I sat down here in 2022 to watch the 2006 Thai action comedy "Chai Lai" (aka "Dangerous Flowers"). However, I must say that the comedy elements in the movie were near non-existing, though the movie was basically non-stop action from start to end.
And having just sat through it, I have to say that I didn't really fathom what writer and director Poj Arnon wanted to tell with this particular movie, as there wasn't really a coherent or particularly well-constructed storyline here. It felt like it was a movie about a group of women going from one scene to the next and just shooting or beating up a new group of enemies. And that was essentially all this movie had to offer.
"Chai Lai" was watchable enough for the sheer amount of action and shooting, despite it being somewhat cheesy. However, this is not a movie that has the contents to support more than a single viewing, nor is it a movie that I would recommend fans of the Thai cinema to rush out to get to watch.
Ironically, then one of the ladies in the movie said "do you know who I am?" with just 15 minutes left of the movie, and I had to admit that I didn't know who she was. In fact, I didn't even know the names of any of the characters in the movie. Yeah, that was the level of layering the characters in the movie. They were all just pretty faces with guns running around shooting and fighting. There was zero character development in the movie, nor did any of the characters have distinguishing feats or flaws to set them apart from the other characters.
"Chai Lai" is a movie that came and went without leaving a lasting impression. I sat through it without being particularly impressed or entertained.
My rating of "Chai Lai" lands on a four out of ten stars.
