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In The Bodyguard,
the premise is simple. The man in the title, Wongkom (Petchtai Wongkamlao, right, who also co-directs
this movie), does his best to protect his boss, Chot Petchpantakarn (Surachai Juntimatorn), is
murdered while shielded by Wongkom following the signing of important documents.
But after Chot gets shot, the billing stated that Wongkom was fired by the family, but all I saw was
that his mother thought he'd done his best and that Chot's son, Chaichol (Pipat Apiraktanakorn),
or Chai for short, just scowled at him. Still, it's not long before his help is needed again as Chai
goes on the run from the baddies who want him dead too and, in an improbable circumstance which I'll
leave for you to discover, Chai gets taken in by a family who likes to argue a lot (which one doesn't?)
and who lives in the slums, with Chai falling for their tomboy daughter, Pok (Pumwaree Yodkamol).
The billing also stated that this film "never lets up on the action", but it couldn't be further
from the truth as there's huge passages where little apparent to the plot seems to happen. When it
delivers, it does deliver such as the first scene that leads from an opening hotel shootout to an
airborne 4-way BMW collision/explosion.
Ultimately, though, it can't really decide whether it's an actioner or a comedy and just gets totally
mad at times. There are some great, unexpected bits of humour, one even in a funeral speech and a
later one in a lift where one of a the baddies is dressed like a WWE wrestler (for starters) - a scene
that goes on a little too long than you'd normally expect but which sits well amongst the rest of the
movie, and some of the strange things said by Pok's gambling addict mother, who exclaims to the
transvestite who lives with them, "Lilly, you sleep like a transvestite being raped."
The chance to spoof other films rears its head, such as John Woo effct when lots of doves are flapping
about in the supermarket hostage scene, and Tony Jaa also appears later on in that scene, with a
nice reference to Ong-bak, even though it's a film I've yet to see (Google was my friend on
discovering that one :)
There are a couple of odd edits, such as in the opening shootout when Wongkom blasts the first baddie
after he gets a shotgun. You don't get to see the impact, but you see the shot and then the guy flying away
after being hit. Later on, Chai is shown going to get some groceries for the family he's currently staying
with: he's given a list, Pok stares off-camera, then we see Lilly's attention aroused by someone having their
hand slapped and looks in surprise, then back to the first shot and Pok looks surprised too as Chai comes
back into shot when he hadn't left. Who was slapped? And who did the slapping? Weird!
At first, I expected this film to be shot in 2.35:1, like the majority of Asian action flicks, but it's
in 1.85:1 (and anamorphic). Then I wondered if it was cropped to 1.85:1 from 2.35:1, but the way it's filmed doesn't suggest
this as it looks fairly comfortable most of the time although some frames to look a little cramped at times,
and the days of such films being cropped to 16:9, like some bonehead in charge - i.e. Brian White, Head DVD
producer at Medusa in 2000, thought was necessary for Jackie Chan films a few years ago, are hopefully
long behind us, such as the alleged "Special Collector's Edition" of
Snake in the Eagle's Shadow.
Aside from that, the picture isn't the best it could've been by a fairly long shot as it's a bit washed
out, but it is passable for the kind of film it is. Better, though, is the sound. Available in both DD5.1
and DTS 5.1, and it was the latter I put on, the effort has really been put in there and it certainly
does the job with great split-surround effects.
Extras are scant. Just a 13-minute 'making of' with film clips mixed in with general chat from the main
cast members about how their roles were carried out and trailers for Ong-Bak, Born To Fight and
The Bodyguard.
The menus are animated with repeated bits of sound, the main one featuring a snatch of the theme tune,
there are English subtitles for the movie which are, strangely, burnt into the print, and a woefully-poor
chaptering - just 12 for the 95-minute movie - and chapters 7-12 from the menu haven't been linked so they
just take you straight back to the start of the film. Obviously the quality control dept took a day off
when this disc was in production.
One more thing of annoyance? The blood anti-piracy trailer at the start. It can't be skipped, and anyone
who's bought this from a shop isn't helping the world of piracy. And even if they bought it from a dodgy
market stall then that is NOT funding organised crime whatever the authorities will try to have you believe.
Duh!
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Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
In The Bodyguard,
the premise is simple. The man in the title, Wongkom (Petchtai Wongkamlao, right, who also co-directs
this movie), does his best to protect his boss, Chot Petchpantakarn (Surachai Juntimatorn), is
murdered while shielded by Wongkom following the signing of important documents.
At first, I expected this film to be shot in 2.35:1, like the majority of Asian action flicks, but it's
in 1.85:1 (and anamorphic). Then I wondered if it was cropped to 1.85:1 from 2.35:1, but the way it's filmed doesn't suggest
this as it looks fairly comfortable most of the time although some frames to look a little cramped at times,
and the days of such films being cropped to 16:9, like some bonehead in charge - i.e. Brian White, Head DVD
producer at Medusa in 2000, thought was necessary for Jackie Chan films a few years ago, are hopefully
long behind us, such as the alleged "Special Collector's Edition" of
