Farang - Schatten der Unterwelt

Xavier Gens (Frontier(s), The Divide, Gangs of London) directs an action flick in the vein of Gareth Evans and Tim Tjahjant, and I can say that it's a pretty good sibling to The Raid and The Night Comes for Us, and although it doesn't reach their qualities, it's a superior work by European standards. The protagonist is an Arab model who has been released from prison, only to be immediately followed by the wrong people and left with no choice but to go as far away as possible – to Thailand. He wants to live peacefully, start a family and find a nice job, but soon he gets involved with Thai drug dealers and has to dust off his fists and kicks. The story is nothing groundbreaking, but nobody hopes for that either, what's important is that the main character is a likeable guy you can root for, the pacing is awesome, and there is an uncomfortable atmosphere in the air from the opening. The film grabbed me by the balls immediately and entertained me even during the non-action passages, which is pretty damn important. The action is good, the cinematography is fine, the fights are properly rough and uncompromising, properly R-rated (they use knives and machetes and I always have a soft spot for that). There's a sense of toughness and physicality, so I enjoyed it like old times. What is a bit of a minus is that there is no proper fighter among the villains to match the main character. All of them are more like pawns to be defeated than regular opponents, so we are deprived of a final fight with the main rival, as usual in similar movies, which is a bit of a pity. Apart from that, I don't see any significant issues, it's a fine flick that will please fans of brutal action. 8/10. (27.12.2023)