‘Art of Eight Limbs’ VOD Review
Stars: Sahajak Boonthanakit, Nicholas Hammond, Ludi Lin, Vithaya Pansringarm, Suradet Dongthaisong | Written by H. Daniel Gross, Ryan C. Jaeger, Louis Spiegler | Directed by Robert Grasmere
No, Art of Eight Limbs isn’t about an octopus that can paint portraits. It’s the latest knockoff of Enter the Dragon, a film that came out fifty-one years ago and still hasn’t been equalled despite a near-endless stream of films utilizing its mix of international espionage, crime, and martial arts tournaments.
Somewhere in Myanmar, a pair of Russian agents arrive at the encampment of General Thiha (Sahajak Boonthanakit; Fistful of Vengeance, Thirteen Lives) looking to buy some VX Nerve Gas. They show they have the cash, and Thiha’s men show them the gas is the real thing by killing the town drunk as they watch. The CIA are quite familiar with The General and aren’t surprised to find out he’s involved. They alert Nick Buckley (Nicholas Hammond; Lord of the Flies, Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles), one of their two operatives in Myanmar and call in Scott Schiff (Ludi Lin; Mortal Kombat, Power Rangers) one of their analysts who also happens to be a competitive kickboxer.
Why Scott? Because General Thiha also runs the Golden Tiger martial arts academy and once a year stages a major tournament, which this year will double as an auction of the remaining nerve gas. Scott’s mission will be to deliver a device that can detect the gas to their other agent, Cho (Vithaya Pansringarm; The Lake, Kitty the Killer) who is undercover as a trainer at the academy.
Amazingly, it took three writers, H. Daniel Gross (The Lockdown, Lady Scorpions), Ryan C. Jaeger (Kung Fu Games), and Louis Spiegler (Blue Gold: American Jeans) to come up with Art of Eight Limbs’ derivative plot. The biggest difference, apart from replacing Jeet Kune Do with Muay Thai, is that Scott isn’t supposed to actually fight, just make his delivery and be extracted before SEAL Team Six shows up. But we know that’s not the way it’s going to happen.
Robert Grasmere also seems like an odd choice for director, the only other film he directed was Flying Monkeys, a SyFy original from 2012. That made more sense, as he has a career in effects that includes films like John Carpenter’s Prince of Darkness and The Core, so he would understand shooting an effects-driven feature. But a martial arts film like Art of Eight Limbs is an entirely different beast.
However, since Art of Eight Limbs was shot by Republic Pictures, Paramount’s low budget division, there isn’t a lot of action for him to worry about. While it may copy Enter the Dragon’s plot points, such as having Scott sneaking around at night looking for evidence, it doesn’t even try to deliver the same quantity or quality of action scenes. Our hero fending off a machete wielding guard with a rake is no match for Enter the Dragon’s nunchaku scenes, and while Lin is a convincing enough hero, he’s no Bruce Lee, or Bruce Li for that matter.
The fights we do get are basic but well-staged. Stunt coordinator Seng Kawee has worked on everything from the original Ong Bak and Sniper 3 to Rambo and Extraction, he knows how to deliver a decent-looking fight. Unfortunately, the camera cuts away a bit too often, leaving us with short, choppy, bursts of action rather than more satisfying longer takes. And the final fight, which should be the film’s highlight, a rematch between Scott and Thiha’s head enforcer Zeya (Suradet Dongthaisong; The Asian Connection, Buffalo Boys) is way too short to be satisfying and ends on a ludicrous note.
To be fair, Art of Eight Limbs is competently made from a technical standpoint, and when it comes to DTV action films I have seen a lot worse. But with only a handful of fights scattered through its hundred-and-one-minute run time, it isn’t hard to find a lot better either. If you just want something you can put on and not have to give a lot of attention to, this might work. Or you could just rewatch Enter the Dragon.
** 2/5
Paramount has released Art of Eight Limbs to Digital Platforms via its Republic label.
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