DVD Corner

Power Kids Blu-ray Review

“Power Kids” contains impressive action, but the film suffers from a weak story.

Grades:

Content: C+

Picture: B+

Sound: B+

Extras: B

The plot: After suffering from heart complications, a young boy named Wun winds up in a hospital. He’s in dire need of a heart transplant, but unfortunately, the hospital where his new heart is located has been overtaken by terrorists that are holding a US ambassador hostage. Now, Wun’s four friends/Muay Thai school students take it upon themselves to enter the building to retrieve his heart. Can the kids get the heart? Will the terrorists stop them or can they beat up the terrorists?

Don’t let the title or cover art fool you, this is not a kid’s film. Yes,’Power’ is about kids and contains kiddy elements, but it’s actually a violent film filled with gunfire and death. Basically, the film is a strange combination between “3 Ninjas,” “Die Hard,” and a sappy heart transplant drama movie. So, how is this bizarre film you ask? Unfortunately, it’s nothing to ride home about. The story and characters are severely underdeveloped and rushed here. Additionally, the first 45 minutes are slow and focus far too much on remote controlled toy cars when the script should have been focusing more on an actual story.

With that said, the movie is not a total loss. The Muay Thai action is flat-out incredible. The four child actors their own fights here and they deserve praise for it. Just watch their fight scenes with an angry drunken man and the terrorists and tell me you aren’t blown away by these actor’s skills. They certainly put “The Karate Kid” to shame.  

The 1.78:1 1080p picture quality is generally on the money, but it’s a little fuzzy in spots. The Blu-ray disc contains 5.1 DTS-HD English and Thai audio tracks. The English dub is atrocious and should be avoided at all costs. The original Thai track is crisper in every way and you don’t have to deal with groan-worthy American dub.

Extras:

* Trailers for “The Warlords,” ”District 13- Ultimatum,” “Red Cliff,” and HDNet ads.

* “Behind The Scenes Footage”- A 4 ½ minute collection of set footage mostly focusing on the elaborate fight scenes. The work the child actors did is truly impressive.
* “The Making Of Power Kids” includes an interview with the director talking about everything from the story to the actors, scenes from the movie, interviews with the cast, set footage, etc. The making of runs 8 minutes and 41 seconds.

June 13, 2010 - Posted by nicklyons1 | Blu-Ray review | Power Kids Blu-ray Review