Review: Garuda

• Written and directed by
• Monthon Arayangkoon
• Starring Sornram Theppitak, Sara Legge, Dan Fraser , Chalad na Songkhla, Yani Tramod, Phairote Sangwaribut
• Release in Thailand cinemas on April 1, 2004; English-subtitled DVD available
• Rating: 3/5

"Any god or man who tries to determine my life is nothing but a beast."

It's a pretty poignant political statement coming about 2/3rds of the way through this cheesy monster movie.

Later on, there's another one, when the military commanders and government officials are arguing about why they weren't notified earlier.

"Why are Thais like this?" questions a veteran commander. "We only argue and think of ourselves. We must focus and work together." Wow. Pretty strong indictment of how petty people can be.

The story is about the half-man, half-bird creature of Hindu lore, which has been hibernating for thousands of years underneath Bangkok. The digging of subway wakes it up. A secret military unit, devoted to killing "gods", is on the case, along with a half-Thai, half-French archaeologist whose father was on the trail of one of these beasts. They are unable to contain the garuda though, and he's unleashed on the city where he causes a small amount of mayhem.

As bold as some of the statements made were, I was disappointed that more citywide destruction wasn't depicted, and I thought the ending was pretty lame. But, another garuda could arise.