There’s a charismatic theatricality to the way stuntman, actor and martial artist D.Y. Sao lands a blow and makes sure to give us his best Bruce Lee Face as he does.

That skill, and his fists and feet of fury — he did stunts on “Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” and “Everything Everywhere All at Once” — are the only things to recommend in his latest, “Bangkok Dog,” a martial arts brawl in search of a better plot, tastier dialogue, etc.

Sao plays an international anti-drug/anti-human trafficking enforcement agent sent from LA to Bangkok to stop a a mysterious and murderous kingpin (Sahajak Boonthanakit) from dumping fentanyl in the U.S. and killing smuggled migrants to do it.

Agent Kang has an adoring partner (Jenny Philomena Van Der Sluijs) who’s learned a lot of her fighting skills from him and a boss (Charles Onken) who just doesn’t “get” him.

“Do you have to ‘kung fu’ up EVERY mission?”

They get just enough information from a captured LA gangster (Brian Le) to send Kang to Thailand posing as that gangster. He’ll cozy up to enforcer Charn Chai (Byron Bishop), beat-up men who owe the big boss, beat-up sexist gun buyers and beat-up anybody who gets in his path as he makes his way up to Mr. Big, Mesian (Boonthankakit).

The formulaic plot doesn’t offer any surprises, just lots of much bigger stuntmen/heavies beating on Kang, with Sao always screaming and punching and kicking and backflipping his way out of a jam

There’s a goofiness to some of the attempted “secret agent” and “secret agent gadgets” served up here, so it’s all meant to be a lark. But it’s not cute, charming or funny in between the action beats.

Take away the fights and there’s no movie, only a somewhat charismatic lead, one or two decent supporting players and one “test the new guy” cliche or “fighting and partying through Thailand” montage after another.

Rating: graphic violence, drug abuse

Cast: D.Y. Sao, Jenny Philomena Van Der Sluijs, Brian Le, Byron Bishop and Sahajak Boonthanakit

Credits: Directed by Chaya Supannarat, scripted by Laurence Walsh. A Well Go USA release.

Running time: 1:28