Bang Rajan 2000

Robert K. Elder, Chicago Tribune: The dramatic ploy is so disjointing, it's not often clear if Jitnukul's narrative is in the past or present. Read more

Jeff Shannon, Seattle Times: It's a humid, rough-edged epic that occasionally finds startling beauty amid devastating carnage. Read more

G. Allen Johnson, San Francisco Chronicle: Jitnukul can direct action, and every slice of the blade, thwack of the arrow and the glistening of sweat on near-naked bodies makes Bang Rajan a mostly pleasurable diversion. Read more

Eleanor Ringel Gillespie, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: The noncombative scenes can be melodramatic and broadly acted, but that doesn't rob the movie of a certain inherent power. Read more

Janice Page, Boston Globe: Yes, Bang Rajan introduces Westerners to a slice of history worth noting, but its stirring lesson is told in a way that's too long, too brutal, and too clunky to recommend enthusiastically. Read more

Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times: Not for a second does Jitnukul lose control of his complex and captivating epic, dynamically photographed by Vichien Ruangvichayakul and scored with a bold eclectic flair by composer Chatchai Pongprapaphan. Read more

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader: The battle scenes are bloody, visceral, and expertly edited. Read more

Ella Taylor, L.A. Weekly: It's not easy to spend the better part of two hours with your heart parked in your mouth, but this roaring battle epic is worth the risk of your palpitations. Read more

Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: While co-writer/director Tanit Jitnukul's vision is unapologetically graphic and slightly marred by an artistic awkwardness, this is a rare and worthwhile glimpse into another nation's historical legend. Read more

Dave Kehr, New York Times: Plucked from its cultural context, Bang Rajan is being offered to American audiences as another example of Asian extreme action movies, and gore hounds will find it gratifyingly full of spurting blood and flying limbs. Read more

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Read more

Time Out: Read more

Michael Atkinson, Village Voice: Emerges from the dank, Hollywoodized Asian jungle to be easily the equal of Braveheart, Troy, and King Arthur, but with a rough-hewn recklessness that carries the sulfurated scent of physical danger. Read more

Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post: It becomes, after a while, little more than a mind-numbing bloodbath. Read more

Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: Even without deep knowledge of Thai politics and history, fans of war pictures will be impressed by Jitnukul's achievement in creating a detailed and graphic, if overheated, account of this ultimate underdog story. Read more