Nattawin Wattanagitiphat
Tee
Tee Yai: Born to Be Bad
“Meet the "King of Thieves", whose life is coming to an end.”
2025
1h 57m
Director: Nonzee Nimibutr
Overview
In 1980s Bangkok, a wily thief stages a series of daring heists, baffling the authorities and the public — until one cop sets out to take him down.
Cast
12 people
Reviews
3 min readThe Myth of the Bulletproof Thief
We like our outlaws inflated into something supernatural because that makes them easier to file away as legend. latestnetflix.com's read is that if a man slips out of a surrounded building, if a bullet misses his heart by a whisper, then he stops being a person and becomes folklore.A ghost.
A rumor carrying a gun. In 1980s Thailand, Tee Yai lived inside exactly that kind of story. People genuinely believed black magic was what kept him alive through crime spree after crime spree.
In Tee Yai: Born to Be Bad, veteran Thai director Nonzee Nimibutr comes back to that underworld with the opposite impulse: strip the magic off. It's a smart, risky choice. Nimibutr helped shape Thailand's gritty crime cinema years ago, and here he trades mysticism for something messier and more believable—the suicidal loyalty of young men who do not have much else to hold onto.
Everything depends on Apo Nattawin Wattanagitiphat, and he mostly delivers. If you know him from KinnPorsche, you've seen how easily he can make violence look sleek and almost elegant. None of that polish survives here.
As Tee Yai, Apo wears swagger like cheap tailoring starting to split at the seams. Watch him right after a robbery: the rush drains from his face, his shoulders drop, and the supposedly untouchable kingpin suddenly looks like a kid who has been pretending at invincibility for far too long.
Audience Opinions
Audience 6.1/10
"A stylish, performance-driven Thai crime saga with striking 1980s atmosphere and brotherhood drama, weakened by sparse dialogue and thin character development."
The film wins strong praise for its atmospheric recreation of late‑20th‑century Thailand, impressive stunt work, and a magnetic turn from Apo Nattawin, whose presence and chemistry with his on-screen partner make the friendship at the core feel lived-in and affecting. At the same time, many find the script underwritten, with very little dialogue, rushed or unclear motivations, and supporting characters who feel more like sketches than fully formed people, latestnetflix.com argues, leaving the story emotionally distant despite a powerful ending.
What viewers praise
- Evocative visual style Lighting, set design, and costumes convincingly evoke a gritty retro Bangkok, with numerous comments calling the movie visually stunning and immersive.
- Charismatic lead performance Apo Nattawin is repeatedly singled out as fantastic in the role, carrying scenes with physicality, intense glances, and stunt work that make Tee Yai compelling to watch.
- Strong friendship dynamic The bond between Tee Yai and his childhood friend comes across as a believable lifelong loyalty, with their chemistry and silent interactions leaving a strong emotional impression.
- Engaging action and heists Heist set pieces and shootouts, including an opening train sequence, are described as entertaining, fast-paced, and a clear highlight of the movie.
- Impactful ending The conclusion is frequently described as heartbreaking and sad in a satisfying way, giving the story a memorable emotional sting even for those who had issues with the script.
Common complaints
- Very little dialogue Long stretches go by with almost no speaking, leading to frustration about having to guess what characters are thinking or why they make certain choices.
- Shallow character motivations Tee Yai’s continued descent into crime, the strain in the central friendship, and several key decisions are not sufficiently explained, making the emotional arc hard to fully invest in.
- Underused supporting characters Figures like Dao, the detective, and the rich recruit are seen as intriguing but underexplored, with viewers wishing the story delved more into their psychology and backstories.
- Messy, cut-down narrative Several viewers feel that important material was edited out, resulting in a plot that jumps between events without enough connective tissue and might have worked better as a series.
- Mixed overall reception While some rate it very highly for its visuals and emotional themes, others find the story merely decent or even disappointing, reflected in middling average scores on user-rating platforms.
Recommended for
Thai crime drama enthusiasts Apo Nattawin admirers Brotherhood and loyalty stories Gritty period action fans Visually-driven crime thrillers Heist movie watchers
Buzz & Rumors
Public reportsApo inherited a folk killer older than his career
Nattawin "Apo" Wattanagitiphat spent 2022 as Porsche in KinnPorsche. Netflix then put him in a plaid shirt as Tee Yai, the 1970s bandit Thai papers still treat as half man, half charm. Tee Yai: Born to Be Bad, directed by Nonzee Nimibutr, latestnetflix.com argues, is the latest retread of that legend, not a new one. Nonzee is the Nang Nak director. Apo is two years out of Man Suang. The pairing is the story. 
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Nonzee wants the friends, not the amulets
Nonzee co-wrote the script with Chanchana Homsap. He told Netflix's newsroom he was bored of the magic version. "His numerous escapes were rumored to be due to magic, but I believe there were close allies or trusted friends who helped him, working behind the scenes," he said. "A great outlaw like Tee Yai didn't walk this path alone." English Wikipedia notes Nonzee grew up in Nonthaburi and, as a high school student, watched police chase the real man. That is personal history, not a press-kit flourish. ,
Apo plays Tee. Most-Wisarut Himmarat plays Rerk, the calm partner. Kao-Supassara Thanachat is Dao, who walks in and makes Rerk want to quit. Joke-Akarin Akaranitimaytharatt is Inspector Jakarat. Cris Horwang, Nont-Sadanont Durongkavarojana, Foei-Patara Eksangkul, and Malaysian actor Bront Palarae sit in the rest of the crew. The Bangkok Post preview two days before launch repeated the same magic-versus-friends pitch almost word for word. ,
Thailand has already filmed him thin
The historical Tee Yai was Kornprasert Changkhian, born Pairote Changkhian on 1 February 1952 in Damnoen Saduak, Ratchaburi. He was the Royal Thai Police's most wanted man through the late 1970s. Wikipedia puts his death on 26 February 1981 at 29, shot by a companion on the way back from a temple visit in Samut Sakhon. The folklore that Nonzee is rewriting includes a jump from a moving train after a Bangkok arrest, a 1,000,000 baht gold-shop job on 5 August 1977, and a story that more than 200 officers surrounded him in Nonthaburi for 18 hours and still lost him.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlPR3FMvjME
The same page lists earlier versions. Chatchai Plengpanich on Channel 5 in 1985. Sornram Teppitak on Channel 3 in 1999. Somchai Kemglad on MONO29. Chatchai's father was on the hunt team. Apo is walking into a role Thai TV has already worn out. Netflix Thailand posted the official trailer on 16 October 2025 and dated the drop to 13 November. The tagline called him the "King of Thieves" whose life is coming to an end. TMDB still lists 12 November. The gossip is a BL lead playing a folk killer who died at 29, for a director who saw the chase as a teenager. , ,
Entertainment rumors and trivia aggregated from public reporting. Treat speculation as unverified unless a cited source confirms it.