An offbeat, but muddled and unsatisfying hit-man / revenge fare by film-maker Prachya Pinkaew (Ong-bak) in the mould of Liam Neeson's "Taken", but with a surreal spiritual take on things and a forced message (on human trafficking and child prostitution). The seedy narrative is an odd one, so are some of the performances with out-of-place Kevin Bacon using a strong cockney accent as a larger-than-life British arms dealer and Djimon Hounsou sleep-walking through it as the sleuth assassin. An American hired gun in Thailand takes on a job from a Thai businessman, whose daughter was abducted and murdered, but then finds himself caught up in an underworld war while also encountering a young prostitute (Jirantanin Pitakporntrakul) who he tries to help. At times there seems to be too much going on in the bombastic plot, but even with that factor it feels like its going through the motions. All dressed up, but no where to go but obviously something to say. Exotic Thailand locations add atmosphere, but the action while packing a brutal punch (the night time forest onslaught) and flashy imagery doesn't have much rhythm in its choreography and the talky nature often makes it meander. Fascinating in parts, but mainly an instinctively unfocused action thriller.
"Feels like I'm losing my mind."
"Feels like I'm losing my mind."