Director: Piti Jaturaphat
Starring: David Bueno, Peerawat Herabat, Nattanun Jantarawetch, Andrew Koji, Nahatai Lekbumrung, Lex Luther, Than Thanakorn
Plot: A group of young Muay Thai experts led by David are forced to use their deadly training to protect themselves when the local extortionist threatens to kill their mentors daughter if he doesn’t give up his bar.
Runtime: 1 Hour 18 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Verdict: Muay Thai 101
Story: Fighting Beat starts as we meet Khem (Thanakorn) who lives in the area of Phi Phi Island, by day he with Aey (Herabat) work as guides for divers in the beautiful waters, by night the city comes to life as Khem entertains the fans in the local bar and fighting spots.
The happy little world is put to the test when David (Buneo) and his gang arrive in town wanting to uses their Muay Thai skills to intimidate the locals as they want to take over the bar, it is up o Khem to improve his skills to fight back and defend his own little part of paradise.
Thoughts on Fighting Beat
Characters – Khem was raised by a monk after his father was murdered, he has studied Muay Thai, living a life which sees him guide tourists to the best diving spots and entertain crowds in a local bar with his fighting skills, even if the results are fixed for the tourists to win. He will lead his friends in the fight back to stay in control of their local bar after a new gang tries to take over it, he must fight for everything he has in his life. David leads the attack on the bar which will see him turn to people who have a past that would be more of a threat in a fight. We have two sides in this fight, we have Khem’s friends that enjoy the life they live that will band together to fight back and David’s gang that will defend themselves with everything they have to put down the locals who are the only ones that fight back.
Performances – Than Thanakorn is in the leading role which like most of the talent in this film sees to be trained in Muay Thai, everyone involved gets their moment to show their skills and the chemistry between the friends feels natural too.
Story – The story is very simple it follows a group of locals that will fight to keep the local bar in the locals hands after a gang forces the owner into giving it up. We do get to see how one character, Khem does get to face the demons of his past in the defending the bar, only that is the biggest strain to take away from the two main gangs fighting. We are invested in the story by seeing how the locals do seem to be living in a paradise like world, where their friendship is what gives them added strength too.
Action – The action is what we are here for, we get plenty of fighting sequences, which are entertaining, though you can see just how choreographed the sequences are.
Settings – The film is set in the Phi Phil island which shows just how much of a paradise this location is.
Scene of the Movie – Final fight.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Certain fights feel overly hesitant.
Final Thoughts – This is a simple and enjoyable Muay Thai fighting action movie, it has an easy to follow story and will keep the martial arts fans happy.
Overall: Simple and Enjoyable.
Rating
