Now on VOD, The Protector 2 is really Tom Yum Goong 2. Tom Yum Goong was released as The Protector by The Weinstein Company, so even though the sequel is now Magnet, they’re keeping the American title. I was thrilled to have the chance to watch Tony Jaa’s return to cinema in the comfort of my own home, even though it’s not the 3D version, but now I feel like I’ve been kicked in the head.
Another bad guy steals Kham (Jaa)’s elephant so Kham returns to the big city to beat up bad guys until he rescues his beloved pet. This time the conspiracy is more complicated, including RZA as a gangster who wants to recruit Kham, but I wouldn’t have a problem with just another chase movie. A thin plot would be okay, if it was awesome. Alas, Tom Yum Goong 2 suffers from total sequelitis: essentially the same plot, and largely the same action too.
Tom Yum Goong had a sequence where Kham is chased by motorcyclists, so Tom Yum Goong 2 has another sequence where he’s chased by motorcyclists. The new sequence is more elaborate, but in the worst possible way. You see, Tom Yum Goong 2 has CGI action. CGI Jaa? Say it ain’t so.
Tony Jaa’s story goes that he grew up watching Hong Kong martial arts movies but didn’t know they were using wires, so he trained himself to do wirework moves for real. He may be exaggerating, but it’s a great way to think about the amazing physical feats he can legitimately perform. So who thought it would be a good idea to replace that with visual effects? Some fans complained that Ong Bak 2 was just a series of fights, but at least it was a series of real fights.
I could complain that they’re not even good visual effects, but good visual effects are besides the point. The one way my “because it’s awesome” defense works is if it is legitimately awesome. Dodging CGI cars is not awesome, and a digital Tony parkouring on a billboard is not awesome. I’d be okay with wirework too because manipulating wires is still a very athletic art, but CGI is just replacing the physical with something intangible. Some of the CGI is to enhance the 3D version of the film, sticking things out at the audience. That’s fine, but if you need a digital double to pull off a move, just do a different move. It’s not like we haven’t already seen this motorcycle chase done for real in the last film, and forget about any four-minute single-take fight scenes.
The motorcycle sequence does go on forever. That’s impressive creatively, but it’s so filled with fakery that who cares? Even Jackie Chan’s problematic CGI was an attempt to create choreography with different physics. I’m thinking of The Myth, but Tom Yum Goong 2 is just adding Michael Bay style destruction to its fight scenes. Later, a perfectly good real fight is ruined by becoming engulfed with CGI fire. I mean, use visual effects to promote safety and protect the actors, but don’t use it to fake their performances. Even the purely hand-to-hand fights feel like they’re out of moves and just repeating the same cycles of choreography. Jeeja Yanin was either holding back or asked to perform her catalog rather than any new moves. Jackie Chan used to complain that he’d already done everything too, but he still found new ways to climb a set or fight a bad guy.
To add insult to a lack of cool injuries, the soundtrack to Tom Yum Goong 2 is awful. I know RZA was only an actor in this but couldn’t he help them out a little? It all sounds like a series of public domain synthesizer loops. At that point, just take out the music completely and let us hear the foley sounds of fighting. One fight even uses lightsaber sound effects. Please tell me that’s just in the U.S. version of The Protector 2. They didn’t actually think lightsaber sounds were a good idea, did they?
Will The Raid movies go CGI now? They already enhance the bone breaks with visual effects but the choreography is all real. Let’s have an intervention before we lose all our great action stars. At least we’ve still got the Indonesians, Scott Adkins and Donnie Yen.
Fred Topel is a staff writer at CraveOnline and the man behind Best Episode Ever and The Shelf Space Awards. Follow him on Twitter at @FredTopel.
