Watching Vengeance of an Assassin is kind of like
watching a live stunt show; you know that there is nothing real or even
slightly believable, but it is more about the spectacle behind the execution of
the stunts that is meant to impress. Much of the action in Vengeance of an Assassin goes far beyond believability, which makes
even more obvious the trickery used to accomplish the stunts. In the film’s
worst sequence, a frail and petite looking woman with arms the size of
broomsticks throws our muscular male hero around as if he were a lightweight
doll. As a film, Vengeance of an Assassin
is ruined by the absurdity of sequences such as this; as a stunt show, it is
almost improved.
The film’s story
follows the familiar narrative of the assassin with a conscience. Natee (Dan
Chupong) only became a killer for hire as a way to find out who murdered his
parents during his childhood. He is sent on a mission to kill a woman named
Ploy (Nisachon Tuamsungnoen), the daughter of an influential politician, but
instead decides to rescue her realizing the whole thing is a setup. The story
is convoluted with too many characters, included an elder brother for our hero
and endless nameless bad guys. The acting is as unbelievable as much of the
fight choreographer, but not nearly as entertaining to endure.
The story may be
horrendous with acting to match it, all jumbled together with poor direction
and sloppy editing, and somehow it doesn’t really matter. There is only one
reason to see this film, and his name is Panna Rittikrai. Legendary for his
fight choreography for Tony Jaa in the Ong Bak franchise, Vengeance of an Assassin was the final film made by the later
director. It is clear by the complete emphasis on action and stunts that this
was the filmmaker’s strong suit, whereas other aspects of filmmaking are still
something of a mystery to most in the Thailand
Though this film
is truly only worth watching for a handful of action sequences and a few
impressively choreographed tracking shots, the high definition of the Blu-ray
enhances these brief moments of pleasurable spectacle. It also goes a long way
to exposing the weakness in other aspects of filmmaking, including shots that
are out of focus, inconsistent, and simply poorly lit. The disc provides no
extras to make the purchase of Rittikrai’s final film any more desirable, not
even a retrospective featurette for the filmmaker.
Entertainment Value:
5.5/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 3.5/10
Historical
Significance: 4/10
Special Features: 0/10
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