I think Tony Jaa, with his "no sling, no stunt" motto, is set to replace Jackie Chan as the Asian action movie star for the next decade or two. But Tom Yam Goong looks to be and hopefully is more of a learning experiment. The movie's story isn't very strong, and an action movie still needs a story. Otherwise, it becomes like a porn flick: people just wait around for the "banging" sequences.

Jaa also still seems to be finding his action sequence style. His attempt to incorporate Jackie Chan type of acrobatics doesn't blend into his main style, a modern day Mas Oyama. To take up the mantle of Jackie Chan doesn't mean one has to be like Jackie Chan. Jackie Chan, after all, didn't appear as the best of the numerous Bruce Lee clones — he came across as Jackie Chan. And Tony Jaa needs to do just that, to come across as Tony Jaa. We saw that in Ong Bak, but it was adulterated in Tom Yam Goong.

Original published at this blog.