Attended the first screening of Clash at the Tribeca film Festival. It was billed as the "international premiere". The place was packed, the director was in attendance and there was an expectation of seeing something special. By the end of the film things had turned less happy.

The plot of the film has a woman code named Phoenix assembling a team of men to help her steal a lap top from a group of French men. She has to complete several missions in order to win freedom for herself and her daughter who is being held hostage. But things don't go right from the start and only get more complicated as people die and traitors appear.

I've just over sold the film. Its nowhere near as exciting as I make that out to be. Actually there isn't much of anything until we get to the action sequences that punctuate the film. The action is very good, with a couple of nice small twists, but it is not at all ground breaking nor does it match the description in the film festival write up (and one has to wonder about any film where you have to draw attention to its box office take).

The trouble in the film comes in major three places.

First the film is terribly soapy. There are longing looks and measured breaths and any number of soap opera like touches that are used to heighten the dramatic parts. Frankly by the end of the film the audience was laughing at the over cooked nature of the longing looks. Its dull and boring and people around me were snoring.

Secondly the film insists it has style and attitude. It has an amped up soundtrack like many Hollywood films. It is often filmed in a style that apes the many better, and worse, Asian films floating around. Those films pull off the attitude by actually backing the material up with a grittiness lacking here. Yes, the action has what it takes, but the rest feels like dress up.

The last problem, and its a killer, the film makes no sense. Nothing or very little is explained. Things just happen. There is an exchange early on where our heroine insists that no one ask questions. She might as well have been talking to the audience as events transpire with out rhyme or reason. For example we get part of a talk about a raid on the French men's house and what plan to use and then suddenly they are in motion on a plan set up by a guy who never said anything. (Forgive me I want to give a second example of the nonsense of the plot but find that none of it makes any sense in the details) The action is worth seeing but wait for a point where you can borrow a copy from a friend.

Bay Rong or Clash is more than just a fast paced action movie with solid fighting scenes, rough shooting sequences and a few car and motorcycle chases even though these elements are very present in this worthwhile flick.

The movie also has a story line that seems to be quite thin at first sight but it gets more and more developed as time goes by. One even gets a few twists towards the end that keep the pace of the movie high until the end. With a little bit more than ninety minutes, the movie hits a nearly perfect running time for a flick like this.

The good effects caused by the well elaborated story is also due to some major character development. While some characters seem superficial at first sight, they get more and more important as the story goes on. Especially the main characters played by a charismatic and cool Johnny Tri Nguyen and a tough and powerful woman with a breakable side portrayed by the amazing Thanh Van Ngo really impress and are well chosen for their roles. They also develop a convincing partnership and later on love story that develops logically and without too many stereotypes throughout the movie. Only the villains are less convincing as their side of the story is not very well explained and the movie wastes some potential on here as the main villain is intriguingly portrayed.

The movie is overall very well done and should please to fans of action movies of all kinds and maniacs of Asian cinema in general, too. On the other side, the movie somewhat lacks of impressive moments. There are some well done emotionally charged parts, the action choreography is professional enough to convince and the story also has its highlights but nothing truly stands out or will make you keep this movie in mind for a long time. It's a flick that I would definitely watch again with my friends as it's profound enough to grip your interest but also entertaining enough to be watched during a party without paying that much attention. That's why this movie is just situated between a seven and an eight point rating for me but as it lacks a little bit of identity, I ultimately chose the lower rating.

I watched it during my childhood. I want to watch it another time. But I don't know where to watch. Anyone please help