{"id":25589,"date":"2017-07-06T11:34:23","date_gmt":"2017-07-06T15:34:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/?p=25589"},"modified":"2017-07-06T15:37:32","modified_gmt":"2017-07-06T19:37:32","slug":"mercury-man-ma-noot-lhek-lai-2006","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/2017\/07\/06\/mercury-man-ma-noot-lhek-lai-2006\/","title":{"rendered":"Mercury Man (Ma noot lhek lai) (2006)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Your enjoyment of \u201cMercury Man\u201d may be dependent on your enjoyment and tolerance of superhero movies as a whole. Thailand\u2019s attempts to deliver a big screen marquee superhero for movie lovers is a mixed bag that I managed to enjoy overall–if only for its effort and intentions on aspiring to be as great as popular heroes like Spider-Man. There\u2019s reason why it\u2019s not considered a classic by mostly everyone, but I liked that it shook up superhero tropes here and there. \u201cMercury Man\u201d is the story of courageous but irresponsible firefighter named Chan. He has no idea how to get his life together, and always attempts to play the hero. After a failed prison break results in a fire, Chan tags along with his unit, and is caught in the crossfire of international criminals who stab him with an ancient relic.<\/p>\n

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Leaving him to die, Chan is imbued with magical powers and after learns of his new powers from the relic, which is now embedded in his blood, he goes after a crime syndicate, led by Afghani terrorist Osama Bin Ali. As they seek the relics as a form of new weaponry in their holy war, Chan becomes Mercury man. As is the natural order of the superhero universe, with horrendous tragedy a new hero and a new villain are born. Beyond the evident derivative elements, the story of \u201cMercury Man\u201d is pretty engaging and occasionally dazzling. It helps that Panna Rittikrai, stunt coordinator for Tony Jaa\u2019s action films oversees much of the stunts and choreography here. \u201cMercury Man\u201d certainly isn\u2019t typical; it\u2019s an acquired taste that uses often surreal camp to ease the action instead of comedic relief.<\/p>\n

Our hero\u2019s brother and sidekick is a post-op transsexual, and the explanation of Chan\u2019s mysterious amulet that takes over his body reverts to a poor computer animated cartoon, for some reason. Not to mention the attempted social commentary falls flat more often than not. But what it lacks in substance, it certainly makes up for with a raucous atmosphere that makes the story of this super powered individual a blast. Director Thongdee certainly cooks up new ways to bring our hero Chan to realize his powers, including a particular moment involving a \u201cPenthouse\u201d Magazine. And once Chan becomes Mercury Man, suited in an eye catching uniform that looks like a combination of Spawn and Spidey, the action really makes up for the thin storyline.<\/p>\n

Director Thongdee\u2019s attempt at a superhero entry won\u2019t click with all audiences, but in spite of its caveats, there are still many old fashioned comic book plot devices included that work. This includes a nightclub scenario involving an excellent series of fight scenes with our title hero and a slew of colorful villains. \u201cMercury Man\u201d provides some pretty solid entertainment along with some fantastic action sequences, and even when cribbing from Spider-Man lore, it\u2019s worth a watch if only to attempt to spot all the references to the wall crawler.<\/p>\n