Review of Skin Trade (2014) by Harry W — 29 Jun 2015

With a large lineup of talented cast members and a lot of promotional work put behind the film by Dolph Lundgren, Skin Trade sounded like an above-average action fare for a direct-to-DVD film.

Capitalising on the success of Taken, Skin Trade is another exploration of sex trafficking. The film opens depicting how one woman gets sucked into the crime and becomes victimised by kidnapping and force-fed drugs. The sight of this is horrific, and it immediately sets an intense tone for the film to go on. Because of this, it is clear that Skin Trade has more meaning under its belt than the standard direct-to-DVD action film. However, though the subject matter of the film clearly proves that Skin Trade wants to be more than a generic action film, it is ultimately reduced to being little more than a standard revenge tale regarding protagonist Nick Cassidy with the actual crime of the skin trade and the involvement of Tony Vitayakul ultimaetly being reduced to a subplot. It's a shame because Skin Trade really had potential to be something more and Dolph Lundgren is an actively outspoked advocate against the crime of skin trade itself, and so as the writer and producer of the film I expected more from him.

The script in Skin Trade points out that the only reason people are actively kidnapping and selling humans is because there is a market for it, because people are actually sick enough to want to possess another human for purposes such as sexual pleasure. This is done in the scene where Serbian mobster Viktor Dragovic discusses his customers, stating "When they stop buying, I stop selling". This is a really valid point and proves that there could have been more to the film than its ultimately shallow revenge sentiment. Unfortunately, it aflls back on formulaic roots all too easily.

As the film reduces itself to a simple action revenge thriller, Skin Trade's ultimate value ends up determined based on the quality of the action. Unfortunately, the experience is largely worn down by its overly famliar story which takes itself very seriously without exploring its deeper potential. But I will admit that for a low-budget direct-to-DVD action film, the production values are pretty impressive. The on-location scenery is very nice, and altough when you examine the narrative it is clear that there are limited settings for the story, Skin Trade gets away with it by taking maximum advantage of what its got. And also, although the action in the film tends to be composed of low-scale stunts and shootouts, they don't feel that cheap. Frankly, Ekachai Uekrongtham puts his limited budget to maximum use in Skin Trade which shows that he does have some level of potential as a director.

The fight scenes in Skin Trade are thei most impressive assets of the film. With such a talented cast of action stars lined up, director Ekachai Uekrongtham finds a way to put them to use. Though the fight scenes are not captured flawlessly, the cinematography and editing is executed well enough to illuminate the skillful martial arts talents of those involved. The highlight comes into play in the fight scene between Tony Jaa and Michael Jai White where the choreography is brilliant and the tension is rich. This just goes to show that the number one asset in Skin Trade is the telants of the cast.

Dolph Lundgren delivers a decent leading performance in Skin Trade. Nick Cassidy is one of the more meaningful characters he has played in recent years, and despite the thin characterisation he really maintains an angry sense of determination to pursue vengeance in the story. One of the most impressive things about his role is that whenever he speaks, there is hardly a trace of any accent to him since he says his words with such flawless articulation. This makes the experience of Skin Trade feel more legitimate, and Dolph Lundgren's dedication to the intense nature of the character is actually pretty decent. The actor is no Orson Welles, but by his standards I respect his serious efforts to bring emotional tension to the role of Nick Cassidy. And of course he is easily appealing as an action hero because of his bulky status, his ability to handle a weapon with confidence and most notably this time his fighting skills. Skin Trade sees Dolph Lundgren needing to put up a set of genuine martial arts skills, and Seeing the contrasting fighting styles of Dolph Lundgren and Tony Jaa going against each other is very impressive. Dolph Lundgren headlines Skin Trade well.

Tony Jarr's acting in Skin Trade proves that he still has progress to make. Tony Jaa only learned English very soon before he had to film Skin Trade, and it is very obvious because his voice articulation is extremely rough, and this makes him hard to take seriously during many scenes which comes into conflict with the intended serious nature of the film. You can tell he is making the effort, but his language is not always competent. The way that Tony Jaa justifies his presence is with his powerful martial arts skills. Though his skills are not put to as much use as they should be to appeal to his fans, Tony Jaa is consistently swift with all his movements whether they be high kicks or parkour jumps. He exercises a performance packed to the brim with versatile fighting skills and never holds back no matter who he is up against, and his dedication to .anding everything with artistic movement while maintaining a rough edge within his character is powerful. Tony Jaa's fighting skills elevate Skin Trade even though his use of English does not, and he makes a good team with Dolph Lundgren.

Michael Jai White is awesome in Skin Trade. His role is small and his character is an archetype, but Michael Jai White delivers a sophisticated effort in the role. But of course his importance lies in his martial arts skills, and his fight scene with Tony Jaa is the best part of the film. Michael Jai White puts up an awesome fight with a powerful array of creative techniques at his disposal, showing off all kinds of flexible high kicks and powerful punches. His general athleticism is just grand, so Michael Jai White is the standout cast member for Skin Trade.

Ron Perlman is also a genial presence. Due to his popular cult fanbase, Ron Perlman is a welcome cast member in any film these days and so his role as the central villain in Skin Trade is a welcome appearance. The role demands little from him, but he is easily able to relay his natural charm into the part with an easy accent and a sense of sophistication. Ron Perlman easily captures a villainous persona in Skin Trade, and his line delivery is direct with a underlying subtlety of serious evil in him while also showing brief moments of humanity.

Peter Weller and Cary Hiroyuki-Tagawa are also welcome cast members, but it is a shame that they are not put to any use when they have their own legacies.

So Skin Trade benefits from a skilful cast and some mildly impressive action scenes, but they are overshadowed by a story which defies its dramatic potential and ends up adhering too heavily to a boring formula while failing to make use of enough action to keep things entertaining.