Striking Rescue (2024) Review

“Striking Rescue” Theatrical Poster

Director: Siyu Cheng
Cast: Tony Jaa, Xing Yu, Kaho Hung, Philip Keung, Peng Bo, Yu Bolin, Wang Chenxin, Chen Duo Yi
Running Time: 110 min. 

By Paul Bramhall

Action cinema is always evolving, and whenever it’s discussed Hong Kong’s golden era deservedly casts a long shadow. For a long time fans have lamented the gradual decline of the territories output, an inevitability that’s down to a number of disparate reasons, but in recent years the Chinese DTV flick has gradually begun to scratch the itch many of us have. Sure, they’re never going to replace the Police Story’s and Fist of Legend’s, but when it comes to the many lower budgeted triad potboilers infused with that distinctive 1980’s kickboxing style, directors like Qin Pengfei are showing that the old HK style can still be recaptured for a modern audience.

While the Chinese DTV flick has been lucky enough to avoid requiring the jingoistic flag waving tone that comes as a prerequisite for mainstream productions, there are still some Mainland censorship laws that apply to everyone. One is that the Chinese authorities and businesses must never be portrayed as even showing a hint of corruption, with morally upstanding behaviour all round being the order of the day, which doesn’t exactly make for compelling cinema (check out any of the ‘insert random letter here’ Storm franchise as examples). To get around this, most Chinese DTV flicks set themselves in a made-up country in Southeast Asia where everyone speaks Chinese, frequently filming in Thailand to double as the fictional country in question. That way, corrupt cops and government officials are all fair game.

In the latest genre entry, Striking Distance, it’s Jiati city in the Palivina Republic (I’d love to know how they come up with these names). Helmed by DTV regular Siyu Cheng (Desperado, The Grandmaster of Kung Fu), the ace up the director’s sleeve for his latest is the return of Tony Jaa to a headlining role. Or more specifically, a return that acts as if the Thai stars last movie was 2005’s Tom Yum Goong. It’s a legitimate reason to be excited, with the impact Jaa made upon the release of Ong Bak in 2003 a landmark moment in martial arts cinema, successfully transferring the brutal elbows and knees of Muay Thai into a screen fighting aesthetic that felt new and fresh. Many pondered during the 2000’s how Jaa’s talents would be utilised in a Hong Kong movie, and after a bitter contract dispute in his native Thailand with distributor Sahamongkol in the early 2010’s, he’d spend the latter part of the decade answering that exact question.

However his appearances in the likes of SPL II: A Time for Consequences, Paradox, and Master Z: The Ip Man Legacy never quite captured the ferocious intensity of his early breakthroughs, and 8 years on from his minor role in Max Zhang’s Ip Man spin-off, director Cheng seems to be going for a reset. Instead of offering up Tony Jaa choreographed in the Hong Kong style, which is what we all mistakenly though we wanted, it essentially transposes the skull cracking, bone breaking, constantly raging Tony Jaa from the likes of Ong Bak and Tom Yum Goong, and places him in a Chinese DTV flick. With so many similar productions also choosing to film in Thailand, it’s a wonder nobody thought of bringing him back into the fold earlier.

In Striking Distance he plays a former “professional security specialist” whose wife and child were gunned down in an apparently sanctioned hit, although for what reason he doesn’t know. Swearing revenge, all paths lead to the rich Chinese head of a logistics company, played by HK cinema regular Philip Keung (I Did It My Way, Bursting Point), who appears to be using the company as a front to smuggle drugs. Of course, it’s quickly revealed that it could be some of the companies “local staff” that are doing the smuggling behind his back (phew, that was a close call!). However when the real drug kingpin begins to pressure him to start knowingly smuggling, Keung’s reluctance results in the gang kidnapping his daughter, only for Jaa to reluctantly rescue her. Played by Chen Duo Yi (Unity of Heroes, Demon Hunter), the pair form an unlikely partnership, as Jaa realises she could help him to get to the bottom of why his family were murdered.

The plot is perfectly functional, serving up a classic tale of a bereaved father and husband out for revenge, however Cheng is smart enough to know the reason Striking Revenge has an audience is to see Tony Jaa busting heads like it’s 2005. Now in his late 40’s, Jaa may no longer be able to run across people’s heads or jump through barbed wire hoops, but while the acrobatics may have gone, the power is still there. I’ve always felt one of the most underrated elements of Jaa as a performer is his ability to really sell hits with power and a tangible sense of rage, and here he proves he’s still got it. The action is choreographed by DTV regulars the Guo Yulong action team (who himself has directed the likes of Ghost Fist and Chinatown War), with the action director credits attributed to Li Zun (part of the action team on Kung Fu Jungle) and Zhang Qiang (part of the action team on Tai Chi Hero).

Essentially serving up a ‘Best of Tony Jaa’ collection, all the greatest hits are present, as are the gimmicks that used to accompany them. Which means yes, we even get a couple of double take shots. It’s as gratuitous now as it was back then, but sometimes gratuitous fits the bill. The action in Striking Rescue leans heavily into impact shots, with people having their heads punched (or more likely elbowed) into metal storage units or smashed through wooden cabinetry, and bodies frequently flying through the air onto the ground in some painful looking falls. It may not offer up much complexity in terms of the choreography, but when you have people getting their face kicked through a car window or limbs being decapitated with choppers, it more than makes up for it.

Even some of the more derivative choices are enjoyable, with newcomer Wang Chenxin playing a variation of Hammer Girl from The Raid 2, only with a pair of axes (and also a lot louder). The best decision though is to bring onboard Xing Yu (The Wrath of Vajra, Flash Point) as the villain for Jaa to face off against. While Jaa and Yu featured in Master Z: The Ip Man Legacy together, they never got to share the screen let alone face off, so to see them go at it here feels like a rare treat that many likely never thought we’d witness. By nature of these productions quick turnaround we’re never going to see a 10 minute one on one fight epic, however their face off is suitably brutal and entertaining, with both getting to show off their stuff. I daresay I preferred Xing Yu’s character here than I did Philip Ng’s in Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In, as they both share similar traits.

Admittedly with a 110-minute runtime Striking Rescue is certainly ambitious, and it could have benefitted from a little trimming. The world of Chinese DTV flicks is a more digestible one in 80 to 90 minute offerings, however just short of 2 hours gives you enough time to start questioning things like, why does Tony Jaa needs to speak in English to everyone, but when they answer in Mandarin he understands perfectly? It’s worth mentioning that for the most parts he clocks in a suitably affecting English language performance, even if sometimes the subtitles don’t do him any favours (on a couple of occasions he says, “we’re done”, which the subtitle translates as “we’re down” both times). Others don’t fare quite so well when it comes to the English language line delivery, with an outburst from the headmaster of the school Duo Yi attends being an unintentionally hilarious highlight.

These feel like minor quibbles though in what’s overall an entertainingly straightforward throwback to the kind of hard-hitting Thai action that we all found ourselves so captivated by 20 years ago. At one-point Jaa instructs Duo Yi to jump from the first floor to the ground below, to which she replies, “I cannot. I’m not Tony Jaa!” It may be a face palm attempt at humor, but its also reflective of the impact he left on audiences, an impact that Striking Rescue offers a more than welcome reminder of.

Paul Bramhall’s Rating: 7/10