Broken Sword Hero Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		2.5

Broken Sword Hero Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman October 27, 2017

Maybe some of the Thai credits in Broken Sword Hero state something along the lines of the regularly seen “no animals were harmed in the making of this film”, but even so, there’s a remarkable “fight” scene in this film that echoes (in a dramatic fashion) one of the killer sight gags in Mel Brooks’ classic Blazing Saddles. Fans of the Brooks film may recall the hilarious moment when Mongo (Alex Karras) takes matters into his own hands (literally) when he’s accosted for supposedly parking illegally, slugging his accuser’s horse smack dab in the kisser (one assumes this animal was not harmed in the making of the film). There’s something at least a little similar in one of the many fight scenes in Broken Sword Hero, a Thai film ostensibly documenting the true life story of Phraya Pichai, an iconic figure in Thai history whose exploits earned him a number of nicknames, including Thong Dee (sometimes transliterated as Thong Di) and Thong Dee Fun Khao (apparently the film’s original title, at least for the Thai market), an appellation which evidently alludes to the fact that his teeth were white, an unusual aspect for historical Thai people who tended to chew betel nuts, which turned their teeth dark (some of the teeth on display in this film will probably give dentists heart palpitations). Thong Dee also became known as the Broken Sword Hero. Adding into the nomenclature fatigue is the fact that Thong Dee (played by Buakaw Banchamek as an adult) is known as Joi as a little boy. While the glut of names may be initially at least a little confusing, Broken Sword Hero doesn’t really need a ton of explanation, as it charts a fairly rote and straightforward path documenting the travails of a hero who seems to have a number of obstacles firmly planted in his way, but who of course overcomes them to triumph. The film never really exploits its supposed historical milieu, however, and those wanting a history in Thai politics and perhaps more saliently in Muay Thai fighting styles will probably find this effort lacking, despite some variously effective fight sequences.

Thong Dee’s insouciant personality is displayed in the very first moments of the film, as he runs (in slow motion, no less) from a horde of horse riding soldiers. That sequence quickly segues to the first flashback documenting Thong Dee as a little boy (going by the name Joi), where he’s unfortunately become the focus of bullying efforts by Cherd, the son of the local provincial governor. Thong Dee has an interest in self defense, and wants to study Muay Thai, but his father is against it, resulting in some secret “studying” on the part of the boy.

Thong Dee does in fact start to effectively fight back, something that of course only further enrages Cherd (played by Nantawut Boonrubsub as an adult), in a case of “lifelong enemies” instead of “lifelong friends”. Thong Dee’s unorthodox route toward Muay Thai mastery ultimately involves him getting a lesson in humility from a teacher in what almost plays like a Thai version of scenes from The Karate Kid. Thong Dee’s “quest” might seem to offer bounteous opportunities for an interesting dissection of Thai history, but Broken Sword Hero is almost willfully generic at times, often seeming totally divorced from its very subject and seemingly intent on just getting to the next fight scene. Even the fight scenes are often framed within the context of various martial arts academies, rather than what should be the main focus, namely Thong Dee’s “warrior” status that helped to push back Burmese insurgents and helped to create the modern nation of Thailand.

A supposed love interest and some comedy relief are also injected into the story at almost random intervals, and the film’s “narrative” seems genuinely disjointed at times, something that may only add to a general befuddlement on the part of Western audience members who may not be up to speed with the actual history (not that the actual history really plays much of a part in the film’s storyline). Buakaw Banchamek is a remarkable physical presence (he’s evidently a multiple national champion in Muay Thai in his native country), and he even manages to emote a time or two throughout the film, but unfortunately there’s not much “there” there supporting his athleticism. Broken Sword Hero sparks fitfully to life in at least a few of the set pieces, but it tends to slog in the interstitial material, something that makes the energy generated by the action elements perhaps seem overly insistent at times.

Broken Sword Hero Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Broken Sword Hero is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Well Go USA with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. Technical data on this film is well nigh impossible to come by online, but this has the sleek, smooth and slightly flat look of digital capture. While clarity and sharpness levels are generally excellent, this is kind of an interesting looking presentation from both a palette and contrast standpoint. A lot of this film is almost bathed in brown tones, to the point that several sequences almost resemble old "sepia toned" films from the veritable days of yore. That approach, combined with sometimes slightly anemic contrast, can lead to an even smoother appearance that can tend to slightly mitigate fine detail levels at times. The overall brownish skew to the palette keeps things from ever popping in a really vivid fashion, even when the story ventures outside, which it does frequently. The film's pale, slightly blanched, look can be seen in many of the screenshots accompanying this review, so those expecting a "knock your socks off" visual presentation may end up being a little underwhelmed by this transfer. The only compression anomalies of any note are some slight instances of banding that occur when light suddenly shifts in intensity.

Broken Sword Hero Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Broken Sword Hero features a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix in the original Thai which intermittently springs to rather boisterous life during the action set pieces, but which tends to only provide sporadic surround activity (often limited to discrete placement of ambient environmental effects) in the many drawn out "talky bits". The sound mix tends to be a roller coaster of sorts, featuring a glut of "whacks" and "thuds" during some of the skirmishes, and then settling down into relative inactivity for rather long stretches. Fidelity is fine throughout, however, offering clear renderings of all elements.

Broken Sword Hero Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer (1080p; 1:56)

Note: As tends to be the case with Well Go USA releases, the disc has been authored so that Previews for other Well Go USA releases automatically follow the trailer for this film. These same previews play at disc boot up as well, and can be chapter skipped through.

Broken Sword Hero Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

As I read up on Phraya Phichai after having watched Broken Sword Hero, I kept asking myself, "Why didn't they include that in this film?" Phichai's life is fascinating (as, frankly, is his death), but Broken Sword Hero doesn't really seem to treat Thong Dee as anything other than a "type", and as such the film seems divorced from what would ostensibly be one of its strongest elements, namely the actual history of the character. The fight scenes are generally well staged (if with a bit of hokey additions like slow motion), and Buakaw Banchamek is certainly athletic and forceful in those scenes. Unfortunately the actual "story" bits are far less effective and tend to finally weigh this effort down. Technical merits are generally strong for those considering a purchase.