Film "The Kick", conceived, written and financed 75% by South Koreans, is a spectacular and energetic showcase taekwondo, which just so happens to take place in Thailand. It was shot by a local maestro Prachya Pinkayu (Ong-Bak, Tom-Yum-Goong). While South Korean cinema has no shortage of fistfights and physical violence, there are few pure martial arts films, even when it comes to the national sport: one has to go back to Hong Kong in the 70s, when companies like "Golden Harvest" used South Korea as a location for filming action films with this discipline, for example, “Taekwondo Kick” (When Taekwondo Strikes - 1973) Huang Feng or “Dragon Tamers” (The Dragon Tamers - 1975) John Woo. While such films can hardly be considered South Korean cinema, "The Kick" uses Thai knowledge and experience to create a fascinating cultural mishmash that pits Koreans against Koreans on foreign soil and the locals in the form of a Thai action heroine “Jija” by Janine Vismitananda (Chocolate - 2008) and an accomplished comedian Petchtaya Wongkamlao – in fact, remain in the background.
Although the stunts are more believable, and there are no wires or computer graphics, like films with Tony Jaa, the plot is not too different from the Hong Kong projects of the 70s, in which brave Chinese on foreign soil (South Korea, Japan, USA) defended their cultural values and fought local and Chinese villains. After his English-language debut with the film "White elephant" (Elephant White), financed by the Americans, Pinkay together with the already familiar fight director Pannui Rittikrai, took on the task with an almost conspicuous feeling of jubilation, since they had got into their hands something other than Muay Thai, and they won't be held back by Hollywood's health and safety restrictions.
20-year-old Korean martial arts stars Na Tae Ju / Na Tae-ju and champion of Korea Kim Kyung-sook / Kim Gyeong-suk (a member of the team K tigers) showed themselves amazingly by uniting taekwondo with dance movements, and then combining power and flexibility. U On the at least two fights - a fight while talking on a mobile phone and another one under ceiling fans - this proves that, along with physical skills, he has good makings of a comedian.
With such a simple plot, which is just the basis for almost non-stop action, the film does not lose its sense of humor, which fuels interest in the characters, although some of the fights seem too drawn out. Actress Ye Ji Won / Ye Ji-Won (After the Banquet -2009, Hanji) as a fighter mom who owns a killer kitchen kung Fu, fits the film with refreshing energy. There are also some pleasant and calmer moments with her participation (for example, a “spicy” birthday dinner) with Cho Jae Hyun / Jo Jae-Hyeon as a husband. As for the Thais, then Wongkamlao, like a family friend, keeps everything bright, without making a fool of himself, but Vismitananda (who studied taekwondo before switching to Muay Thai for filming) there are a couple of good action scenes, filmed taking into account not to relegate the Koreans to the background.
Though I kick and manages for the most part to sustain the necessary mixture of action and comedy, in the finale, which takes place in a Bangkok zoo, the film goes into decline - not only is it overly bloated, but it also lacks the “wow” effect that was present in previous episodes. The Thai/international version is reportedly about 10 minutes shorter, cuts out some action scenes and gives local actors more screen time. But even at 106 minutes, the South Korean version rocks for the most part.
Author: Derek Alley
Derek Alley's score: 8/10
Source: filmbiz.asia
Translation: EvilDollaR
Especially for comrade Ilya ;)
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Tags: K tigers, The Kick, Gija Yanin, Na Tae-ju, Petchtai Wongkamlao, Prachya Pinkayu, Thami
Tags: K tigers, The Kick, Gija Yanin, Na Tae-ju, Petchtai Wongkamlao, Prachya Pinkayu, Thami
Koreans from K-Tigers look like Japanese:
youtu.be/plicM63GfNY
It has already appeared, everyone should download and watch. :)
youtube.com/watch?v=tZ3n-Ud-STA
When will the film be available with translation?
Hasn't the movie been translated yet?
The film is on YouTube.
a ne podsazhete where mozhno ska4at etot film budu blagodaren sps zaranee
The Thai (international?!) version is 90 minutes, not 96 minutes :( 16(!) minutes shorter than the Korean one. What the hell...We're waiting for the Korean one - the full version.
Is there a DVD planned?
4 action clips from the film:
THANK YOU :-D
PS I think it will be useful for others to read too ;)
I don't know if I wrote the Korean names correctly, sorry.