FB: Fighting Beat (2007) Movie Review, Trailer, Film Still and Poster

Thailand 2007
Director: Piti Chaturaphat
Cast: Thun Thanakorn, Nuttanan Juntarwet, Sura Teerakul, Sura Sankum, Pemanee Sungkorn, Micky Nowacki
Rating: -
Language: Thai
Release Date: 1 November 2007
Running Time: 1 hour 19 minutes

The Movie Review

FB: Fighting Beat film still 1


FB: FIGHTING BEAT
Storyline:
Cast:
Ending:
Overall:

In year 2003 with the release of Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior (2003), people around the globe started to notice Thai cinema which being memorable for their daredevil action scenes. Moreover, Thai traditional martial arts Muay Thai is also start to be given better attention and prestige among other martial arts. The thing is, if you really like hardcore action/fighting/martial arts scenes with true fighters and no stunt doubles, Thai cinema is the perfect choice! Lucky for us, we have another entry from Thailand, FB: Fighting Beat.

The storyline revolves around Kem (Thun Thanakorn), an orphan who lives in a temple since his father was killed by a thug. Kem makes a living by working as a guide for tourists and also as a fighter at Chock Dee Bar run by Uncle Prao (Sura Sankum), a man who is also Kem's Muay Thai teacher. Kem along with his friend Chai (Sura Teerakul) often fakes defeats to the foreign tourists who challenge them in the ring for the tourist satisfaction. Everything goes smoothly in the bar with occasional flirting between Chai and one of Uncle Prao's daughters, Dow (Nuttanan Juntarwet) until one night a group of foreigners lead by a guy named David force Uncle Prao to sell his bar which led to David hiring the same man who killed Kem's father years earlier.

Fighting Beat is basically about Muay Thai fighters, but this action movie never misses one thing in its whole running length...Entertainment! Yep, Fighting Beat is all about entertainment. Even though you'll see people get beaten and bleed from their mouths, FB is also surrounded by light comedy, great cinematography and awesome musical soundtrack/score. From start to finish, the filmmakers never ceases to amuse its audiences with its steady pace and good camerawork by mixing every element perfectly and combine them with great music that helps build up the atmosphere a lot.

By inserting jokes and funny quips from the actors, Fighting Beat manages to avoid for this movie being too intense. Most notably from the performance of Sura Teerakul, the muscle guy who acts so vivid with energy that his performance alone actually enough to amuse the audience. And Fighting Beat is set against the backdrop of the beach in Thailand, certainly complete with all the exotically beautiful Thai girls! Right on! There are four girls that constantly grace the screen with their beachwears, Nuttanan Juntarwet, Nahatai Lekbumrung, Pemmani Sangkorn and Micky Nowacki. And you know what? Those girls aren't just standing around serving as sweeteners. They act perfectly well blending with the overall tone of the movie. And speaking of chemistry, it is wonderful…, it's heartwarming to see how the actors and actresses spend their time together on screen just like they're real friends. That’s a rare one indeed, a good example of Asian friendliness.

And when this movie comes to its fighting scenes, those moves are totally satisfying! And this is where Thun Thanakorn shows his martial art prowess. Although quite frankly, the fighting and the stunt acts are less intense than the ones in Ong-Bak (2003), but they are still highly believable than most other Hollywood or Modern Asian big-budgeted action movies. No flying high up in the air, no balls of fire coming out of palms, the fights in Fighting Beat are pure street fights! And the actors aren't just punching and kicking randomly, they do it with their well-learnt Muay Thai moves!

There are some minor flaws however, a character named David who is quite well in performing his martial art but downright awful in his acting and his English! Funny thing is why the heck the filmmakers didn’t hire a real English-speaking actor to play as David?! This David guy is the contrary of Sura Teerakul. Every time David is on screen, his wooden facial expression and English are becoming “comedy” on its own negative terms. Another flaw is this movie feels to short with quite inadequate fighting scenes. Or probably it’s just me who craved for more, hmmm, well, it’s still not enough.

All in all, if you like fighting/martial arts movies with no pyrotechnics and CGI, Fighting Beat is one of the best choices. Since it seems very clear that the filmmakers really wanted to make a movie that entertains instead of merely astounds. Both are good, though...It's just a matter of preference.

FB: Fighting Beat movie screenshot 2