Pic begins promisingly with yakuza Masashi (Hiroshi Abe) and his tattooed Thai lover Zin (Ammara Siripong) held at gunpoint by Thai gang boss Number 8 (Pongpat Wachirabunjong) and his glam right-hand, er, man, Priscilla (Sirimongkol Iamthuam). Their lives are spared, but afterward, Masashi is sent back to Japan and Zin must endure on in Bangkok as a single mother.

Zin's daughter Zen (Yanin Wismitanant), who's autistic, grows up to be an obsessive kickboxer who excels at catching fast-flying objects. When Zin is diagnosed with cancer and can't afford chemotherapy, street urchin Moom (Taphon Phopwandee) conveniently finds a list of people who owe Zin money from her gangster days. Moom enlists Zen to help him gather the funds, kicking off a series of fight scenes that continue apace for approximately an hour.

While the film delivers some memorably wince-inducing moments, particularly during a climactic battle along window ledges, it doesn't generate enough special thrills or narrative momentum to prevent the action from becoming merely repetitious. Script, unlike a lot of Thai actioners, is also laugh-deficient, though some politically incorrect elements may play funnier for Thai auds.

Wismitanant has minimal dialogue, punctuated by Bruce Lee-patented squealing growls, and so can only impress on the action level. Other perfs are similarly adequate, although English-language thesping by Japanese and Thai actors is likely to bother Western auds.

Almost nonstop Muay Thai action is well choreographed and, as indicated in the closing credits, dangerous, but the plot has a choppy, intermittent quality that prevents the film from being the roller coaster it's supposed to be.

Tech credits are standard for Thai films.

Camera (color), Decha Srimata; editor, Rashan Limtrakul; production designer, Nopporn Kirdsapa, action supervisor, Panna Rittikral; sound (Dolby Digital Surround-Ex). Reviewed at Berlin Film Festival (market), Feb. 7, 2008. Running time: 92 MIN.