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Mercury Man (2006) Review

May 1st 2010 16:33
Merciry man, Spiderman, poster
The Original Thai poster oozes cool
Yes, I know. I review a lot of Thai films, but as Americans we're a bit spoiled when it comes to movies. Hollywood puts out the best movies in the world, and we expect our movies to have big stars and special effects galore, In countries like Thailand where the economic and political climate makes it difficult to make movies, the moves that are made have more passion and hard work behind them. Now this isn't to say that they're all good, cultural differences make some Thai movies nearly unwatchable but there are plenty of wonderful, hidden gens to be found in Thai cinema. Today we learn about another that many have overlooked. Bhandit Thongdee's superhero epic: Mercury man.

When Spiderman was released in Thailand, it was one of the most popular American films ever released in the country. Being a very patriotic people, watching a foreign with anything but disdain was unique to Thailand. The answer? Thailand needed a superhero, an original hero that exemplified the Thai people's love of their country. Enter Mercury man, who started life as Chan a noble firefighter who has a tendency to be a touch over-heroic. He's stabbed with a magical amulet while trying to fight a fire, and his blood becomes metal giving him the ability to control metal (Sorta like Magneto if he was a good guy) as well as makes him immune to bullets and blunt impacts. He strikes back against rapists, drunk drivers, gang bangers and rampaging elephants. The true bad guy of the film is the Muslim terrorist cell led by the evil Usama Ali who plans to use parts of a second amulet (the same type that gave Mercury man his powers) to blow up targets around Bangkok and destroy an American carrier.

Thai action legend Panna Rittikrai provides the fight choreography and it's obvious with the fluid, and fun to watch action scenes. One scene the bad guys determine how to beat Mercury man, discovering that a large jolt of electricity can temporarily rob him of his superpowers. No problem for a Thai superhero, as he still has his impressive martial arts skills to pound the bad guys into submission which he does even after he's set ablaze by fire breathing thugs. The final battle between Mercury man and the super powered villain Arena is a great supernatural contest that is worth the price of admission by itself.
This movie met with almost universally bad reviews in it's native Thailand
Mercury Man
One of the many hidden shout outs in the film
and in India, many scolding Thailand for trying tom mimic American cinema instead of doing what they do best. Even the few American outlets that reviewed it didn't much like it, Geek Magazine said it was fun to watch but suffered from bad special effects and poor acting. This is sadly true, the special effects and acting are lacking. I found the movie fun in a cornball way, there were numerous shout outs to Spiderman, grafitti read “Hi! Spidy! (sic)” and “Spidy How RU?” kids wear Spiderman t-shirts and at one point Chan's fire chief tells him “With great fires come great responsibility”. Just the sheer cornball factor makes me enjoy this film more, but to the average movie goer it would be a bit of a disappointment overall. It seems Thailand's not ready to have their own superhero, aside from Tony Jaa of course.
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Posted By: Joshua the Samurai - Category: M
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