Insee Daeng

aka Red Eagle

2010
Directed by Wisit Sasanatieng

Insee Daeng is a tragedy. Because it sucks, not because sad things happen in the film. It’s just terrible. An action flick with no heart, things just happen, you don’t care about any of the characters. It’s too busy trying to look cool to be cool. Insee Daeng is forcing me to rewrite my long-standing rule that The Matrix ruined cinema. The Matrix is so 1999. This is a new decade, and there is a new film that will cast a shadow over terrible action flicks for the next ten years as they attempt to emulate, but fail to duplicate the story and characterizations that made the film great beyond the effects. That is The Dark Knight, who shines over Insee Daeng like a batsymbol over some city with a hero who dresses as a bat in it.

Did we really need a brooding Insee Daeng? Wasn’t part of the reason we loved him because he was so jolly as he was blowing away bad guys? Mitr Chaibancha had presence, he would never be hanging out in an ice room feeling sorry for himself. He’d be so cool any room he entered became an ice room, and he’s so hot the ice would instantly melt. The freezing/melting ice is the Quantum Mitr Factor. It is an impossible standard that we can’t expect Insee Daeng to meet with its Insee Daeng, but it doesn’t even try.

Rome Rittikrai (Ananda Everingham) – Rome Rittikrai is just your average former special forces veteren who became a secret vigilante hero to clean up his country. Instead of being a lovable drunk like old school Rome, he’s a morphine addict thanks to a bullet in his brain Insee Daeng (Ananda Everingham) – He’s Red Eagle, and that’s red enough for me! Vasana Tienpradap (Yarinda Bunnag) – Vasana has a doctorate in geology and comes from a rich family, but devotes her time to helping those in need. She is the ex-fiancee of Prime Minister Direk Damrongprapa, and current love interest for Insee Daeng/Rome. Yarinda Bunnag is on Twitter and her sister makes cooking YouTube videos! Black Devil (???) – It is a mystery who he is. A mystery you will solve before he even appears in the film. He isn’t Victor von Doom, so cut out that thinking right now! Detective Chart Wuttikrai (Wannasingh Prasertkul) – He vows he’s gonna catch Insee Daeng, and he does…for like 1/8th of a second! Chantaranantukam Singh (Jonathan Hallman) – Chart’s new partner is the strong silent type who also does heroic stuff to save kids. And he has to listen to Chart blather on all day long. Matulee (various) – These guys are the secret society that decide what brand of toilet paper you use. Single-ply for you! Also they hate Insee Daeng.

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