Cr. Siviroon Srisuwan © 2026 Netflix
There’s a title for every action hero. Lord knows Jason Statham holds, like, thirty. Director Surapong Ploensang’s latest action-thriller, The Debt Collector, tells of a new kind of a familiar archetype. A former crime boss henchman is trying to turn over a new leaf but is pulled back into the crime world, going scorched earth when the syndicate he used to work for attacks the innocent whom the eponymous character swore to protect. As common as it may seem in every revenge action movie ever, Ploensang shifts from commonality and offers some shift in perspective against a socioeconomic backdrop and a gritty atmosphere. Although its misdirection is at the expense of a potentially stronger movie, The Debt Collector doesn’t pull its punches and winds up as fine, solid action fare.
It centers on Num (Nadech Kugimiya), a former debt collector under crime matriarch Madam Pin (Nuanprang Trichit), who has a scar over his right eye and wants to make amends for a serious error that landed him in prison for ten years. If that’s not enough, he’s also diagnosed with a terminal brain tumor and has a little time left to live. Fresh out of prison, he tries turning over a new leaf as a delivery man. He forms a bond with a vendor, Grandma Lek (Kunkanit Khumkrong), and her granddaughter, Nid Noi (Ploypaphas Fonkaewsiwaporn). But immediately he witnesses them getting harassed by goons demanding money Lek was supposed to pay them.
Lek is one of the many people in the working-class slums who go to loan sharks for help when their government doesn’t provide the resources. And of course, criminals, knowing they can’t pay up, send their men to break some eggs, to say the least. Num initially protects them, demonstrating that his tumor can’t stop his fervor. However, it leads to deadly consequences as it attracts the attention of volatile, nepo-baby prince Po (Daou Pittaya Saechua), who handles things himself. In retaliation, Num decides that his final days on Earth are better spent pursuing vengeance, returning to the underworld to make each debt collector meet Hades himself.
The Debt Collector. Chaiwat Thongsang (ชัยวัฒน์ ทองแสง) as Kong (ก้อง),Nadech Kugimiya (ณเดชน์ คูกิมิยะ) as Num (หนุ่ม) in The Debt Collector Cr. Siviroon Srisuwan © 2026 Netflix
With all that built-up momentum, you can only expect The Debt Collector to follow the yellow Wick road. Kugimiya anchors the film well, operating like a mix between Keanu and an introspective badass, displaying his pain from guilt through his subtle body language, but when he takes out villains, that killer eye comes out. Hell, even Po dismisses Num as John Wick when his mom is describing just how dangerous he is to him. However, it shifts to become a crime drama procedural. Nearly an hour into it, the film introduces its dual protagonist in Kong (Chaiwat Thongsaeng), a by-the-book police officer who used to know Num in their shared youth in the orphanage. When assigned to take down Madam Pin’s debt collector syndicate, his path intertwines with Num’s.
The Debt Collector gets to distinctively stand out by not opting for the clichéd route any revenge film of the same ilk can depend on. Ploensang and his co-writers (Ornusa Donsawai and Pun Homchuen) mine solid depth from the bleak environment for its two characters, who have good hearts at their core. Num is the more interesting of the two, as flashback sequences deepen his internal struggle between lifelong rage and trying to do good and seek justice for the underdog.
The film also benefits from its grim backdrop. The world is cloaked in darkness from every act of violence and visceral death, even of the defenseless, whose deaths aren’t devoid of graphic imagery that sometimes skews gratuitous. When Kong is introduced, his personal predicament involves his infant needing surgery. Again, it serves to give the movie its distinct character and add a sense of triumph to watch the co-protagonist seek rightful justice in their corrupt surroundings they’ve faced since childhood.
To its detriment, the shift to Kong disrupts the pacing, arriving like you’re at the crest of a roller coaster, but then you’re stalled right before the ride is supposed to be exhilarating. It’s pretty clunky and pads out the film, which clocks in at an overlong 133 minutes. Besides that, Kong is not as interesting as his hero counterpart.
When the action does erupt, The Debt Collector becomes moderately fun. The action is pretty subdued in shot composition, excluding a bloody, cold opening. But once Num breaks from his invisible chains, Ploensang provides some fine action filmmaking. It, uh, pales in comparison to other recent action fare released this summer alone—one fight sequence with Kong and Num 2v1ing against Po’s sturdiest henchman reminded me of The Furious, which I’d rather recommend over this in a heartbeat. That said, they’re still well constructed, if not lacking as much visual style as they potentially could.
The Debt Collector.Nadech Kugimiya (ณเดชน์ คูกิมิยะ) as Num (หนุ่ม) in The Debt Collector Cr. Siviroon Srisuwan © 2026 Netflix
The set pieces range from grisly and brutal to downright silly—one within a carnival’s motordrome is just delightful—yet they maintain the same amount of adrenaline. Another enjoyable element is Daou Pittaya Saechua, who gives such charisma in his hateful, careless persona, traversing around like a cross between Alfie Allen from John Wick and Timothée Chalamet on his Marty Supreme promotional tour.
Had it been a solo action thriller like John Wick, The Debt Collector most likely could have succeeded as a better film considering its distinct atmosphere and Nadech Kugimiya’s fine action hero performance. Or perhaps if it had introduced Kong earlier than a third of the way through the film. If one is looking for some new Thai action cinema, this is a decent, if mediocre, action-thriller film that is worth a view.