Chinese kung fu champ Tiger Hu Chen, Thai martial arts sensations Tony Jaa (Ong-Bak) and JeeJa Yanin (Chocolate), and Indonesian action star Iko Uwais (The Raid) represent the East; US multi-discipline black belt Michael Jai White and Brit bruiser Scott Adkins represent the West. With such an impressive line-up, Triple Threat could have been up there with The Raid (and its sequel), The Warrior King, and Ong Bak as one of the best action films of the last twenty years. Sadly, it isn't.
The cast cannot be held responsible: they do what they were hired to do -- kick ass (nobody really expected Oscar-winning performances). It's up to stuntman turned director Jesse V. Johnson to shoulder the blame, his handling of the action failing to show his more-than-capable performers in the best light. The plot is uninspired but it allows for plenty of shooting and punching and kicking; unfortunately, the fight scenes lack impact thanks to dreadful camerawork and duff editing, whilst the gunplay relies on CGI for much of the damage inflicted.
With a skilled action director such as Prachya Pinkaew or Gareth Evans at the helm, Triple Threat might have worked despite the rather predictable script, but in the hands of Johnson, the film is a frustrating wasted opportunity.
5/10, minus one point for killing off the lovely JeeJa Yanin way too soon. She goes out in fine style (reduced to a bloody mess by a grenade launcher), but she really deserved to be given as much screen time as her male co-stars.
