A veteran Muay Thai expert goes on a take-no-prisoners mission of revenge after his wife and daughter are brutally murdered by mysterious forces. Tony Jaa delivers his signature Muay Thai annihilation in an extended fight scene.
In the early 2000s, Tony Jaa was one of the most exciting breakout martial artists. His Muay Thai fighting style, combined with gravity-defying jumps and other sensational moves, made him stand out from any other martial artist of that era. Yet after a couple of big releases as a leading man, Jaa was reduced to starring in mid-tier direct-to-DVD action flicks – or for bigger releases – as solely a supporting character. Luckily, the people who missed him throwing elbows and hurtling his knees into foes will be pleased with “Striking Rescue” despite some imperfections.
In “Striking Rescue,” Jaa plays Bai An, a man whose family was murdered by Chinese gangsters, and as expected in his quest for revenge, things become complicated by unforeseen events and unknown truths. This plot device has been used countless times, and it was brilliantly parodied in “Arrested Development” where Thomas Jane, in character as “Homeless Dad”, repeatedly declared, “I just want my kids back!” The script in “Striking Rescue” has Tony Jaa engaging with Mandarin speakers in less-than-perfect English, further exacerbated by subtitles riddled with grammatical errors and misspellings. Nonetheless, these minor errors are forgotten once the film kicks in, or better yet, when Jaa kicks into action. Which does not take long, around five minutes in Bai is taking down a whole warehouse full of henchmen screaming “My family!” His sleuthing leads him to believe that a local tycoon, He Yinghao, ordered the hit that killed his loved ones.
While conducting his plan, Bai stalks Yinghao’s daughter, Tingting, to find her father. Unbeknownst to Bai, Tingting is the target of a rival drug gang looking for leverage on Yinghao. As the two roads diverge, he becomes the girl’s protector. The familiar story is redeemed by the action, splendidly choreographed by Guo Yulong with bone-breaking moves and a barrage of bloody battles. The infusion of Muay Thai with Chinese aesthetics and setpieces brought me back to the glory days of Hong Kong action movies from the ‘80s and ‘90s. In particular, in one scene, Bai uses a dirt bike as a weapon, wheeling over and through scores of enemies.
Aside from some great action sequences, the villains are a blast. My favorite is the nameless female assassin with dual-wielding hatchets in high heels. I kept calling her Hatchet Girl in my head. Hatchet Girl is straight out of a classic Anime or an early Johnnie To film, wearing red sunglasses and laughing upon inflicting dismemberment on anyone dumb enough to try her. She is probably the coolest female baddie since Hammer Girl in “The Raid 2,” who I oddly also rooted for. The other memorable villain is Long Tai, played by Xing Yu. Yu played Coolie in the masterpiece “Kung Fu Hustle” and he still has powerful kicks that you do not want to be on the receiving end of. Another element of Hong Kong action films displayed here is the brutality. No matter how old a character is, no one is safe. In one scene, a Congressman is forced to snort cocaine after the gang shoots his wife and then must choose which of his children will be gunned down. In a lot of those classic HK films, kids were beaten up – or worse.
The film’s biggest flaw is its unnecessary flashbacks, which ultimately interfere with the story’s momentum. About halfway through, Bai tells Tingting that if she is held at gunpoint, kick the guy in the balls. As soon as this advice is given, you know it will happen at a pivotal moment. Before the crucial moment, the film flashes back to that scene instead of simply showing Tingting performing the move. It seems to be a universal issue with modern cinema, which is all about telling instead of showing. Although cutting out the flashbacks and utilizing a focus on movements with minor exposition would have sufficed. Yet still, regardless of these flaws, “Striking Rescue” is perfect for fans of propulsive action and solid martial arts.
Available on Digital April 15th and on Blu-ray™ and DVD May 13th
