Leofwine_draca BANGKOK NINJAS: SONS OF THE WIND is a messy, plot-goes-all-over-the-place type action film designed to show off the talents of a group of Parkour practitioners who spend the entire running time showing off their skills in jumping across, up, and down buildings without causing serious injury. And there are no ninjas in it.For an obviously low budget production, this has a surprisingly intentional feel; it's a French film set partly in London and mostly in Bangkok. A group of Parkour enthusiasts head to Thailand to set up their own school for the young and underprivileged, but this soon gets forgotten in favour of helping a brother and sister to tackle Yakuza and Triad gangs.The storyline is slim in the extreme and merely serves to link a series of Parkour scenes which are a little disappointing if I'm honest. The opening sequence is lively, but subsequent shots are badly directed, with the director over-editing them to remove genuine spectacle from the shots. In one scene, a guy jumps out of a high window, we see him sailing through the air, only for the camera to cut and shoot another angle as he lands. It makes the whole thing feel false, even if the stunt was done for real.The acting is very limited, which you'd expect from a film of this type, although there's a small role for old-timer Burt Kwouk as a gangster chief. There are plenty of plot twists which are a little annoying rather than intriguing, along with a supposed large-scale climax which feels completely pointless and tame. However, there are a few fight scenes scattered throughout the running time which are pretty good; a shame there weren't more to distract us from the problems elsewhere.

gridoon2018 I thought about suggesting that it might be a good idea to watch "Yamakasi 2 / The Great Challenge / Sons Of The Wind" with the sound off (it would at least eliminate the absurd French dubbing of every character in Bangkok, even local small children and Asian mobsters), but then you would not be able to listen to some pretty driving music....I'm not sure if the plot would make any less sense, though. For example, the final battle must have set some sort of record for "highest number of participants", but even our heroes seem confused as to whom they are fighting or why. If you forget about the plot and concentrate on the action, this movie does have some scenes that will have you going "Wow!", although sometimes the cutting is a bit too frantic. All the leads here (from the Luc Besson - discovered group Yamakasi) are obviously gifted athletes, and following Xin Xin Xiong's choreography, they come off as high-level martial artists as well. Special mention must be made of Elodie Yung, who is not only absolutely gorgeous and impressively fit, but a great fighter too. Her scorpion kicks rival those of Cynthia Rothrock! **1/2 out of 4.

Nostra1 Some minor spoilers included. This movie looked very good when i first saw the trailer of it, but unfortunately after watching it i was very disappointed. Although the movie has been shot beautifully, the way it's been put together spoils the experience. I don't know if it was because of the subtitles, but it was next to impossible to discover a storyline in this movie. I found out what the story was by reading the DVD cover, but this shouldn't be necessary. It felt like the back story was all very well known to the producers of the movie, but they didn't put enough into bringing this forward in the movie itself. Because of this near lack of story you don't really connect to the characters and feel like watching some scenes instead of a coherent movie. The stunts and acting performed by the actors is good, but you'd be better off watching Yamakasi instead, in which there's more of a story and the stunts are similar. A missed opportunity.

british_bpm Seri has triumphed here in a sweat ridden roller-coaster ride of a film. How refreshing to see a unadulterated action flick doesn't rely on the geekery of CGI, to make it's set pieces come to life, but instead depends wholly on the breath taking athletic talents and bravery of it's entire cast.I would explain the plot, but it would immediately expose a series of seemingly contrived plot devices in order to get the Yamikasi (the young troupe of French acrobatic building jumpers) to Bangkok, and into, well a whole heap load of trouble. But this film should not be analyzed in such a manner. Whilst puncturing your cornea with highly graded, much stylized Manga - esque images, Mr Seri has evidently immersed himself in Asian contemporary comic book and film culture, and the essence of marshal arts. Brief moments of spiritual enlightenment, racial tension and a love for one of the most exotically beautiful women to grace our screens in a long while (look out for Elodie Yung) puncture blistering scenes of fights a top bamboo scaffolded buildings, grim darkened steel warehouses, and a breath taking final denouement of ridiculous scale. Without a computer generated figure in sight. This is one for DVD replay buttons as mind boggling stunts are brushed aside with yet more bone crushing jumps, spins and kicks.I already read criticism for this film, but this is the mistaken critique of those watching it in the wrong context. This film should be held up alongside the likes of Akira, and the films of Jakie Chan. And this is where Mr Seri's success truly lies, for he is introducing an entire generation of young Europeans to this much stylized idiom. Suspension of reality for the younger generation, heroics and bravery of young people performing in this high octane circus. If you didn't like it, I suspect you were not the person this film was designed for.Bravo Monsieur Seri, Bravo!