What I loved most: Muay Thai scenes with JeJa Yanin

What I really hated: The transgender characters (MTF transgenders) are always evil, a pity, as in The Protectors.

Panna Rittikrai choreographed the films of his protégé Tony Jaa in Ong bak 1 and The Protectors directed by Praycha Pinkaew. Most recently Ong Bak 2 (Tony Jaa) and Chocolate alias Fury (Pinkaew) were screened at the Far East Film Festival in Udine last month where Panna Rittikrai and Praycha Pinkaew were guests. Pinkaew said he was in the process of making a new film with seven female action heroines. Together with Rittikrai he has created a fantastic female action film, Fury, where Zen, a young autistic girl played by JeeJa Yanin, takes on the underground world of her mother and like Tony Jaa and and Dan Chupong pounces them to smithereens with Muay Thai. Yanin started off with Taekwon do just as Tunta in Rittikrai's Born to Fight played by Rattaporn Khemtong who is actually on the Thai gymnastics team. JeeJa would have been in that film and was saved for Fury. There is another young female show stopper in Born to Fight--the little girl Baetoey. In real life she is Sasisa Jindamanee, the junior national champion in Thai kick boxing. What the film lacks in acting style and narrative development is more than compensated by the movement and charisma of these outstanding martial artists. One can't help but be pulled in to the story however because the sincerity and plight of the characters is so engaging. It is virtually impossible to take your eyes off of JeeJa in Fury. How often have you seen a film like this where a girl kicks ass, and there is no side show going on. She does it for the pure love of her mother and cousin Moom and to help pay her mother's hospital expenses. While fighting even her opponents and mother stand with mouth open at her prowess. She did her own stunts too which can be seen in the end credits where she is bandaged up and taken care of by medics on the scene. Pinkaew and Rittikrai are fantastic. More films , keep those films coming! Udine loves the work and all the international press like me in attendance!