Flash Movie Review: Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior
Pushing the human body towards its ultimate limit is a marvel to witness. Whether it is a performer from Cirque du Soleil, an athlete competing at the Olympic Games or a senior citizen; I admire a person’s dedication in asking their body for more. Watching a gymnast or a ballet dancer, the control they have over their body amazes me. When I think how each muscle has to fire up in unison, withstand an opposing force and contain the applying pressure; it truly is mind blowing. This is one reason why I can sit down and watch a martial arts movie; there is a certain physical art created by the fighting scenes. In this film, the story was predictable but I did not care. I do not recall ever seeing the martial art of Muay Thai; so, this movie surprised me. The story was about a bad man who dealt in stolen Buddhas. When the head of a village’s Buddha was stolen; the village leader sent Ting, played by Tony Jaa (The Protector, The Bodyguard), to Bangkok to retrieve it. The straight forward story was really only a map to go from one fight scene to the next. First I have to say I got a kick out of the retro look used for the fight scenes. I am sure it was unintentional since this movie was made in 2003. No wires or CGI effects; Tony Jaa was unbelievable with his flexibility, his power and his tumbling ability. I felt I was watching a little bit of Jet Li mixed in with Jackie Chan and Steven Seagal. In addition, showing some of the same martial art moves from different camera angles was a great idea. I chose to watch this DVD in English so I did not have to miss the action by reading the subtitles. The only problem was listening to the ridiculous dialog with the exaggerated inflections. I considered turning the sound off at one point. Compared to some of the current martial arts films, where the fights are meticulous to the point of being sanitized; this gritty, raw throwback was fun to watch. You have to admire the power a body can generate. Several scenes with blood in it. Thai with English subtitles.
2 1/2 stars — DVD
Posted on May 14, 2013, in Foreign and tagged 2 1/2 stars, action, buddha, foreign, thailand, thriller, tony jaa. Bookmark the permalink. 4 Comments.
moviejoltz 
Ha! You found the perfect movie!!!! I Love some of the older movies where the actors really show what the human body can do, and Cirque du Soleil — the most wonderful feast of live entertainment I have seen.
the old 36 chambers ( master killer was another name I think ) was a good one as well
we always joke that in the old Jackie Chan movies, before the last fight he is wounded and the evil master says in dubbed British accents “Jackie Chan you are wounded, we will fight at dawn tomorrow” — and then it breaks to five minutes of him doing acrobatics and forms,
sometimes, the plot gets in the way 🙂
Glad I hit the mark with this film. It was a real treat to see things being done the “old fashioned” way. lol
Great film, enjoyed this immensely.
Jaa went to to direct two sequels (or might be prequels) to this, although they really have nothing much to do with this movie except to share the name. If you thought the action here was spectacular, it gets amped up like crazy in the next two.
The Thais are pushing into this ‘old fashioned’ full contact fight scenes of late, and there are a few more beyond Ong Bak, like Chocolate and Raging Phoenix starring Jeeja Yanin.
Thanks so much for the heads up on the other 2 films in the franchise; I will add them to my list to watch. I appreciate you telling me about the 2 other films, I will certainly get them to view.