A Force of Five

Directed by: Krissanapong Rachata

Starring: Nantawooti Boonrapsap, Sasisa Jindamanee, Johnny Nguyen, Pimchanok Leuwisetpaiboon

Synopsis:

Five young children live with their martial arts teacher, training and playing together. Unfortunately, the youngest, Wut, has a heart defect and is likely to need a transplant in the future. After a run-in with a bully at a remote-controlled car race, Wut has a heart attack and is rushed to hospital. Luckily, a donor is located and a replacement heart is being prepared at a hospital across town. However, a gang of terrorists take over the hospital, taking the American Ambassador hostage and all the staff hostage. In a race against time, Wut’s friends infiltrate the hospital to get the heart before it’s too late!

A Force of Five (aka Power Kids) is definitely a film of two halves. After a noisy, messy battle in the middle of a jungle, which adds nothing to the film itself, we are subjected to twenty minutes of overwrought melodrama as the kids bicker amongst themselves and worry about their friend Wut, who is one of those annoyingly cute kids everyone loves to hate in movies. Meanwhile, they are overseen by their stern “uncle” who teaches them acrobatics and martial arts, and maybe takes a cut of their allowance as well. The kids themselves are rather bland, with only one, who keeps haggling for no reason, with anything like a character trait.

Then Johnny Nguyen and his cohorts turns up. Here in the UK we’re still awaiting the release of The Rebel (*ahem, Cine Asia!), which alongside Merantau is one of the best martial arts movies in a long time. Here Johnny plays the head of a group of Teelor rebels trying to attain recognition for their country, and is willing to use lethal force to get his point across. Unfortunately he isn’t called upon to do much until the final fight.

Now, with Johnny in place as the bad-guy, and main obstacle to the heart being received on time, the film comes more into focus and the four friends race across town to break into the hospital. From here on in, it’s a mix of silly humour, outrageous gags and very hard hitting fight scenes.

You really have to feel sorry for the adults here, even if they’re a bunch of dirty terrorists. During the fight-scenes, these kids finally come alive and deliver a heavy beat-down, with lots of knee-to-chin action. It’s not surprising to learn then that this was produced by the same people behind Tom Yun Goon, Chocolate and Raging Phoenix.

Along the way are a couple of characters who help raise things no end. On the bad-guys side is a young girl, who was caught up in the battle in the prologue. At one point she wonders off to the infirmary and discovers the vast amount of medicines just sitting on shelves. She lost a lot of men because there weren’t sufficient medical supplies by far, and yet here are rows upon rows, it almost feels decadent The second character is posing as a doctor, and joins the kids when they discover him hiding in the morgue (an almost funny sequence).

Just as the going is getting tough, the film pours on the syrup. The news-crew outside the hospital has broadcast the plight of Wut and his friends, and even go as far as interviewing Wut at his sickbed! This manages to give them all the determination they need to see the job through though, and leads to a seriously decent fight scene between the two eldest kids and Johny Nguyen.

Watching the fight, you start to get the impression that no one, that’s no-one, is holding anything back in any of the kicks, blocks and strikes flying on both sides. Some of the moves are timed to perfection and you wonder how many takes it took to capture someone jumping through the air, grabbing a fluorescent tube from its ceiling socket, spinning round and smashing it over someone’s head, all in one shot!

A Force of Five also contains one of the most bizarre examples of Thai humour aswell, as over the end-credits we watch the kids receive a caning from their teacher. It’s obvious the scene is meant to be funny, but the thwack of the rod sure sounds painful!

Verdict

Although full to the brim of cloying melodrama and disjointed plot exposition, A Force of Five nevertheless delivers in the action department, pitting the action stars of tomorrow against one of the best action stars of today. The end fights are worth the purchase.

6 out of 10 (MikeOutWest)