Striking Rescue, Starring Tony Jaa

Bai An is clearly making decisions on an emotional basis. He set out to kill the Chinese businessman he blames for the death of his wife and daughter, but made the impromptu decision to protect his nemesis’s daughter from a rival drug gang. Despite the well-heeled He Yinghao’s concern, little Ting is probably safer with the vengeful vigilante than his own compromised organization in Siyu Cheng’s Striking Rescue, which releases today on VOD.

An's wife was a whistle-blower in He’s company. Assassins managed to destroy her and her flash drive, but they left alive a very angry Muay Thai fighter. The Thai cops assume An is responsible for the carnage, but they are too incompetent to be a factor in this film. Instead, An started following the chain back to He. Yet, when he sees a small army employed by Clay, a particularly vicious drug lord, threatening Ting, he swopes into protect her.

That puts An in an awkward position. He’s driver-security director Wu Zheng wants to work together to protect Ting. Wu also denies any involvement in the murder of An’s family. The vengeance-seeker is not buying it, but at this point, he really isn’t thinking straight, due to his considerable blood loss.

Somehow, Guo Haiwen’s screenplay manages to be both simplistic and confusing, but it does not matter. Striking Rescue was clearly conceived as a showcase for Tony Jaa’s butt-kicking—and on that level it succeeds smashingly. This is the best star-vehicle Jaa has had in several years, so he makes the most of it.

Jaa does his thing about as well as he ever has (which is quite well indeed). Eason Hung brings an appealingly hardboiled steeliness as Wu, while Philip Keung actually contributes a real, legit dramatic performance as He, who, no matter his faults, remans a dedicated father. Plus, Peng Bo is pretty spectacular as Lu Ping, the deranged lady-assassin, who wields a pair of hatchets. Happily, there is a bounty of loathsome villains to hate, including Michael Mao Fan as the flamboyantly nasty Clay.

Given the mix of Thai and Chinese characters, many scenes play out in wince-inducing, syntax-challenged English—a language they all seem equally uncomfortable speaking. Yet, for some fans, this too will feel like a nostalgic throwback. Regardless, Jaa throws down with authority, He is the reason to watch, because of his chops, his choreography, and his physical intensity—all of which are definitely worth it. Highly recommended, Striking Rescue releases today (4/15) on VOD.