The Raid was directed by a Welsh director in Indonesia and in the Indonesian language. Rebirth or Bangkok Revenge, a very poor man's Raid, is directed by a French director in Thailand and then takes the unusual step of having the actors speak (or be dubbed) in English, even those whose characters are clearly Thai or French.
This is not a very good film at all, but it is a pretty good showcase in some instances for the Muay Thai style of fighting. Again a little surprising as director Jean-Marc Mineo and lead actor Jon Foo have kung fu backgrounds. Nevertheless what we have here in some of the fight scenes are some of the best Muay Thai examples, since the Om Bak series featuring Tony Jaa. But notice I did qualify my praise by saying "some".
The rest of the movie? Well, that's where the laughing till you cry comes in. Bizarre would be an understatement, as would suggesting that the narrative takes a distinctly second place to the staging of the action scenes, some of which aren't set up particularly well anyway.
I won't even bother to outline a plot summary, as even that's pretty silly. I'll just leave you with a few observations.
Based on Rebirth you would have to believe that in Bangkok all cops are corrupt killers. Weirded - out gangs waiting to rob/kill you lie in wait around every corner. Foo's Manit just wanders in to downtown Bangkok after 20 years in country seclusion and the bad guys already seem to know who he is and he strangely seems to know where to walk to attract their attention. Characters seem to come and go with no real rhyme or reason ... that's if they're not being lined up to be killed. (I still for the life of me, can't really work out what Simon had to do with the plot.)
On a technical level, I have to mention that the lighting of many scenes leaves a lot to be desired. And Manit's New Zealand accent had me scratching my head. In fact it's treated as a script in-joke, that never gets any explanation apart from Manit's, "You wouldn't believe me if I told you".
Ultimately Bangkok Revenge is a predictable, poorly constructed and acted vengeance themed film that never really finds its own identity. To put it even more bluntly it just seems to be all about the action set pieces.
This is not a very good film at all, but it is a pretty good showcase in some instances for the Muay Thai style of fighting. Again a little surprising as director Jean-Marc Mineo and lead actor Jon Foo have kung fu backgrounds. Nevertheless what we have here in some of the fight scenes are some of the best Muay Thai examples, since the Om Bak series featuring Tony Jaa. But notice I did qualify my praise by saying "some".
The rest of the movie? Well, that's where the laughing till you cry comes in. Bizarre would be an understatement, as would suggesting that the narrative takes a distinctly second place to the staging of the action scenes, some of which aren't set up particularly well anyway.
I won't even bother to outline a plot summary, as even that's pretty silly. I'll just leave you with a few observations.
Based on Rebirth you would have to believe that in Bangkok all cops are corrupt killers. Weirded - out gangs waiting to rob/kill you lie in wait around every corner. Foo's Manit just wanders in to downtown Bangkok after 20 years in country seclusion and the bad guys already seem to know who he is and he strangely seems to know where to walk to attract their attention. Characters seem to come and go with no real rhyme or reason ... that's if they're not being lined up to be killed. (I still for the life of me, can't really work out what Simon had to do with the plot.)
On a technical level, I have to mention that the lighting of many scenes leaves a lot to be desired. And Manit's New Zealand accent had me scratching my head. In fact it's treated as a script in-joke, that never gets any explanation apart from Manit's, "You wouldn't believe me if I told you".
Ultimately Bangkok Revenge is a predictable, poorly constructed and acted vengeance themed film that never really finds its own identity. To put it even more bluntly it just seems to be all about the action set pieces.