The 2005 period drama King Maker set in 16th Century Siam, (modern day Thailand) comes across in the opening scenes, as a historical drama chronicling the downfall of the kingdom of Ayutthaya in 1559. However, this film is so poorly conceived, that it amounts to little more than a mercifully short, extended action/adventure sequence, featuring a handsome swashbuckling hero, who attempts to save an ill-fated king.

Gary Stretch (World Trade Center/Alexander) stars as Fernando de Gama, a Portuguese mercenary who after a shipwreck, lands in Siam, where he is captured by Arabian slave traders, from whom he is rescued by Maria de Torres (Cindy Burgridge), the beautiful daughter of Philleppe de Torres a Portuguese expatriate, (John Rhys-Davies) a man whom he immediately recognizes from his past. Soon after their meeting, Fernando is enlisted in battle for the Portuguese, where he discovers a plot to overthrow the king by his wife, Queen Sudachan, (Yoe Hassadeevichit) and her lover, Lord Chakkraptat. (Oliver Pupart) Fernando and a Siamese warrior, Tong, (Dom Herakul) discover that de Torres is involved with the plot, and are captured, imprisoned, and framed for the king's murder, but not until Fernando confronts de Torres with their shared past. De Gama and Tong are given one last opportunity to save them kingdom, when they are forced to fight to the death, like gladiators, at the new king's coronation ceremony.

Rarely have I seen such a disastrous film. Let me start with the dialog. Some of the one liners must be heard to be believed, as in the following excerpt:

Queen Sudachan to her lover, "I'm going to have a child," to which he responds "do you mean a baby?" and Tong to de Gama in broken English on the battlefield, "you good with sword, I good with axe."

and these are only a couple of examples, I could go on and on.

The acting is not much better. Stretch and Burbridge are very attractive to look at, but neither has any real acting ability, while Asian actress You Hassadeevichit, delivers one of the most unconvincing mourning scenes ever captured on film, squalling like a stuck pig when she finds her husband and son murdered. Only John Rhys-Davies (Lord of the Rings) delivers anything close to a good performance, and even that is handicapped by the pitiful script. The romance between Francisco and Maria, is also very weak, due to a lack of any serious character development.

The one redeeming feature of this film, is the gorgeous cinematography featuring exotic costumes and sets, although much of it is focused on bloody battle scenes. The mostly orchestral soundtrack features a lush vocal ballad, about half-way through, which seems strangely out of place. Director Lek Kitaparaporn attempts to include some creative filming techniques, by shooting the flashbacks of de Gama and de Torre's earlier conflict in black and white for dramatic effect. Although this is a fairly effective technique, it does little to make up for the film's numerous shortcomings. Those who enjoy pure swashbuckling action and adventure and don't really care about the quality of acting or writing, may find this film somewhat appealing on that level.

Similar in plot and theme to Curse of The Golden Flower, this film would have benefited from filming in the original Thai language which may have made the script seem a bit more palatable. In fact, the script is so bad, I suggest watching it without the sound or subtitles. Since it's all action and adventure, you won't miss anything, and you won't have to strain your facial muscles, wincing at the awful script.

My Rating: 1 1/2*

DVD Specifications:

Language: English 5.1 Dolby Digital
Subtitles English, French
Mastered in High Definition
Widescreen anamorphic format
Run time: 92 minutes




Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: None of the Above
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older