Search - Vengeance on DVD

Impressive, yet quite unknown ...

Patrick Sayet | Cermont-Ferrand, FRANCE | 10/18/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I'm very impressed by this Taiwanese movie, bought it blindly.
The story is about a group of policement chasing a band of criminals, one of whom has a personal grudge with a young reckless and violent officer. They chase them until they arrive to a gloomy forest, some villagers say it's cursed. In this forest they'll meet some supernatural creatures, all wanting them dead. Luckily, they encounter 2 girls from a village in the forest that help them and heal them.
The story is unfolding very fast but no moment is lost in useless dialogue (maybe a bit in the beginning, but it makes the rythm go up all along) and the character development, betwwen officer or criminals, or the 2 girls, is efficient enough. The creatures are very original (at least to a French guy).

Picture quality : 4.5/5
Really amazed at the quality of this one, the nature (forest, rivers, cliffs) seem very alive, as the faces of the characters having very strong emotions. Sometimes very dark, it helps having an effect of surprise.

Audio quality : 4/5
Sounds of nature or supernatural creatures sounds, gun fire, shouts of men, all is very clear.

Special features : 2/5
Trailers, music video and making of, not much but doesn't bring my liking of the film down."

A mighty fine piece of Thai horror/fantasy

trashcanman | Hanford, CA United States | 11/02/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

""Vengeance" is an encouraging step forward for Thailand's film industry and an all-around solid flick. As evidenced by the making-of featurette where they explain the process of computer generated imaging to what I assume is a Thai audience unfamiliar with the technique, the film industry there is better known for stunt-heavy practical effects in martial-arts films like Ong-Bak - The Thai Warrior. But here, we get an Asian fantasy romp with full-on CG beasts that don't look half bad and a pretty great story that culminates with the lead character seeking revenge in the past for the wrongs of the present. It's a very cool concept that doesn't make itself evident until the film's final scenes. The rest is filled with gritty human violence and lots of supernatural jungle menaces that keep you on your toes. Not too shabby.

The film opens with what are obviously flashback shots interspersed with the credits. PAY ATTENTION! This seems pointless, but is actually vital to understanding the ending. Back to the present day: a group of murderous thieves steal an artifact (an engraved disc said to bestow magic powers). A police officer rounds up a posse to go after the bad guys. But when they flee into a forest, their guide balks declaring he's rather go to prison than enter the cursed place. Now, some people would say "don't go in there!" at this point, but seriously: who doesn't want to see what's up with the haunted jungle? I know I do. Killer swarm of wasps stripping flesh from bone before our very eyes? Cool, but I know you can do better. Mexican standoff between cops and robbers interrupted by a swarm of flesh-eating alligator lizards descending from the trees? Give me more. Giant snake that looks like the offspring of Dragon Wars? Almost there. Naked vampire ladies bathing each other and beckoning to errant campers? DING! DING! DING! We have ourselves a winner! Now again, I know some people would say "don't go to the beautiful naked ladies bathing each other in the middle of the haunted jungle in the middle of the night", but in spite of my decades of studying horror, mythology, folklore, and everything else that goes bump in the night, I'm falling into that trap 10 times out of 10. What can I say? It's the way I want to go out. God bless you, Fruit Tree Maidens (that's what they're called): you made my day and this movie. Guy in the jungle who watched the whole thing with his hand down his pants: I really wanted you to die. You're icky.

Okay, back on point. The good guys wind up picking up a couple of jungle locals in the form of.....two beautiful and mysterious girls. Hidden agenda, ya think? There is actually this amazingly beautiful scene with the hero and one of the girls are holding each other while fireflies drift lazily around them. It's subtle, romantic in the most genuine way, and just a wonderfully shot scene that really sets a mood and makes a platonic romance given almost zero time to develop work dramatically. Once we get to the girls' village the pieces finally start to come together as all hell breaks loose. The climax, while heavy on action is actually pretty poorly thought out. The final menaces come off like lightweights after being built up wonderfully and that just brings me down. Also: deus-ex-machina no es bueno. The film had a ton going for it, but in the end it definitely could have done a lot more with what it had. The ending, on the other hand, is pretty great and fitting even if it sort of comes out of nowhere. an overarching theme of the futility of dwelling on the past or revenge would have served this film nicely.

The action veers well away from the choreographed martial-arts and stylish gunplay we are used to from Asian action films and goes for a much more gritty, realistic feel. I like. "Vengeance" sports a little gore, teasing nudity, and some cursing but not much of any of that good stuff. But with decent special effects, a creepy atmosphere, lots of action, and an ending that makes all the pieces fit together this is absolutely a movie you will want to have a look at if Asian cinema is your bag. Enjoy.


"

Not bad

B. Gayretli | 10/27/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"not bad
some cool effects
not your oscar winning performance and movie in overall but very entertaining and watchable"