Jailbreak

I wasn't that impressed by this anticipated Cambodian prison carnage. The comparison with The Raid is completely out of place. Cambodia has a lot to catch up not only with the art, but also with the acting, editing, cinematography and the action itself. At times it comes across as a bit cheesy, but given the country the film comes from I can't be too surprised, though there's definitely a big effort to be seen. The action is varied and pleasingly unedited and the camera has a decent shot at times, the choreography is not bad, mixing in various martial arts elements and the performers themselves are no doubt mastering something, but sadly the fights lack verve, punch and proper sound design. The ending is usually very fast, the lack of broken limbs and the minimum of brutality (they cut each other with machetes and no blood spurts, that’s weird). The only impressive fight is a katana duel of a woman with a black man, but it ends before we get into the fight, which I rather regretted. As a martial arts fan, I'm definitely glad for this entry, but I couldn't enjoy the fights as much as I have in other similar films. Still, the film is worth watching. I have higher hopes for Hanuman. 65% (16/02/2018)