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''Born to Fight'' (, ''Gerd ma lui'') is a
2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...
Thai
action film The action film is a film genre that predominantly features chase sequences, fights, shootouts, explosions, and stunt work. The specifics of what constitutes an action film has been in scholarly debate since the 1980s. While some scholars such as D ...
directed by
Panna Rittikrai Panna Rittikrai (; ) or birth name Krittiya Lardphanna (; , February 17, 1961 – July 20, 2014) was a Thai martial arts action choreographer, film director, screenwriter, and actor. The head of the Muay Thai Stunt team (previously known as P.P. ...
. It followed '' Ong-Bak: Muay Thai Warrior'', on which Rittikrai served as martial arts choreographer, and featured more of his "no strings attached" stuntwork. Many of the actors in ''Born to Fight'' were Thai national athletes. The film is a remake of Rittikrai's 1984 film of the same title.


Plot

Royal Thai Police The Royal Thai Police (RTP) (; ) is the national police force of Thailand. The RTP employs between 210,700 and 230,000 officers, roughly 17 percent of all civil servants (excluding the military and the employees of state-owned enterprises). The R ...
undercover cops Deaw and Puntakarn participate in a sting operation to apprehend the drug lord General Yang and shut down his cartel in the Chonburi Province. After a destructive truck chase, they manage to capture General Yang, but Puntakarn is killed by a bomb set by the drug lord in one of his trucks. Hoping to relieve the pain of his loss, Deaw accompanies his sister,
taekwondo Taekwondo (; ; ) is a Korean martial art and combat sport involving primarily kicking techniques and punching. "Taekwondo" can be translated as ''tae'' ("strike with foot"), ''kwon'' ("strike with hand"), and ''do'' ("the art or way"). In ad ...
champion Nui, to a charity event sponsored by the country's Sports Authority to distribute relief goods to Pha-thong Village, located near the Thai/ Burmese border. Deaw and Nui, along with other athletes representing their respective sports, arrive at the village and entertain the locals. All is going well when suddenly, an armed militia invades the village, killing a number of people and holding the rest hostage. The militia demands the release of General Yang within 24 hours in exchange for the lives of the surviving villagers; failure to comply will result in the militia broadcasting the slaughter of all of the villagers to the World. The Prime Minister's attempt at liberating the village fails when the militia's surveillance cameras spot Task Force 90 Thai special forces troops within the premises, resulting in more villagers being executed and the deadline shortened to 8:00 a.m. the next day. While infiltrating the militia's camp, Deaw discovers that they will fire a nuclear missile toward
Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...
once General Yang is released and then blow up the village after they escape. Before he can act, he is captured and thrown in with the rest of the villagers. The next morning, General Yang is released from prison and airlifted toward Pha-thong Village. As the army helicopters arrive and the militia escorts the drug lord, a radio broadcast of the
Thai National Anthem The Thai National Anthem, also simply referred to as the National Anthem, is the national anthem of Thailand. It was officially adopted in its current form on 10 December 1939. It replaced "Sansoen Phra Barami" as the civilian anthem in 1932 (the ...
inspires the athletes and villagers to rise up and battle their captives. Unarmed, they attack the heavily armed soldiers and get some revenge for those murdered by them. General Yang is once again apprehended after the militia leader is killed and his escorts are gunned down by special forces agents. Deaw storms through the militia camp, but the nuclear missile is launched by a man left behind. In desperation, he destroys the camp's three laptops, sending the missile off course and crashing into the waters of the Gulf of Thailand, south of Bangkok. He then discovers that the militia has rigged time bombs to destroy the village in less than five minutes. With the help of the special forces, Deaw gets the athletes and surviving villagers to evacuate before the entire village goes up in flames but then as the deadline approaches he goes back to try and rescue Tup. Behind-the-scenes shots of some of the many dangerous stunts play during the credits.


Cast

* Dan Chupong as Deaw *Nappon Gomarachun as General Yang *Santisuk Promsiri as Lowfei * Piyapong Piew-on as Tun * Somluck Kamsing as Tup *Amornthep Waewsang as Moo * Suebsak Pansueb as Jo *Nantaway Wongwanichislip as Nye * Kessarin Ektawatkul as Nui *Rattaporn Khemtong as Tunta * Chattapong Pantana-Angkul as Fong *Sasisa Jindamanee as Baetoey *Wannakit Sirioput as Foh


Casting notes

*
BBTV Channel 7 Channel 7 HD, formerly known as Bangkok Broadcasting & Television Company Limited Channel 7 () is a Thailand and Bangkok's first commercial broadcasting, commercial free-to-air television network that was launched on 27 November 1967 as Thail ...
anchors Nilawan Thonglai and Apisamai Srirangson appear as themselves. * Dan Chupong is a member of Rittikrai's stunt team, Muay Thai Stunt. He previously played "Bodyguard 4" in '' Ong-Bak: Muay Thai Warrior'', which starred
Tony Jaa Tatchakorn Yeerum (born 1976) (, , ; formerly Phanom Yeerum (, )), better known internationally as Tony Jaa and in Thailand as Jaa Phanom (, , ), is a Thai martial artist, actor, action choreographer, stuntman, and director. Known for his expl ...
and featured stunt choreography by Rittikrai. * Kessarin Ektawatkul is a former national
taekwondo Taekwondo (; ; ) is a Korean martial art and combat sport involving primarily kicking techniques and punching. "Taekwondo" can be translated as ''tae'' ("strike with foot"), ''kwon'' ("strike with hand"), and ''do'' ("the art or way"). In ad ...
champion. * Somluck Kamsing was a
Muay Thai Muay Thai or Muaythai (, , ), sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, the Art of Eight Limbs or the Science of Eight Limbs, is a Thai martial art and full-contact combat sport that uses stand-up striking, sweeps, and various clinch fighting, cl ...
fighter and gold-medal winning boxer at the
1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...
. * Piyapong Piew-on was a striker for the
Thailand national football team The Thailand national football team (, , ) represents Thailand in senior international football and is controlled by the Football Association of Thailand. In the regional competition, Thailand is the most successful football team in Southeas ...
and played professionally for
FC Seoul FC Seoul () is a South Korean professional Association football, football club based in Seoul that competes in the K League 1, the top flight of Football in South Korea, South Korean football. The club is owned by GS Sports, a subsidiary of GS G ...
in the
K-League K League () is South Korea's professional football league. It includes the first division K League 1 and the second division K League 2. Clubs competing in the K League have won a record total of twelve AFC Champions League titles, the top conti ...
in the 1980s. * Other sports represented include
rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby union: 15 players per side *** American flag rugby *** Beach rugby *** Mini rugby *** Rugby sevens, 7 players per side *** Rugby tens, 10 players per side *** Snow rugby *** Tou ...
, sepak takraw,
soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
,
gymnastics Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring Balance (ability), balance, Strength training, strength, Flexibility (anatomy), flexibility, agility, Motor coordination, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movem ...
and Muay Thai (by a young female National Muay Thai Junior Champion and an elderly man).


Reception

''Born to Fight'' has received mixed reviews in America. Beyond Hollywood gave the film a positive review, calling it "90-odd minutes of random over-the-top action shot to a throbbing techno soundtrack. It’s not ''Ong Bak'', although it does come dangerously close to being that other movie’s bastard love child." Scott Weinberg of ''DVD Talk'' gave the film four out of five stars, saying, "So it's a little quaint and corny when compared to the American action flicks, but it's also got a whole lot of energy, more than enough action, and some truly staggering stunt work. Fun, crazy stuff all the way." On the negative side, Anton Bitel of ''Eye for Film'' gave the film two out of five stars, commenting that "it repeats the more irksome flaws of Ong-Bak, offering a naive brand of nationalism, somewhere on the border between the annoyingly cloying, the unintentionally hilarious and the downright xenophobic." John A. Nesbit of ''Old School Reviews'' gave the film a D+, calling it "little more than Thai flavored
Michael Bay Michael Benjamin Bay (born February 17, 1965) is an American film director and producer. He is best known for making big-budget high-concept action films with fast cutting, stylistic cinematography and visuals, and extensive use of special eff ...
pyrotechnics on steroids in perpetual action sequences that appear ripped off from video games."


References


External links

* * {{Panna Rittikrai 2004 films 2004 action films Remakes of Thai films Thai martial arts films Muay Thai films Thai Muay Thai films Films about nuclear war and weapons Films about terrorism in Asia Sahamongkol Film International films Thai-language films 2000s Thai films