Jan Dara: The Finale | 2/5 (R21, 134 min)

Yes, as the title implies, this movie is the concluding sequel to Jan Dara: The Beginning and traces what happens to Jan, his friend Ken and the rest of the slightly mixed-up clan, from the time Jan and Ken go visit Jan’s grandmother in the village, until they return to Wisnan House.

From then on, it’s a journey into the heart of darkness. Jan’s heart is hardened by memories of what Lord Wisanan did to him and he starts to exact his revenge, only to find that he has become the one thing he detests.

But Jan’s journey, at 134 minutes, is a long, meandering one. The big beef is that this film, unlike its prequel, jump cuts from past to present too much, and interrupts the flow with elderly Jan and Ken reminiscing about old times, instead of telling the story straight through.

Not that the flow is anything to shout about. With loads of slow motion and swelling music (whenever something dramatic is about to happen - and they happen a lot here), the movie feels like some overly melodramatic soap opera rather than the erotic drama it’s supposed to be. And if you want to watch it for the erotic scenes, well, please note that there are less of them here than in The Beginning, and let’s just say this is one case where sex won’t quite sell. In fact, it distracts more than serves the storyline.

And maybe it’s just me, but it seems that Mario Maurer (who plays Jan Dara) doesn’t quite yet have the ability to sustain the gravitas needed for his role. The cartoon moustache he wears throughout the second half also doesn’t help.

Even though Maurer and Chaiyapol Poupart (who plays Ken) seem to enjoy making a go of playing old uncles, they force it too much, with their deliberate theatrical slowness and that fake “old man voice”. You know, the one that makes it seem as if old men all talk with the speed of a strolling tortoise and sound like they have an ashtray in their throats? And that really just kills the momentum.

And there is little emotional investment with the supporting characters too. Khaew (played by Cho Nishino), for example, seems to be nothing more than a spoilt child here. Boonlueang (Ratha Pho-Ngam) doesn’t quite have that seductive edge, and Chaiyapol can’t carry off being a foil to Maurer.

It might have worked better if director ML Bhandevanov “Mom Noi” Devakula turned both movies into a mini-series that it’s screaming out to be instead of a two-parter. But that, as they say, is the way the cookie crumbles.

(R21, 134min)