Zero Tolerance (2015) Reviews

• "I didn't think you were this [...] stupid"

  The_Phantom_Projectionist2015-12-02

  Director Wych Kaos could only improve after releasing the awful TEKKEN 2, and while he does just that with ZERO TOLERANCE, he's still not making the movie that most viewers actually want to see. Talk about unmatched expectations! This film – a thriller disguised as an action feature - is probably the best movie that Kaos has ever done, but that's still not saying much. The story: When the estranged daughter of an ex-CIA operative (Dustin Nguyen) turns up dead in Bangkok, he and his ex-partner (Sahajak Boonthanakit) delve into the city's underworld to uncover the young woman's shady past and unmask her killer. To be fair, I don't think that the movie was ever explicitly advertised as a martial arts feature, but when the names used to promote it include Dustin Nguyen, Scott Adkins, Gary Daniels, and Kane Kosugi, one cannot help but expect a lot of hand-to-hand action. Disappointingly, the film does not even provide the bare minimum. There are two full-length brawls, only one of which counts as an actual karate fight (the Nguyen/Adkins showdown), and neither of them are very good – they could have been shot with anybody, with no need for some of the best on screen fighters to get involved. The action content in general is meager, with only three shootouts to otherwise tide viewers over. One of these – a close-range affair in a crowded room – is pretty enjoyable, but breathtaking action clearly isn't this film's objective. This is a character-driven thriller, and in that regard, the movie isn't bad. Dustin and his costars all generally excel at playing morally ambiguous characters in a sleazy setting. The movie's pacing is infinitely better than the director's previous picture, and though this is not exactly SE7EN, I felt engaged and anxious to find out who the killer was. The eventual resolution is a serious matter of taste – either you'll find it ironically apt or a complete cop-out – but it highlights the earthy tone of the movie that may turn off people who are used to lighter fare. The subject of prostitution is questionable enough for some folks, but there's an odd, uncomfortable strain of chauvinism running through the picture, with abuse of women by both "good guys" and villains being a common occurrence despite the general anti-trafficking sentiment. Apparently this movie was edited from an unreleased film, with the footage of Adkins and Kosugi shot a couple of years later. It's integrated pretty well – practically unnoticeable unless you know what to look for. This feat of seamlessness is easily the most impressive part of the movie, which otherwise ends up being relatively unremarkable. ZERO TOLERANCE isn't the debacle it could have been, but it's also not nearly as cool as I'm certain most people were hoping for. Know yourself well before considering anything more than a rental.

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• for the first time in my life, left the cinema before the movie ends

  amira_hassan_fouad2015-09-12

  Horrible movie! Why would anyone make a movie like that?!! why did they even bother wasting there money on its production?!! Why would this movie be in English? its all about Thai people they referred to them speaking only English to the fact that they were spy's in the US Army for 10 years?!! There was no connection between the scenes awful conversations and scenario. Really don't understand how it got 7.5 rating when I got the tickets. The camera angles were poor and the scenes chosen in the movie were also very poor,too many close shots on the face of the actors which had no expression on them, time wasting experience, the movie was pointless and they tried to fill the time line of the movie with any junk so they can have a full movie time. during the action and fight scenes you could not understand what exactly was going on. the sound effects were also poor, the gun shots sounded like something falling on a pillow not a gun shoot at all

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• Out of (his) mind

  kosmasp2016-03-12

  The movie might be easy to spot and you probably won't be too surprised by the ending. But it's still nicely made, if you don't expect a martial arts romp that is. It seems that some people thought, that with all the names attached this would be a lot of hand-to-hand action and fighting. And while there is a certain amount of action, it's mostly "gunplay"/-fighting that is going on. A fair warning (or whatever you want to call it): there is a lot of nudity in this movie, though it's almost entirely in the first 2-3 minutes. After that we see Mr. Adkins, but he's not the lead in this, so don't get confused by that either. It's a man on a mission, a different take on ... Taken.

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• An Awful Film In EVERY Way

  stephenabell2017-04-07

  Oh dear lord, this really was a waste of talent. I find that on the whole most martial arts experts can be quite wooden when it comes to acting, this is probably because the director is focusing on the fight sequences and not too overly bothered by the story or the acting skills of their cast. This movie has so much wood the DVD player got splinters and was crying out in pain to play me this film. The only good aspect of this film is Gary Daniels who actually proves his acting ability, which isn't too hard. The bad thing is I have great respect for, not only Gary Daniels, but the rest of the cast Dustin Nguyen, Scott Adkins, and Kane Kosugi. So to watch them in something this dire was sad. I'm going to rest the blame for this travesty on the writer and director Wych Kaosayananda, who's story is drawn out, boring, and depressing; filled with one-dimensional characters who nobody can relate to or empathise with. His direction is worse than his storytelling. There is one scene where he shoots upwards at three actors; this means you only see them from the groyne upwards. Eighty percent of the shot is sky and he even burns this. Had this been a blue sky with clouds, a fly-by by a plane or a group of birds might have made it artistic; however, it's lazy and badly planned. It's so bad they even tried a rebranding from Zero Tolerance to leech off the success of the Denzil Washington and Mark Wahlberg film 2 Guns, by adding it to the beginning of their title. But BEWARE this is NOT a sequel or prequel... it has nothing to do with 2 Guns whatsoever. Naughty Naughty!!! If you see this on telly or on a dirt cheap DVD don't be conned into watching it like I was - turn away and run. There's so much better out there to watch than this.

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• Fails to ignite the screen

  Leofwine_draca2016-09-03

  2 GUNS: ZERO TOLERANCE was originally by all accounts a no-star Thai thriller called ANGELS which did very badly on release. So some money-savvy producers decided to re-edit the movie by bringing in a number of foreign martial artists and re-releasing the film as an action thriller. The problem is, the foreigners in the movie are little more than cameo actors and there's a dearth of action in the film which renders it sleep-inducing to all but the most faithful of movie fans. The main thrust of the plot is a murder mystery featuring the impassive Vietnamese actor Dustin Nguyen. Somebody murdered his daughter and he wants to find out who, so he goes on a rampage of revenge. Or at least that's what they want you to think. Instead, like most Thai films, this is indifferently acted and poorly shot, lacking verve and vitality in every scene, and the (few) brief fights are so poorly handled as to be worthless. Mostly it's all talk, and poorly spoken English, and dialogue that makes little sense. Poor old Scott Adkins is given prominent billing on the cover but barely appears in the film - he has about five minutes of screen time in a generic role. Japanese star Kane Kosugi is on screen even less. Gary Daniels is here too, but it feels like all of his scenes were shot in a single day because they don't amount to much. ZERO TOLERANCE is one of the most insipid Thai films I've watched, and a good example of that film's lack of current talent when it comes to basic film-making principles.

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