A professional bodyguard who failed to protect his Choti, most successful businessman, is fired by his employer's son. The son inherits his fathers company but is then targets by assassins who want to gain control of the estate. He is forced to hide out in the slums where a kind family looks after him and sparks up a relationship with their tomboy daughter.
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Reviews
Absolutely the worst movie.
A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.
All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.
Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.
This Thai comedy features that county's biggest stand-up comedian, Petchtai Wongkamlao, as a bodyguard who gets embroiled in a war between his employer and a rival businessman. Now, Wongkamlao will be familiar to most Western audiences as the bald sidekick in ONG BAK and the policeman in WARRIOR KING, and here he attempts to reinvent himself as his country's answer to Jackie Chan. While a lot of the surreal humour evident from Jackie's films is evident, and there's a Chan-style chase scene where a butt-naked Wongkamlao is chased through the streets by a gang of gun-toting thugs (just like in THE ACCIDENTAL SPY), Wongkamlao is never going to be success in the West because the humour is just too far out here! Many of the jokes require knowledge of Thai culture and customs and as such they fall flat, and to make matters worse there is a monotonous sub-plot involving the lives of the poor which really drags the movie down.The comedy is so broad and unusual that you'll be wondering what on earth you're watching. Humour comes from a bad guy henchman with Down's Syndrome and another henchman who keeps wearing the wrong clothes to work and misunderstanding his boss – that's a joke that is repeated about ten to twenty times throughout the entire film. While Wongkamlao does his best to keep up with the humour, he underplays his role and that sits oddly with some of the supposed comedy scenes. Bits involving the supporting cast are entirely dull and the romantic subplot with ONG BAK's Pumwaree Yodkamol only serves to reinforce my impression that she's an utterly annoying actress.The film is bookended by a couple of decent scenes. The first is a shoot-out in a restaurant which is so over-the-top that it absolutely kicks ass; wirework is used in abundance as Wongkamlao flips, shoots and flies across tables, gunning down the bad guys as he does so. Meanwhile, the film's climax is set in a warehouse, as our eponymous hero battles various bad guys one at a time. There's a Thai boxer, the aforementioned Down's Syndrome guy (who turns out to be super-tough) and a period-set fighter. The comedy here is broad, and cheesy, recalling the type of humour in the SCARY MOVIE series, but at least it's more acceptable and understandable than that found elsewhere. The bit where a naked Wongkamlao has his butt squirted with a water pistol seems to go on for an age and makes for uncomfortable, incomprehensible viewing.However, the film does throw in some references to other movies which are fun if you're in the know. There's a mad homeless man who keeps saying that Bang Rajan is about to fall, an amusing reference to the ultra-successful Thai historical epic BANG RAJAN which was released in 2000. One fighter at the film's climax adopts Jet Li's style from ONCE UPON A TIME IN CHINA, complete with blatant wirework and OUATIC's theme tune playing over the action, which is very funny indeed. However the best part of the film for most Western audiences will be Tony Jaa's cameo; he plays a supermarket fighter who gets to kick some ass in a few (very quick) fight scenes. Passing Wongkamlao as he leaves, he calls the actor 'Humlae' – Wongkamlao's name in ONG BAK. Wongkamlao's response? "Wrong film, dickhead!". Unfortunately these genuinely funny moments come few and far between and the film as a whole drags, with the whole everything-but-the-kitchen-sink approach to the comedy quickly becoming tiring.
My boyfriend and I watched this movie only because it advertised Tony Jaa in it. To later find, that he was only in ONE SCENE is very disappointing. Even more disappointing is the poorly executed "comedy" and so called "action" scene. I think they could have done a much better job with this movie, considering the actors they had. We actually, don't mind watching some these corny movies every now and then as long as we are prepared for it. Although, we enjoy watching some these actors in some of the other movies they've done, don't expect the same type of caliber in this movie. So, if you are going to watch this movie with the expectation of watching Tony Jaa, or any type of martial arts, or decent comedy do not waste your time.
I cannot say too much about this... errs... film (if it can be named that way)... It's simply boring: non-interesting plot, non-interesting action scenes, and non-interesting "supposed-to-be-funny" gags. The plot is a kind of never ending nonsense. I can accept things like this in some surreal and absurd humour pieces -like Monthy Piton's films, which are absolutely great- but not in a... let's say... "normal" movie. I mean, the only thing I expect from an action movie is to entertain me. If, as well as being amusing, it is a good film, so much the better. But the only thing I can say is that IT'S BORING!!! I expected to have, at least, spectacular action scenes, since Tony Jaa is among the cast... My hopes were in vain. To sum up, this is only recommendable if you have problems to get to sleep!
I live in Thailand and try to see Thai movies when I can. Some of them have been excellent--Ong-Bak, Suriyothai, Tropical Malady, Tom Yum Goong, Mor Jeb, Luang Phii Theng, to name a few. The Bodyguard doesn't fall into the excellent category. It falls into "what the hell is going on and why are all the Thai people laughing" category. This movie is supposed to be a comedy. The English subtitles were particularly bad, I speak more than a little Thai and many times I knew the English was not good because I understood the Thai. I didn't laugh once with the rest of the audience--all Thai, I was the only Caucasian (farang). Then there were the 3 or 4 times I did laugh out loud, and I was the only one laughing! This movie is of almost the "slapstick" variety, chock full of "inside" jokes (being on the inside in this case means being Thai or understanding the Thai language better than I do) and silly humor. It stars one of Thailand's most popular comedians, Piphat Apiraktanakorn, more commonly known by his nickname "Mahm" (usually spelled Mom, but he's a guy and not a real mom that I know of...) I think this guy is great and funny. This lends credence to my theory that the English subtitling was just awful. Mahm has a 3 minute cameo in "Luang Phii Theng" that is the funniest part of the movie. Try one of the other Thai films before going to this one. Especially Ong-Bak, probably the best martial arts film I have ever seen--And Tony Jaa is the best martial arts movie fighter I have ever seen (and he does it all without stunt double, wires, or computer effects). If you see one Thai film this year, make it Ong-Bak, not the Bodyguard!