Kla and his friends are drug-running stunt drivers—and they are the good guys. Unfortunately, two of their fellow drivers were fatally double-crossed by the other gang they thought they were doing business with. It turns out, Kla’s sister Fun will be the featured fighter in the MMA championship sponsored by their new nemesis. Family is a big deal in movies like this, isn’t it? There is also a lot of fast driving in Sor Sangchai’s X-Treme Riders, which releases today on VOD.
In addition to their exhibitions, the X-Treme Riders also double as the special “cabbage” truck racers, until two colorful hench-people with grenade launchers ambush their latest run, killing Bank. Their boss Krit tells them to lay low, while he quickly tracks the killers back to Jo, the big city kingpin, who is also promoting Fun’s fight. Of course, Jo is pressuring her to throw the fight, because he knows she needs money for her mother’s heart-surgery.
Poor Kla has not spoken to his ailing mother in years because she blames him for his father’s accidental death—not completely without cause. Still, Kla’s teammates and their DJ, Pat, who is also his girlfriend, are a lot like his “family.” You know how that goes. Regardless, Kla and his cronies will be driving hard, while Fun fights her heart out, or not.
It is conspicuously obvious X-Treme Riders was conceived as a Thai Fast and Furious. However, it deserves credit for its willingness to go darker. Just for starters, the X-Treme Riders are flat-out drug-runners. There is also a surprisingly high mortality rate among the major cast of characters.
Regardless, Wawaa Nichari Chokprajakchat makes viewers root for the underdog Fun. She clearly trained hard for the part and she also shows off the strongest dramatic chops. In comparison, a lot of the X-Treme team, including Jirayu La-ongmanee (playing Kla), look and act more like boy band idols than action stars.
Of course, the film is really all about fast cars, motorcycles, Muay Thai, guns, and drugs. S. Sangchai delivers one amped-up stunt sequence after another. The results might be shallow, but they are slickly entertaining. It works for what it is. Recommended for fans of car chases and MMA, X-Treme Riders releases today (1/14) on VOD.