| Overall Grade: |
A |
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| Story: |
B |
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| Acting: |
A |
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| Direction: |
A+ |
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| Visuals: |
A+ |
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I liked the Thai version better, but still
by Mark of the Dragon (movies profile)
Mar 20, 2007
14
of
15 people found this review helpful
Tarantino, I can't forgive you for *****ing up one of the best foreign films ever. I hope Tony Jaa appears in your room one night and breaks every bone in your body.
Having said that, the film was redubbed and scenes were edited slightly from the original Thai version to make the film move faster and give a clean audio track. The music was changed to appeal more to the primarily western audience. However, the spirit of the original film was lost.
The fight scenes were still 80% true to the original, but the 'extreme sport junkie' fight was modified TOO much, and the big fight at the end was sequenced differently with a few shots taken out. The temple fight and the tower fight were the only fights that were unedited.
The cultural aspects of the movie are gone. In the thai version, after Kham's dad is shot (but not killed!), you see Thai villagers doing a traditional dance with traditional music. That was cut out of the American version...which was a bummer. Tony Jaa's films are as much about culture as they are about fighting! Also, some scenes that help establish the story are cut out. There's a scene in the Thai version where Johnny is beating up on his "whore" girl, threatening to kill her if she doesn't earn enough money within a period of time. For time, money, or other reasons, that was cut out >.<
Also, the establishing of Mark's character and feelings toward his own people is cut out. There was a missing scene where he was doing an interview about how Asian people stick together, and he had let Tui go free after he attempted to rob a convenience store. Without that scene, the confrontation with Tui at the death of the commissioner feels awkward. And Johnny died too quickly in the American version. Same with Vincent. There was a separate gunfight scene where they are killed!
Tarantino, you *****ed it up too badly, and I hope you are ashamed of yourself. |
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