Review for Sons Of The Wind: Bangkok Ninjas

Introduction

Just how old is parkour anyway? I thought that people had only been (free) running around rooftops like idiots for a couple of years at the most. It turns out that Sons of the Wind: Bangkok Ninjas was made back in 2004, and it was obviously an established pastime already at that point. Yes Sons of the Wind is one of those parkour movies that come around from time to time, that somehow shoehorn a story into an ever-increasing multitude of wild and improbable stunts. To date, I had avoided such nonsense, aside from little excursions in movies like Die Hard 4.0, where parkour made for an action garnish, rather than being the whole point. It's not that I don't see the point of a movie built around action; I do watch kung fu flicks after all. It's just that parkour brings out the reactionary in me; a part of me I had hoped didn't exist. I just see an adolescent in a hood running around like an idiot, hopping fences, clambering over rooftops, climbing walls, I expect to see a chubby, wheezing, sweating security guard forlornly staggering after him. But I couldn't avoid such films forever, and with Manga Entertainment's new Live Action label comes Sons of the Wind: Bangkok Ninjas, originally called Les fils du vent, although it apparently has a different title in every territory.


A ballgame across the London skyline may not seem like much, but for the winners it's the start of something new, relocating to Bangkok for some extreme dojo-like training, but more importantly bringing parkour to the disaffected children of the city, offering them something more. But the group of friends fall right into the middle of something a whole lot less, a turf war between the Chinese triads and the Japanese Yakuza. The leader of the triad, Wong has a whole lot of hassle with the Yakuza Kitano, not least because Kitano's his son in law. But that much mistrust rubs Kitano the wrong way, and he dreams of supplanting Wong. He hires a street gang to do his dirty work, first by stealing a precious triad artefact from Wong's office. Kien and Tsu are the brother and sister leaders of the street gang, and they don't see eye to eye. Kien will do what it takes to get ahead in a city that shuns them for their mixed race heritage, while Tsu tries to dissuade her brother from a life of crime. Kien already doesn't like the free-runners 'practicing' on his turf, but when Tsu, while fleeing from Yakuza thugs, runs into Logan, one of the free-runners, that's the start of a whole lot of trouble for all concerned.

The Disc

Sons of the Wind gets a 1.85:1 anamorphic transfer, and given that it is a French film, it's a proper PAL transfer too. The image is clear and sharp throughout, detail levels are strong, and there's obviously no sign of age on such a recent film. It's a vanilla disc as well, so there's no bother with compression artefacts and the like. The action comes across brilliantly, and the film's frenetic pace and razor editing manage to accelerate the tempo and emphasise the energy, without losing any clarity or the narrative flow of the action. Some of the CGI enhancement is a little ropy though, and a couple of times the wires supporting the high rise stunts aren't erased completely.


The audio is available in DD 5.1 and DD 2.0 French, with optional English subtitles. The dialogue is clear throughout, and the action gets the appropriate level of surround coverage. The music also supports the action well, although it's hardly memorable. It's a multi-national cast, so dialogue sync isn't exactly a priority. It's also a little odd hearing Burt Kwouk speaking perfect French in someone else's voice.

The disc gets animated menus, and the only extra is the theatrical trailer.

Conclusion

Well, that was dumb, but dumb in a good way. It's been ages since I've seen an honest to God, 'Silly Grin' movie, I certainly wasn't expecting it from a parkour meets Muay Thai extravaganza, and indeed the first half hour of Sons of the Wind was gradually sending me towards the land of Nod, as it slowly developed its characters. But gradually the tension built, the action intensified and the stunts became increasingly ridiculous and out there, until by the last half hour of the movie, I'm sitting closer and closer to the edge of my seat, with that aforementioned silly grin plastered across my face.


The plot is needlessly convoluted and contrived for what is basically a kick arse movie, and as a result the cast is a little bloated for a comparatively short run time. There are six or seven free-running heroes, I can't recall exactly how many, but all of them have some time for character development and back-story. It obviously isn't successful if I can't recall too much of it. You also have the Yakuza and Triad conflict and the characters therein, and again, beyond Wong and Kitano, not a lot else registers. The most success in developing characters and back-story goes to Kien and Tsu, the street gang siblings who get caught in the middle of the mess along with the free runners. And it's no surprise that as actors, they give the strongest performances in the film, torn between two sides, and slowly having their blood relationship sundered by their differences as well.


As for the free runners, well they are rooftop acrobats first and foremost, and acting comes a distant second, but all credit is due, they certainly don't let the film down. The weak point is Santi Sudaros who plays the Yakuza Kitano, who lacks the steel and ruthlessness that the character requires, and is instead a little wavering and wimpy.


But let's face it, you aren't going to watch this film for the acting, and you probably won't care too much for the complexities of the plot. You are here for the action, and this is most certainly a film where it's best to switch the brain into idle and just go with the flow. That flow may take a while to get going, even after the adrenaline jumpstart of a rooftop ballgame and a kung fu fuelled heist. But once the action does start up again, you'll be left with your jaw hanging open at some breathtaking and death defying stunts, and some fast paced and imaginatively choreographed fight sequences, recalling Hong Kong action movies during their eighties heyday. It's a shame that Manga aren't releasing this on Blu-ray, but the DVD gives a quality transfer on a barebones disc. Put it at the head of the list if you want mindless action.