Thai actor Tony Jaa made a name for himself making action movies such as Ong-Bak, but he never really made it big in North America. Sure, he made appearances in films such as Furious 7, The Expendables 4 and Monster Hunter, but all of those movies starred bigger name actors who pushed him to the side and out of the spotlight. While his output of movies may have slowed down a little bit the last few years, Jaa has continued to make movies. His latest film, Striking Rescue, showcases why he was a hit with audiences in the first place.

Tony Jaa plays Bai Ann, a veteran Muay Thai fighter whose wife and daughter are killed by assassins. Determined to get revenge for what they did, Bai Ann hunts down the mysterious drug-smuggling organization responsible for their deaths. At first he believes the head of a logistics company (played by Philip Keung) is responsible, but when he discovers that the man is just yet another victim of the real kingpin, he teams up with him to save the man’s kidnapped daughter and discover the truth behind the murder of his family.

If you read that brief recap, you know you’ve seen this movie before. Or at the very least something extremely similar. Jaa tries to make the most of it, but even his skills lack excitement after awhile. At most, Striking Rescue is a serviceable revenge film, with decent fight scenes. It feels a little bit like an 80s action flick, but that is mostly due to the lower budget. The choreography of the fight scenes really help the movie feel like people feel each strike though, which helps keep things interesting.

The film could have been edited a bit better, as the one hour and forty-six minute run time starts to drag on by the time you get to the climax. Jaa does show his age at times as well, and doesn’t seem to be as acrobatic as he was in his earlier films. Of course it’s been over 20 years since Ong-Bak was made. And being able to flip around like his did before cannot be easy for him to accomplish. The film also relies a little too heavily on slow motion shots, like a lot of action films do today.

Striking Rescue is the type of movie that fans of martial arts flicks can sit back and enjoy. Fans can watch this when they want to turn their mind off after a long week of working. The plot isn’t complicated, in fact it’s overly simplistic, while the action is quick and hard hitting. In the end it’s entertaining, but far from unique. It might just be enough to help bring Jaa back into the spotlight however and give his career a new life.