Born to Fight is a 2004 Thai action film directed by Panna Rittikrai. It followed Ong-Bak: Muay Thai Warrior, on which Rittikrai served as martial arts choreographer, and featured more of his “no strings attached” stuntwork. Many of the actors in Born to Fight were Thai national athletes. The film is a reboot of Rittikrai’s 1984 film of the same name.
PLOT! Royal Thai Police undercover cops Deaw and Puntakarn participate in a sting operation to apprehend the drug lord General Yang and shut down his cartel in the Chonburi Province. After a destructive truck chase, they manage to capture General Yang, but Puntakarn is killed by a bomb set by the drug lord in one of his trucks.
Hoping to relieve the pain of his loss, Deaw accompanies his sister, taekwondo champion Nui, to a charity event sponsored by the country’s Sports Authority to distribute relief goods to Pha-thong Village, located near the Thai/Burmese border. Deaw and Nui, along with other athletes representing their respective sports, arrive at the village and entertain the locals.
All is going well when suddenly, an armed militia invades the village, killing a number of people and holding the rest hostage. The militia demands the release of General Yang within 24 hours in exchange for the lives of the surviving villagers; failure to comply will result in the militia broadcasting the slaughter of all of the villagers to the World. The Prime Minister’s attempt at liberating the village fails when the militia’s surveillance cameras spot Special Forces troops within the premises, resulting in more villagers being executed and the deadline shortened to 8:00 a.m. the next day. While infiltrating the militia’s camp, Deaw discovers
that they will fire a nuclear missile toward Bangkok once General Yang is released and then blow up the village after they escape. Before he can act, he is captured and thrown in with the rest of the villagers.
The next morning, General Yang is released from prison and airlifted toward Pha-thong Village. As the army helicopters arrive and the militia escorts the drug lord, a radio broadcast of the Thai National Anthem inspires the athletes and villagers to rise up and battle their captives. Unarmed, they attack the heavily armed soldiers and get some revenge for those murdered by them. General Yang is once again apprehended after the militia leader is killed and
his escorts are gunned down by Special Forces agents. Deaw storms through the militia camp, but the nuclear missile is launched by a man left behind. In desperation, he destroys the camp’s three laptops, sending the missile off course and crashing into the waters of the Gulf of Thailand, south of Bangkok. He then discovers that the militia has rigged time bombs to destroy the village in less than five minutes. With the help of the Special Forces, Deaw gets the athletes and surviving villagers to evacuate before the entire village goes up in flames but then as the deadline approaches he goes back to try and rescue Tup.
Cast:
- Dan Chupong as Deaw Royal Thai Police
- Nappon Gomarachun as General Yang.
- Santisuk Promsiri as Lowfei
- Piyapong Piew-on as Tun
- Somluck Kamsing as Tup
- Amornthep Waewsang as Moo
- Suebsak Pansueb as Jo
- Nantaway Wongwanichislip as Nye
- Kessarin Ektawatkul as Nui taekwondo champion
- Rattaporn Khemtong as Tunta
- Chattapong Pantana-Angkul as Fong
- Sasisa Jindamanee as Baetoey
- Payong Mounda as Village Head
- Swat Hoopsom as Disabled
- Wannakit Sirioput as Foh