Striking Rescue – A Sternly Okay Compromise

In a year marked by great action, the return of Tony Jaa to a starring role ranks among the most intriguing. Following his last action lead role in Saat po long 2 (or Killzone 2), Jaa has sporadically appeared in supporting roles in both low and high budget action films, though not shining as bright as his previous efforts. Striking Rescue brings the man who brought Muay Thai to cinema back to the forefront as Bai Ann, a reeling Mauy Thai practitioner looking for vengeance against those responsible for the tragic loss of his family. However, at times, its convoluted plot is emblematic of the fact that the film can never escape from the trappings of genre and studio conventions. Remaining on the verge of greatness, whether it be poor pacing, inconsistent action, or sluggish plotting, the film could never come together and break out into something greater than the sum of its parts.

As entertaining as it is frustrating, Striking Rescue highlights the martial arts prowess of Jaa and the rest of its adept cast, but in the end, is helmed by a team that simply struggles to bring the film to its fullest potential. Its narrative of corrupt officials and drug gangs lack intrigue and instead, drags down what could have been an engaging personal journey for Jaa’s An Bai. Ultimately, the film is representative of a lot of the problems afflicting recent Chinese releases which is how they consistently find themselves struggle against its greater qualities in service of a redundant and formulaic plot, one which has been executed multiple times this year alone. All of this adds up to a film that is fun enough, but one which never goes beyond its conventions. It feels consistently limited in presentation and content as if it’s bound by blood to a set of conventions and tropes.

When it comes to a film like this. the narrative is unlikely be its major draw. Rather, many will find themselves drawn to Jaa and its action. Unfortunately, aside from a few standout moments, that action is largely over edited and littered with obscuring movements from the camera and stars which detracts from Jaa’s Muay Thai brutality. Above all else, in spite of its flaws, the film still finds a way to remind audiences why Jaa is such a special and unique figure in the action industry. The ferocity of his knees and elbows are matched by crunchy sound design and a great slow motion, harkening back to 1990’s Hong-Kong features, a comparison which is not unfounded considering the film’s use of former Hong Kong actors and frequent Johnnie To collaborators.

At the end of the day, Striking Rescue feels like a compromise where audiences get to see Tony Jaa back in a starring role with a good cast and violent action. However in doing so, they must also indulge a derivative structure and formula which fails to make the most out of what it does well. The film’s poor structure only takes away from the film that goes on longer than it should have, running at 106 minutes. While not a bad film by any means, it never quite rises above the level of just sternly okay yet forgettable, despite how it brings such a presence as Jaa back to the forefront. One can only hope that the film is only the start of a career resurgence for the legend and a jumping off point to greater things and the chance to continue to get work within the current action landscape.

still courtesy of Well Go USA Entertainment

If you liked this, please read our other reviews here and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter or Instagram or like us on Facebook.

Brad Simon

letterboxd.com/bradsimmon213/