A somewhat mediocre Muay Thai martial arts action film, often interrupted by excessive, quirky moments of comedic interlude. Fortunately, it's not totally corny, so there IS hope!

Nice story and overall good production quality for a low budget film, though the action scenes in the first 20 minutes or so needed to be more explosive, with better martial arts performers who know how to work in front of a camera, and a D.P. who knows how to shoot action properly; It could be an issue of the miscasting of extras, and possibly, the film's lead actor, Thun Thanakorn, who needs to sharpen his technique of he wants to do another action movie of the same calibur or higher.

The film also throws in a little bit of English dialogue for those who don't necessarily speak Thai, so that's also a plus if you don't like reading subtitles too much.

Look out for martial arts performer and stuntman, Tim "Tin Man" Man, who literally kicks the film into high gear after about 30 minutes. And stay tuned for a rather impressive villainous performance by someone who appears to look A LOT like Dan Chupong...hmmmm...dunno, I'll be checkin' up though. ;-)

My advice: Buy this one simply for the action...and whatever you do, don't be an idiot and look for this to be a "Tony Jaa" movie, or you'll cause yourself to have an Aneurysm.

OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS: "The 36 Chambers Of Shaolin", "Snake In The Eagle's Shadow", "Born To Defense", "Born To Fight", "Only The Strong", "Fearless: HK Director's Cut", "Undisputed 2: Last Man Standing" (look out for "Undisputed 3" which is rumored to be in production right now), "Asian Cop High Voltage", "Born To Fight", "King Of The Kickboxers", "No Retreat No Surrender", "No Retreat No Surrender 3: Blood Brothers", "Superfights", "Muscle Heat", "Fighter In The Wind", "Arahan: Urban Martial Arts Action", "The Red-Wolf", "Fatal Contact", "Dragon Tiger Gate", "The Avenging Fist", "Tom Yum Goong", "Chocolate", "Dong Mau Anh Hung: The Rebel", "Shamo", Ron Smoorenburg's directorial debut, "Bangkok Adrenaline", and the upcoming Tony Jaa film, "Ong Bak 2".

And please look out for Sammo Hung's latest upcoming film, "Wushu", co-produced by Jackie Chan!!!

Fans of the franchise will love what Gans brings to the screen, with beautiful visual and artistic concept and execution, combined with a hypnotically resounding score to orchestrate the film's theme. Co-stars Rae Dawn Chong, Byron Mann, Tchéky Karyo, Masaya Kato, Julie Condra and Yôko Shimada all do wonderful jobs in bringing the story of Crying Freeman to life, to the best of their ability.

The action is adequately entertaining, although it does not necessarily do much justice for Hong Kong action fans, particularly, fans of the film, Drive: Director's Cut, which has ten times more electrifying action sequences with a higher standard for martial arts action set by the film's stunt team, Alpha Stunts.

Many of the film's fight scenes are shot in grandiose slow motion camerawork, which may put a damper on the expectations of those who have been around to see the crossover of Hong Kong action into the US; In which case, unless you're a fan of the franchise, the two modest sex scenes in the film should keep even the most jaded viewer awake for the film's duration ;-).

All in all, Crying Freeman is essentially an "art" action film, which has made its mark in martial arts cinema history; For modest and hardcore fans only.

OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS: "Xavier Gens's 'Hitman'", "Equilibrium", "Brotherhood Of The Wolf", "Naked Weapon", "Naked Killer", "Shadow Fury", "City Hunter", "Guyver: Dark Hero", "Fist Of The North Star", "Blade", "Blade 2", "The Ultimate Target", "The Princess Blade", "Legend Of The Wolf", "Drive: Director's Cut", "Soldier", "Black Mask", "Kill Bill", "LoveDeath", "Ryû ga gotoku: gekijô-ban (a.k.a. Like A Dragon)", and the upcoming action thriller, "Broken Path", starring Johnny Yong Bosch and directed by Koichi Sakamoto.

Granted, Seagal has his share of awful films--for some, in part of his acting skills, which remain questionable by viewers. But you have to give the guy credit for keeping up with the times, especially in this day in age when people's standards for martial arts movies have been raised with the crossing over of many of Hong Kong films in the mid-90's.

Much of Tony Ching Siu-Tung's choreography is whimsical and maybe even unrealistic at times. My perspective of this, however, is that Siu-Ting did what he had to in order to make the movie work, especially when no one ever really sees Seagal throw kicks in his movies, as with many other martial arts movies, past and present. And with this, Seagal shows he can hold his own on a Hong Kong movie set, despite having to use a double for certain scenes to work.

In all fairness, and overall, "Belly Of The Beast" is a pretty entertaining film, despite its flaws. It is truly one of those movies you have to appreciate in order to enjoy, especially if you're a fan of Hong Kong stylized action.

OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS: "The Killer", "Marked For Death", "Naked Weapon", "The Crow", "Versus", "So Close", "Bloodmoon", "Half Past Dead" and "Exit Wounds".

The film's storyline often mirrors what was done in many films of its kind, like director John G. Avildsen's "The Karate Kid" and Robert Radler's "Showdown" co-starring Billy Blanks. This may or may not be a bad thing, depending on your opinion.

But with all else said and done to create this film with the little budget it had, the film doesn't waste anytime on any one subject. The characters are colorful, quirky, and bring the very foundation that the film needs to deliver itself as a true kung fu classic for martial arts enthusiasts everywhere!

It's amazing how DVD distributors seemed to have totally forgotten this film. It's also pretty damn sad too.

In any event, hopefully it will not be long until this film, and the several films that follow it within the NRNS franchise finally get the respect and recognition that has been long earned and well deserved.

OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS: "No Retreat No Surrender 2: Raging Thunder", "No Retreat No Surrender 3: Blood Brothers", "King Of The Kickboxers", "American Shaolin", "Superfights", "Bloodmoon", "Mortal Kombat", "Drive: Director's Cut", "U.S. Seals 2: The Ultimate Force", "Special Forces", "Undisputed 2: Last Man Standing", "Bound By Blood", "Max Havoc: Curse Of The Dragon" and "The Shepherd".