User Reviews

Before, i rarely watch Thai Movies, but since Ong Bak and Tom Yum Goong, i became interested in some. Tony Jaa is a man of a new way of martial art in movies for me. Different than American typical fighting movies, or even Asian Kung Fu Movies, the Thai 'modern' martial art movies are fresher on the eyes.

Bangkok Knockout is surely a promising martial art movie if you watched the trailer. The moves and the arts are amazing for me. But...after I watch the whole movie (no skipping or fast-forwarding) I was kinda disappointed. The idea of the story is not so bad, but it's brought kinda poorly. Well, maybe it's intended just for domestic (not international), so there might only be limited budget on it.

The actors, i think, are some martial artists, with little to no acting experience, since it's not an easy task to find people which experts on both. Even the main star is not good at acting, and also not so good looking (sometimes I think the main star doesn't have to be handsome, but has to bee good looking, at least for the good-view for the audience). Luckily, there are two cute and pretty awesome girls. They are good-looking and can do some moves.

Okay, at first, the flow of the movie is kinda slow n little bit boring, there're almost no fighting or action scene, just some drama. But after, maybe about thirty minutes, the fighting begins. Since then, the fighting almost never stop till the end. And those fighting scenes are GREAT because of the choreography and also the skill of the actors performing jumping, kicking, punching, somersaulting, acrobats stunts and moves, and also in a matrix-bullet time-style. Sometimes, after one or two rounds of fighting, there's some stories we need to know about the background of some event etc, kinda lame for me because the foreign actors are also not good at acting, and even bad at speaking English. Btw, some scenes sometimes don't make sense, just enjoy it.

So, if you want to watch fighting a lot, with some new styles and moves and also in slow-mo, this is the right movie. But don't (ever) expect a good story and good acting.

Just my stupid review.... ^^

A martial arts stunt team enters a competition to win the chance to work in Hollywood, but instead find themselves part of a gambling event in which they must fight for survival against a variety of foes while rich folk bet on the outcome.

Directed by Panna Rittikrai, the man who gave us Born To Fight and the Ong Bak sequels, Bangkok Knockout delivers more than its fair share of stunning martial arts action and incredible stunt-work, so much so that it's possible to become a bit blasé about the death-defying action that is unfolding before the eyes. With so much jaw-dropping action on display, it's best to keep reminding yourself that these are practical stunts, not the work of a CGI expert with actors performing in front of a green screen.

While there is occasional obvious wire-work used to enhance some of the moves (particularly noticeable in earlier scenes), BKO is still a breathtaking experience for action fans, the relentless fighting just about making up for the extremely weak plot, the terrible acting (especially from the gamblers) and some truly irritating characters (the fat guy with the bob haircut being the worst offender).

"Bangkok Knockout" is action from the start to the very end. And you would think that to fill a plot out like this with something meaningful to make it interesting, but that wasn't to be. There is a very weak storyline to this movie. Actually the story is so ridiculous that it is almost painful to witness. However, the lack of story is more than made up for in sheer action, well-choreographed fighting scenes and violence.

The story is about a group of friends being drugged and forced into a twisted game of survival sports to entertain a handful of rich gamblers. And that is basically it. Oh, and there is a little attempt at spicing up the story by someone being kidnapped and held hostage! "Bangkok Knockout" has a lot of really nice fighting scenes, and the Thai really do make nice movies in the fighting-action genre. The scenes are well-choreographed and you often see how the hands, feet, knees and elbows connect with the targets, so you sit there in sympathy pain, wondering just how bad that had to hurt the guy (or girl) getting hit.

Three things did amuse me in this movie. The first thing was how did that white guy, Mr. Snead, manage to make that video montage that was showing behind him on the screens? I mean, he drugged these people to get them into the game, but then how did he make them all walk on one line, looking happy about it? And how did he manage to get portraits of each competitor and show it on the screen as the random fights were starting? That was just lame.

The second thing that had me amused was the way the black car crumbled as people were punched and kicked against its surface. Come on, was the car made from cardboard? I have never seen metal buckle and cave that easily, especially not on a car made for stock-car racing. That was just epic fail!

And thirdly, the sheer amount of beating each person took in this movie was just beyond mortal comprehension. No one would be able to get on their feet after such a thrashing. The beating these people took put even Jean Claude Van Damme to shame. So seeing them walk or limp away from beating upon severe beating was a bit too much in the end.

"Bangkok Knockout" is the type of movie you would watch on a day where you have bad hang-overs, and just want to lay on the couch doing. There is nothing to think about in this movie at all, it is all just one big fight scene. "Bangkok Knockout" is well worth watching a single time for the action and fighting scenes itself, but I doubt that anyone will be making a second trip back to watching this movie.

Cruddy Thai action flick. Actually, the action isn't half bad. There's a fight in a cage early on that's just spectacular, and the rest of the action sequences, of which there are a lot, are nothing to sniff at. But the director has no idea how to make a film, and the writing (to which the director contributed) is beyond awful. For most martial arts movies, that's easy enough to overlook, but Rittikrai keeps making the mistake of letting the story intrude on the action. The story involves a "fight club," a group of mostly teenage martial artists, who are roped into a survival competition. A group of rich gamblers watch their progress and make bets. The worst part of this film is that these scenes with the gamblers keep popping up and lasting far too long. Not to mention that the whole "game" never makes any sense. The heroes of the film are photogenic and athletic, but they're also pretty dull. Frequently the villains are more interesting.

A group of fighters are selected, via competition, to go to Hollywood for a project... or that's what they believe. In fact, after winning they are drugged and kidnapped, and forced to fight for their lives in a contest staged for the benefit of some extremely wealthy gamblers.

Bangkok Knockout is a terrible film by most standards - i.e. the story is dumb and the acting is terrible. It does, however, have some of the most extraordinary action scenes ever filmed. The cast are mostly stuntmen and fighters, and the film showcases a range of different styles and techniques going head to head. The level of physical virtuosity on display is amazing, and the scenes are brutal - fights are full contact, and stunts are outrageously dangerous.

For lovers of action cinema it's a must-see... everybody else should probably skip it.

There is some terrible acting and story line then There is fight scene then a fight scene then a fight scene then a fight scene then another fight scene then some more bad acting and about another 3 fight scenes then a gun shoot out then a fight under a truck going about 5mph down the road then finally it ends,, way to much fight scenes that are awful .

BKO: Bangkok Knockout (2010) is a movie I recently rewatched on Tubi. The storyline follows a group of friends who has a mutual friend kidnapped by a gangster. Each friend has his won unique fighting style and martial arts specialty. They will have to band together to infiltrate the gang and fight their way to their friend who is being held hostage. This movie is directed by Panna Rittikrai (Ong-Bak) and stars Pimchanok Leuwisetpaiboon (Friend Zone), Sorapong Chatree (Ong-Bak 2), Krittiya Lardphanna (City of Ghosts) and Chatchapol Kulsiriwuthichai (The Man with the Iron Fists 2). The storyline for this is mediocre to bad but the action scenes are outstanding. I loved the choreography throughout. The villain was actually pretty good too and had some good zingers. The random guy speaking English was also...well, random, Overall there are a lot of inconsistencies in this film; however, if you're looking for a fun martial arts film, this may be worth your time. I would score this a 6/10 and recommend giving it a shot.

Another all-action martial arts offering from Panna Rittikrai, the guy who's kept Thai action cinema alive for the past thirty years or so. Unfortunately, KNOCKOUT(they dropped the BANGKOK for the British release) is one of his lesser offerings. For those who complained about the paucity of the storyline in WARRIOR KING, you ain't seen nothing yet: the surrounding storyline in this film is amateurish in the extreme, a kind of riff on THE CONDEMNED which sees a bunch of characters thrown together in an old abandoned warehouse and forced to fight for their lives.

The film it's closest to in terms of scope is Rittikrai's original BORN TO FIGHT, made back in the '80s. All the requisite elements of Thai action cinema are present: masked, ninja-style assassins, goons on motorbikes flying through the air, scenery being broken and destroyed, people thrown from great heights. The fight scenes are enjoyable, although they lack the kind of finesse of the classic Tony Jaa outings: there seems to be no distinct beginning, middle and end to them, the film just depicts an ongoing melee situation and the bad guys are faceless and dull.

The use of multiple characters for the heroes was a bad idea. It worked in the BORN TO FIGHT remake, where each member of the athletics team had their own special skill clearly delineated. Here, though, the use of different styles wasn't clear; I didn't even realise they were being used until I watched the short making-of documentary afterwards. Mostly, the fights just consist of people running up walls, jumping and kicking people in the head. It's fun, but highly derivative.

The cast are pretty rubbish – these are the kinds of guys who make a good stunt team, but who are hopeless as characters we're supposed to get behind and root for. The melodrama scenes are overstated and, even worse, there's an obnoxious comic relief character we're stuck with for a long, long time. While there are a few familiar faces in minor parts, the only actor I really recognised was Rittikrai himself, playing another merciless fighter with a twist – this time, he's got asthma. You can guess the outcome.

The trailer promises great action and realistic fighting. Well, the final movie delivers. The fight-scenes in Bangkok Knockout blew me away. They look so real. No wait, they are real. Kicks to the face look awesome, you can even see the dust created by the foot to face impact.

Too bad some of the actors could use a foot to the face. I'm not talking about the fighters - there acting is okay - but the foreign-characters. There is one Russian guy, his lines are so horrible it's just sad... And funny.

I went to see the movie in Korat, Thailand. It had English subtitles. Not a must - foot to face actions works in all languages - but it came in handy.

You should go and watch this movie. Just for the action. And dream about the day Hollywood hires these guys to make a movie, with decent actors for the side-story.

I don't know what these people are talking about. This movie was badass as far as the action. There was a lot of "parkour" type of stunts, 80% of it was combat fighting and fleeing on construction like broken buildings and wire fences and all over warehouses.

There was a lot of smashing, running, kicking, striking, flipping, rolling, climbing, tumbling, throwing...it was amazing what people can do with their bodies with the right training.

The direction caught every move perfectly. It wasn't shaky or messy or badly angled. The music was energetic and energizing.

I was never bored. I never skipped anything, I only replayed fighting moves.

As far as the acting, the comedy was perfect, and perhaps foreigners don't appreciate it and natives from Thailand who weren't impressed might be easily embarrassed or something but I found it funny at least. There was one scene where the manager, a business partner called Sompong, a fighter on their side, and a female friend are hiding out from an enemy. And in most movies when characters are hiding out they keep quiet and it normally works, then they exhale really loudly in relief and stay alive. Well in this movie one of the guys hiding farted LOL. And he gave their hiding spot away, and they couldn't take the smell of his fart so they ran out and exposed themselves. I'm sorry but that was hilarious, I kept laughing even when the scene was over.

The Thai actors were good and I've seen some Thai movies so I know by now their humor can be on the silly side. But the foreign actors were so cringe. I don't know if the Russian and Japanese actors had accents, or if those were speech impediments... And the Thai- American and the main villain the white guy, they didn't seem to take this seriously at all. But whatever. Their part was to sit and bid on the hero fighters.

There's a love story, some rivalries and grudge matches, girl fighters (their moves were pansy though, I'm waiting for a combat action movie where the girl's martial arts isn't all about agility but power and brutality too...).

I liked it and told pretty much everyone I came across today to watch it.

The story is dubious although it has a twist or two. The acting is horrible from beginning to end. Yet, the action is jaw-dropping like a dropped kick that connects.

I actually saw this movie by mistake at the FantAsia Film Festival. Apparently the usher did not care to verify the name of the movie on my ticket. I think she was too busy eyeing me, or at least that is what I tell myself. So as the movie opened, I thought maybe this is a short film before the feature. When I realized I was in the wrong movie and that this one seemed to be shallow and pointless, I almost left, but my girlfriend said that we already missed the other movie's beginning and that we should tough it out with this Bangkok Knockout.

As painful as the beginning of the movie is, once the action got started, we were both glad we stayed. The scenes kept displaying some of the most stunning stunts and choreography in the industry. Then, there is a bit of comedy, some good editing, hot girls who can do a few moves too and a fitting ending. By that time, we were cheering with the enthused FantAsia crowd and easily put the poor plot and bad acting in the back of our mind.

There are some amazing scenes with cage fighting, blunt or sharp weapons, car, spectacular falls, masked assailants, Terminator-style superhuman, martial arts mastery and then... just when you thought you had seen it all, they bring the fight to the real world and bring in guns, motorcycles, trucks for the grand finale.

This is the martial arts Matrix in a warehouse with no story. Wachowski brothers, watch out. Less guns, more skills, guts and glory.

I've seen there seems to be a lot of hate for this film and I have no idea why. Its a martial arts films. When has the plot ever been the key element? If you watch martial arts movies then you must have an interest in martial arts. If this is the case then surely it is the fighting that is the key element to it being a good film. For that reason I am rating the story out of 4 and the fight sequences out of 6.

Story: 2/4 Firstly the story isn't as dire as everyone seems to make out. Having said that, it isn't good at all. It's a very weak plot indeed but to be honest with the amount of action there isn't really room for any form of developed plot. the acting is pretty awful especially from the more minor characters but the lead roles managed to come forth with at least passable performances.

Fighting: 6/6 Perfect, best i've seen in a long time. many would say the fights are unrealistic but i disagree. Sure they don't have the "realism" of mma or what ever but this is a FILM, the fighting is varied as hell and to be honest seems pretty convincing to me. I loved the mix of arts, it produced truly engaging and interesting fights. I feel that if the choreographers went to much for realism it'd make for a truly dull experience. The sheer variety and inventiveness of the choreography makes this a standout modern martial arts outing.

Overall however I feel with so little story and so many up and coming martial artists this seemed more like a showcase than an actual film. I personally am not bothered by this but if you are looking for anything with any depth, look else were. The perfect choreography made me completely overlook the weaknesses in the plot and acting and see this film as a triumpth.

My rating: 8/10

This movie doesn't deserve 10 but I gave it 10/10 to increase its IMDb rating.(IDK if it works) Because I wasn't seeing this movie only because of rating and reviews. --------------------------------

For first half an hour, No one would complain for bad acting. Actually I had no problem with acting. ---------------------------------

I didn't find any actor's wikipedia's page but actress. And I guess, all of them were either Athlete or stuntman. Because level of action was not less than Tony jaa's Tom-Yum-Goong and ONG-BAK. ---------------------------------

If they make another movie with these actors(Stunt man). I would watch that movie for sure. ---------------------------------

According to me, Movie is 6/10. (Actually I am little tightwad, when It comes to scoring, So Don't see rating, see movie.) ---------------------------------

Since Ong Bak, i have started watching Thai Martial Arts movie. To be honest i think the Muay Thai is a great art to watch, and usually the Thais are going for hard hitting, like some people mentioned, you can see the hits connect, the dust created by it and such. On the action parts, this movie is an A+, great fighting scenes, and even if they showcase some obvious choreography, the way they are film really make them look more real than your traditional Chinese kung fu/American kickboxing movie.

But another thing that i realize watching Thai movies, its that usually the story is pretty bad. Most of them revolve around some little village traditional artifacts being stolen and our hero go get them back in the big city. Other times, they try something different but it always fail. Here they tried doing "The Running Man" kinda story. It could had worked, but it got a bit too goofy for me at some points, and lets say that you don't really get into the story that much. Anyway mostly this movie is a big fighting sequence past the first half hour and this is what you can expect from a Thai movie, not more, not less. If one day Thais come out with a very good story, i will be the first to applause. Maybe i identify myself more to American MA movies, being a Caucasian, but i got hooked a lot into Chinese or Japanese movies as well cause they had excellent stories. Im sure Thais can come out with one , one day.

The beginning of the movie brings us a cast of people competing to see who is uglier. Not to believe the faces we see there. The meaning of this was hidden in what we would see later. A group of young people demonstrate their skill in martial arts under the promise of performing in Hollywood. Obviously there is a twist in the story that puts our protagonists in a game of life and death where they must demonstrate their ability. Several unsavory characters appear and we expect a disastrous outcome for all of them. Suddenly what was a nondescript beginning with unsympathetic characters turns insane. The most extraordinary action, the most extreme choreography, the most amazing athletes, everything appears in a myriad of adventures that leaves you open-mouthed. I have never seen anything like it in over thirty years watching martial arts movies. The final fight sequence is simply a delight that crowns a succession of surprises and delight. This movie is to see and to see again. Masterpiece.