That was an excellent one.

Sadly Over-hyped

Excellent, smart action film.

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

If you read the Cine Asia box you may be expecting an action packed Thai film like ONG-BAK and CHOCOLATE, You'll be disappointed...The action is weak with obvious wire work, The CGI is weak.The plot?...incoherent and illogical.The direction...arty farty, slow-mo when not needed, B&W inter-cuts for no reason and much more...At points it seems the director is trying to hide the badly written script but as they are by the same person goodness only knows. It seems to want to be a Hollywood film which is the kiss of death for me - I like Asian films because they are not just run of the mill conveyor belt pop corn fare.None of the characters are really likableThe Titular blade isn't used much and not at all in the finale! This really disappointed me normally releases on this label are excellent.

When Tony Jaa burst onto the scene in 2004, his motto was "no wires, no computers, no special effects." Sadly, the new Thai action films haven't tried to maintain that idiom. Newer films like DYNAMITE WARRIOR, MERCURY MAN, and this one are closer to Hollywood action flicks with lots of editing, wire work, and CGI effects. This film has a few interesting action moments but they all get ruined by those factors. The end result isn't nearly as thrilling as Jaa's work. Another thing I found funny is that the titular weapon - which is considered so important - isn't even used in the finale.Special Agent Yosthana is on the trail of Commander Kao Yod, a political prisoner who has broken out of prison. Yod and his gang are planning something big (the audience isn't allowed to know until the last 15 minutes) and use black magic to protect themselves from bullets. To combat this, Yosthana procures the Tiger Blade, a mythical sword that can kill the seemingly impervious villains.On a side note, this is the first film I have seen under Thailand's new censorship laws. They blur out any image of a gun being pointed toward someone's head or a cigarette in someone's mouth. You can show the gun or cigarette being raised. Hell, you can show someone get shot in the head. Just don't show the gun pointing towards the head. Very strange! It makes for an interesting scene at the end during a four way stand off where the screen is almost just one big blur.

The Tiger Blade starts with a great kick off and manage to hold that throughout the entire movie. The story might not be that clear but actually it doesn't matter. You just go with the flow and accept the holes in the story which are filled in with great action scenes. It's Thai and of course you're thinking about Ong-bak but The Tiger Blade does use wire work and probably stunt men but it does't mean the action would be less. The direction is good and it shows that the greatest attention went to the action aspect. Would that bother? The story of Ong-bak isn't also that great. Just forget the story, tolerate the acting performances and you're settled for a good action ride. It deserves your attention when you loved Ong-bak and the Russian Night Watch because it's a perfect combination of those two.

OK maybe the special effects and the storyline are not that great, but as a cool action flick, the tiger blade rocks. The duration of the movie is 110 min and it contains almost 80 minutes of non-stop action. The movie has only begun or the action explodes on the screen. You have bullet-ballets, go-cart-chases, kick-ass-fighting and always with a funny undertone. I recently watched Born to Fight and Tom-Yum-Goong, and OK the action sequences are better made, but in total, both movies we're rather disappointing. Both these movies we're made with much bigger budgets, but The Tiger Blade is more enjoyable and a second viewing will not be a problem. I'd actually want to see it again.