4 Tigers enjoyed its North American Premiere at the 25th edition of the New York Asian Film Festival.
Director Kongkiat Khomesiri’s Khun Pan trilogy remains a franchise out of commercial reach. The third installment of that bunch is the only film even remotely available in the states if you have HBO Max or a platform amiable to the subscription services, and this is just for those of you who have access and aren’t picky. I, personally, would love to actually get to know the franchise though, particularly seeing as the latest installment is a preamble to the latest spinoff which had its Thai release last year and has since taken the stage at the twenty-fifth New York Asian Film Festival.
For this, I speak of Khomesiri’s 4 Tigers, set in the same universe against the backdrop of World War II where criminal justice meets magic and mystery on either side of the law. The Central Plains is in upheaval over war and stolen gold and ruthless Field Marshall Lert (Phollawat Manuprasert) – hellbent on ridding the region of supernaturally imbued “bandits” over missing gold – is one deal away to making himself virtually untouchable, unless a daring assassination attempt by Rosarin (Linn Mashannoad Suvanamas), a beautiful spy moonlighting as a moviestar, goes accordingly. The plot thickens, however, when Rosarin is forced to act on her feet and use her feminine wiles to draw three uniquely-gifted bandits together: Mahesuan (Mario Maurer), Bai (Pae Arak Amornsupasiri), and Dum (Tono Phakin Khamwilaisak) to aid her on her quest, while a fourth named Fai (Weir Sukollawat Kanarot), much like the other three, has his own ideas.
There isn’t much else here I can go into without spoiling some details, but I was especially fond of how the characters were written for the most part, as well as their abilities, and how the story builds up from its origins into its concurrent timeline. Additionally, Khomesiri sets an aesthetic respective of John Sturges’ work in featuring a team of would-be heroes that makes 4 Tigers feel more like a fun Western than anything, combined with supernatural tropes and powers that lend each protagonist an advantage that sets them apart from each other; the writing counts even more when it’s time to set them against an even stronger villain, played by “Top” Todsapol Maisuk.
I found it interesting that this film has a lot more comedy than I expected at times, with plenty of character-revealing moments that bode as tongue-in-cheek if not just silly. Still, even if you don’t know what to make of it as the film progresses, it doesn’t interfere much with the film’s pacing and cadence. Maurer, Amornsupasiri, and Khamwilaisak claim a good deal of the exposition and development together in their screentime next to co-star Suvanamas who eats up the screen as half seductress/half entirely something else pertinent to the plot. Her character, Rosarin, also shares an interesting backstory with Fai who, aside from being a government assassin, also runs an orphanage that also gets roped into the calamity. The addition of Born To Fight actress Nui Kessarin Ektawatkul as Rosarin’s peripheral screen rival, Linda, adds a little something poignant to her arc that comes full circle by the end.
Tantamount to the spectacle are rounds of action sequences that keep things bolstering and fun, with choreography by Weerapon Phumatfon who previously coordinated hits like Jeeja Yanin starrers Chocolate, Raging Phoenix and The Kick. Save for the action featuring Rosarin and Linda’s scenes, Phumatfon’s design leans heavily on a marriage between bullet ballet, stunts and visual spectacle between Mahesuan’s amulet, Bai’s bullet which works like something out of a Marvel flick, Dum’s enchanted fist and feet which increase his impact with each blow, and Fai’s ability to unleash a fierce shockwave. Again, there’s a level of invincibility here that assuredly gets tested in the latter half of the film that raises the stakes some, coupled with sequences that don’t hold too much back on the gory and bloody, although a lot of it is quickly and carefully presented while delivering the desired effect.
4 Tigers is an exorbitant thrillride for most of the way, and serves as an amiable film, if not a worthwhile spin-off of Khomesiri’s previous work. My only wish from this point on is that we could get to see said previous work, but if you’re up to it, don’t let the lack of accessibility to the Khun Pan trilogy deter you from enjoying 4 Tigers if you come across it.
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