them and is close to losing his original self. One popular example is Keanu Reaves turning into Patrick Swayze’s bestie in 1991’s POINT BREAK. One regrettable example is its 2015 reboot. The Thai action flick BANGKOK DOG lands solidly in the genre’s plus column.

The story opens with a pair of US cops busting a couple of thugs who have smuggled people and drugs from Thailand, resulting in 5 corpses in a container. They’d died in transit when the baggies of cocaine they’d been forced to swallow had burst. One of the officers, D.Y. Sao, manages to take the place of the brute they’d captured (Brian Le) and head for Thailand, where the gang is headquartered, hoping to lop off the head of the beast. Since the Asian side players had never met their Western colleague, the plan showed promise.

True to genre form, Sao ingratiates himself by serving as their debt-collecting thug (hence, the “dog” of the title), becoming best buds with one of the guys halfway up the food chain. The rest of the plot plays out exactly the way you expect. So, if you’re looking for a meaty plot and deep character development, fuggeddaboutit. But if you groove to the full gory glory of Thai martial arts flicks, pop the corn, pour the beverage of choice and settle in for a treat. This is a fine one.

The fights are frequent, intense and well-choreographed, with minimal down time between them. Very few non-anatomical weapons are deployed, putting the focus right where it belongs – on the fighting skills of the actors and stunt players. I especially appreciate the fullness of the lighting that fully displays what they’re doing, compared to so many action flicks with too many quick cuts and too little light in those sequences. They knew why we’d be watching and dished it out generously. Director Chaya Supannarat does a fine job of staging and pacing – especially for a woman with only five previous turns in the chair, all of which were shorts. (The preceding point was about her limited experience, not gender. Don’t start bristling about sexism. I’d have made the same observation about a male newbie, and have on many occasions.) 

The two main foes mentioned above are legit martial artists, and it shows. Sao is small and agile, like a Bruce Lee or Tony Jaa. Hulking Brian Le shows surprising acrobatics in the climactic slugfest, even using a bit of Brazilian capoeira. Many will want to re-watch some of the fight sequences after they’ve reached the inevitable ending. The laudatory rating herein is for the action, and for stirring my interest in whatever Sao will do next.

3 out of 4 stars

BANGKOK DOG, mostly in English and Thai with subtitles, is available on numerous digital formats as of November 12, 2024.

https://wellgousa.com/films/bangkok-dog

SHADOW MASTER – Review

D.Y. Sao in SHADOW MASTER. Courtesy of Saban Films

When you’re making an urban post-apocalyptic, supernatural martial arts movie a lot can go wrong, and most of it does in SHADOW MASTER. The plot is mostly drivel about The Four Horsemen (without horses) of the Apocalypse snatching children from a rundown multi-story warehouse that is shelter for a bedraggled group of survivors of whatever the unspecified disaster was that left the world all gray and smoky, inside and out. The evil quartet is doing this for a world-conquering ritual, opposed by some sort of Death God, who recruits our hero (D.Y. Sao) to take on his powers at the cost of his soul to protect the folks he’s only just met when the thing starts.

Actually, the opening scene has Sao, face obscured by long hair like the creepy gal from THE RING, killing a bunch of cops, then surrendering to the rest and explaining to their boss how he got to that point for the rest of the movie.

Writer/director Pearry Reginald Teo serves up a set of characters whose powers defy logic with their ebbs and flows. Sao is killed once, or more than once – hard to keep track – only to come back stronger… except when he’s weaker. He has to kill all four Horsemen to save the day, since killing a few of them several times has no lasting effect. Visually, almost every shot occurs in the dark labyrinthian building that also houses some radioactive waste for reasons never made clear. Or relevant. The sound track does no favors to Teo’s dialog, with much almost unintelligible for a variety of reasons, including the fact that several important characters speak in gravelly voices through full-face masks. Even worse, the ending dangles prospects for a friggin’ sequel!

So why bother? If you don’t already know who D.Y. Sao is (I didn’t), tune in for his fight scenes. The Cambodian-born, U.S.-raised dude has all the real martial skills and dazzling acrobatic gifts of Tony Jaa, without his resting angry face. Sao has almost as many stunt credits (16) as acting (21), with many of the former, including this one, as coordinator or choreographer. English being his primary language gives him a leg up for acting gigs over Jaa and the bevy of budding action stars from Korea, Malaysia, Thailand and other countries who are cranking out first-rate martial arts flicks for international markets. He’s also got the looks and presence for leading roles in better films. Sao is a solid candidate for becoming Hollywood’s next Jet Li.

For those who find the plot as confusing as I did, the film can still be worth watching by fast-forwarding through everything between the fights. Great moves abound. Without wires. Cool.

SHADOW MASTER opens in select theaters on Friday, Nov. 4 and available on-demand and on digital platforms from Saban Films starting Nov. 8.

RATING: 1.5 out of 4 stars