''Mercury Man'' ( Thai: มนุษย์เหล็กไหล or ) is a 2006 Thai superhero martial arts action film. It is directed by

Bhandit Thongdee Bhandit Thongdee (, born March 1, 1971) is a Thai film director, screenwriter and producer. His films include '' Mercury Man'' and '' The Unborn''. Filmography Director * ''Hoedown Showdown'' (') (2002) * ''Soul Under Bed The soul is t ...

with martial arts choreography 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. ...

of ''

Ong-Bak ''Ong-Bak'' (, ), also known as ''Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior'', is a 2003 Thai martial arts film directed by Prachya Pinkaew and featured action choreography by Panna Rittikrai. It stars Tony Jaa in the lead role, alongside Petchtai Wongkamlao and ...

'', ''

Tom-Yum-Goong ''Tom-Yum-Goong'' ( Thai: ต้มยำกุ้ง, ) is a 2005 Thai martial arts film directed by Prachya Pinkaew and stars Tony Jaa in the lead role. Pinkaew also directed Jaa's prior breakout film '' Ong-Bak''. As with ''Ong-Bak'', the fig ...

'' and '' Born to Fight''.

Plot

After being stabbed with an ancient Tibetan amulet and having escaped to hospital, a Bangkok firefighter named Chan is transformed into a superhero when his body becomes a massive heat source, which he learns to manipulate to give him super strength, increased agility and the ability to make great leaps. Chan's fate is entwined with an Afghan terrorist, Osama bin Ali, who wants the power of the Tibetan amulet to use in a plot to destroy the United States. With his international terrorist organization, led by henchwoman Areena, Osama kidnaps Chan's mother and sister (played by famed transgender Thai kickboxer

Parinya Kiatbusaba Parinya Charoenphol (born 9 June 1981) (; ), nicknamed Toom, also known by the stage name Parinya Kiatbusaba and the colloquial name Nong Toom or Nong Tum, is a Thai boxer, former muay Thai (Thai boxing) champion, model and actress. She is a ' ...

) and takes them to the

Royal Thai Navy The Royal Thai Navy (Abbreviation, Abrv: RTN, ทร.; , ) is the Navy, naval warfare force of Thailand. Established in 1906, it was modernised by the Admiral Prince Abhakara Kiartiwongse (1880–1923) who is known as the father of the Royal N ...

base, where he hopes to launch a rocket at a

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

chemical weapon ship. Osama also has suicide bombers spread out throughout Thailand, stationed in American franchises in Thailand, ready to act on his word. Aided by the young female guardian of the amulet, Chan rescues his mother and sister. However, he must face Areena, who has stabbed herself with a companion amulet, giving her the powers of extreme cold and ice.

Production

Similar to ''

'', which was also choreographed by

and produced by

Prachya Pinkaew Prachya Pinkaew (; ; born September 2, 1962) is a Thai film director, film producer and screenwriter. His films include '' Ong-Bak: Muay Thai Warrior'' and ''Tom-Yum-Goong'', both martial arts films starring Tony Jaa. Biography Prachya graduated ...

, ''Mercury Man'' contains "shout outs" to Western films. References to ''

Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in ...

'' are seen throughout ''Mercury Man'', in dialogue, in Spider-Man T-shirts worn by extras and through spray-painted messages in the scenery, such as "Spidy how R U?"July 5, 2006
"Mercury Man says Hi"
, Twitchfilm.net (retrieved August 18, 2006)

Soundtrack

Arnon Saisangchan (Osama bin Ali), is the lead singer of the

Thai rock Thai rock () is rock music from Thailand. Thai rock was influenced by rock bands from the United States and United Kingdom. Emerging in the 1980s it flourished with bands like Asanee–Wasan, Carabao and Micro. It became widely popular in the 199 ...

band

Blackhead A comedo (plural comedones) is a clogged hair follicle (pore) in the skin. Keratin (skin debris) combines with oil to block the follicle. A comedo can be open (blackhead) or closed by skin (whitehead) and occur with or without acne. The word ''com ...

. Known as Phu Blackhead, he sings the song heard over the closing credits.

References

External links

Mercury Man at the Thai Film Database

Mercury Man Official Trailer (WMV Format)
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mercury Man (Film) 2006 films Sahamongkol Film International films 2000s superhero films 2006 science fiction action films Thai-language films Muay Thai films Thai Muay Thai films 2006 martial arts films Transgender-related films Thai science fiction action films Thai martial arts films Thai LGBTQ-related films 2006 LGBTQ-related films Thai superhero films 2000s Thai films