One of the most creative aspects of the film is how the hostage athletes use their respective sports to fight the terrorists. A soccer player launches explosive objects with precision kicks, gymnasts use building rafters as uneven bars to launch devastating dropkicks, and a rugby player tackles armed militants through walls.
Online forums of the late 2000s (like Indicine and DesiTorrents) praised the film’s “unrealistic realism.” One user wrote: “Hollywood action heroes run from explosions. Thai action heroes kick explosions in the face.”