Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior
3/4
Starring: Tony Jaa, Mum Jokemok, Pumwaree Yodkamol, Wannakit Siriput, Suchao Pongvilai
Rated R for Sequences of Strong Violence, Language, Some Drug Use and Sexuality
"Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior" is what it is. It's a martial arts extravaganza filled with insane stunts and bone-crunching action. Anyone looking for plot, character development or deep thematic material should look elsewhere. This is like one of Jackie Chan's early movies, where the story is just a clothesline to hang the action sequences. That's fine since the fight scenes are jaw-dropping enough to be worth sitting through the few scenes that try to explain the plot.
As I've said, the plot is extremely thin and of relatively little consequence. The village of Ban Nong Pradu is getting ready for an important religious festival. Days before the festivities are going to begin in earnest, a gangster named Don (Siriput) steals the head of Ong-Bak, the village Buddha. Believing that the village will be cursed if the head is not brought back in time for the festival, a farm boy named Ting (Jaa) sets out to get it back by any means necessary. To do this, he hooks up with his cousin Humlae (Jokemok), a gambling junkie who knows where to find Don. What they don't know is that his quest to reclaim Ong Bak's head will put them on a collision course with a vicious gangster named Komtuan (Pongvilai).
It's silly and anything but airtight, but it gets the job done. Which is to say, it provides some context for the action scenes. Any dramatic tension or weight it has is, I'm sure, entirely unintentional. Never mind. The real draw of the film is to see Tony Jaa kick ass. On that level, the film is a success,
When I say that this film has jaw-dropping fight scenes, I really should say "jaw breaking." When Jackie Chan does his thing, it's a mixture of karate and slapstick. Movies like "Operation Condor" are closer to cartoons than action movies. And that's fine. Tony Jaa is a different story. He's fast, he's brutal, he's lethal. Ting may rather avoid fighting, but when push comes to shove, he's a force to be reckoned with.
The film's tagline is "No computer graphics. No stunt doubles. No wires." I have no reason to doubt this. That makes Tony Jaa all the more astonishing. He leaps around like a ballet dancer on steroids, and does things with his knees and elbows that must be seen to be believed. It made me ask questions about what he was doing. Like, how can a person smash the skull of someone else with his elbow and not break it? Or how can he possibly twirl around two or three times before landing a bone crunching kick on his enemy, and even if he could, wouldn't gravity make him lose momentum? I ask these questions not as examples of flaws, but of genuine curiosity. The action scenes are thrilling to watch, but I was frequently wondering how Jaa could possibly do the things that he does in this movie. According to iMDb, he trains for 8 hours a day, but seriously. The guy's got moves.
Aside from the throwaway story, the film has its share of flaws. The non-action scenes can drag, and Muay Lek (Yodkamol), Humlae's young friend, can on occasion be grating. The biggest flaw is its visuals. Without a doubt the film's obviously low budget had something to do with this, but "Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior" is ugly. Practically the whole movie has a grainy, shadowy feel that is more sloppy than atmospheric. It isn't fatal, but it hampers immersion, and on occasion, makes things unnecessarily hard to see.
Still, for those who have seen every movie with Jackie Chan or Jet Li and are still hungry for martial arts action, "Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior" is a solid choice.
Starring: Tony Jaa, Mum Jokemok, Pumwaree Yodkamol, Wannakit Siriput, Suchao Pongvilai
Rated R for Sequences of Strong Violence, Language, Some Drug Use and Sexuality
"Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior" is what it is. It's a martial arts extravaganza filled with insane stunts and bone-crunching action. Anyone looking for plot, character development or deep thematic material should look elsewhere. This is like one of Jackie Chan's early movies, where the story is just a clothesline to hang the action sequences. That's fine since the fight scenes are jaw-dropping enough to be worth sitting through the few scenes that try to explain the plot.
As I've said, the plot is extremely thin and of relatively little consequence. The village of Ban Nong Pradu is getting ready for an important religious festival. Days before the festivities are going to begin in earnest, a gangster named Don (Siriput) steals the head of Ong-Bak, the village Buddha. Believing that the village will be cursed if the head is not brought back in time for the festival, a farm boy named Ting (Jaa) sets out to get it back by any means necessary. To do this, he hooks up with his cousin Humlae (Jokemok), a gambling junkie who knows where to find Don. What they don't know is that his quest to reclaim Ong Bak's head will put them on a collision course with a vicious gangster named Komtuan (Pongvilai).
It's silly and anything but airtight, but it gets the job done. Which is to say, it provides some context for the action scenes. Any dramatic tension or weight it has is, I'm sure, entirely unintentional. Never mind. The real draw of the film is to see Tony Jaa kick ass. On that level, the film is a success,
When I say that this film has jaw-dropping fight scenes, I really should say "jaw breaking." When Jackie Chan does his thing, it's a mixture of karate and slapstick. Movies like "Operation Condor" are closer to cartoons than action movies. And that's fine. Tony Jaa is a different story. He's fast, he's brutal, he's lethal. Ting may rather avoid fighting, but when push comes to shove, he's a force to be reckoned with.
The film's tagline is "No computer graphics. No stunt doubles. No wires." I have no reason to doubt this. That makes Tony Jaa all the more astonishing. He leaps around like a ballet dancer on steroids, and does things with his knees and elbows that must be seen to be believed. It made me ask questions about what he was doing. Like, how can a person smash the skull of someone else with his elbow and not break it? Or how can he possibly twirl around two or three times before landing a bone crunching kick on his enemy, and even if he could, wouldn't gravity make him lose momentum? I ask these questions not as examples of flaws, but of genuine curiosity. The action scenes are thrilling to watch, but I was frequently wondering how Jaa could possibly do the things that he does in this movie. According to iMDb, he trains for 8 hours a day, but seriously. The guy's got moves.
Aside from the throwaway story, the film has its share of flaws. The non-action scenes can drag, and Muay Lek (Yodkamol), Humlae's young friend, can on occasion be grating. The biggest flaw is its visuals. Without a doubt the film's obviously low budget had something to do with this, but "Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior" is ugly. Practically the whole movie has a grainy, shadowy feel that is more sloppy than atmospheric. It isn't fatal, but it hampers immersion, and on occasion, makes things unnecessarily hard to see.
Still, for those who have seen every movie with Jackie Chan or Jet Li and are still hungry for martial arts action, "Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior" is a solid choice.
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