There is a genre of movie out there that gets plenty of
looks but not always attention. These are the direct to DVD movies that show up
in rental stores, online orders and rental boxes across the country. If they
receive a box office release it’s such a soft release that most people will
never know it happened. Many of these titles deserve to be released that way
because they, well, stink. But there are
some that are actually pretty good. They just don’t have enough oomph to draw
in big numbers. SKIN TRADE is one of those.
Story wise we’re talking about the buying and selling of
human beings, for the most part women, in various countries to be sold to
buyers around the world. Here we have two countries involved in trying to put
an end to this heinous crime. In Thailand Detective Tony Vitayakul (Tony Jaa)
is on the hunt for a group of criminals kidnapping young women for this
purpose. At the same time NYC Detective Nick Cassidy (Dolph Lundgren) is doing
the same thing. Both are after the same man, a Serbian crime lord named Viktor
(Ron Perlman) who runs the enterprise using his family in various locations.
Cassidy gets the drop on Viktor and his youngest son just
joining the family business. In a shootout with the police, this son is killed
while trying to prove to his father he is worthy of being involved. Viktor
escapes and at the end of the day Cassidy goes home to his wife and teenage
daughter. As he gets ready for bed he looks out the window and sees Viktor’s
men shooting a rocket into his home, killing his wife and wounding him in the
process. To make matters worse, Viktor kidnaps his daughter.
Not trusting the FBI who joined this operation and led by
Agent Reed (Michael Jai White), Cassidy leaves the hospital and heads to the
last known location Viktor was headed, Thailand. Tracking him along the way
Reed alerts the authorities there including Tony. Wanted by both groups now,
Cassidy tries to escape the airport after landing. A twist sets Tony against
Cassidy leading to an impressive chase sequence through the streets and alleys
of Thailand and ending in an all-out hand to hand fight sequence between the
two.
Eventually the traitor is revealed and Tony and Cassidy
begin to work together to take down Viktor and the human trafficking ring.
Another top notch martial arts battle between Tony and another actor known for
his martial arts skills (see, no spoiler there) is worthy of mention and
watching. As the duo prepare to capture Viktor and the rest of his family
wheels are set into motion that leave a sequel hanging.
The movie offers some terrific martial arts fighting
sequences. While most will recognize Tony Jaa for this reason having starred in
the ONG BAK trilogy as well as THE PROTECTOR 1 & 2, many may have forgotten
that Lundgren holds a belt in karate. Their fight last long enough to near that
of the famous longest fight scene ever between Roddy Piper and Keith David in
THEY LIVE but not quite. It is still an impressive sequence.
The story holds up well enough and is actually better than
some in this genre. The acting is less wooden than one would expect or that
some have unfairly tagged several of these actors with. While their range may
not take them into the realm of Shakespeare they do a decent job in their roles
in films of this type and in other higher class projects as well. Made well,
directed well and delivering the goods fans of action films like this seek, it
makes this one of the better movies in the action genre. That makes this movie
one worth watching.
Click here to order.
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