Ong Bak: The Thai Warrior (2003)

Movie Rating R Contains: Strong Language Violence Mature Situations

Director: Prachya Pinkaew Movie Genre: Action, Martial Arts Country: Thailand Ong Bak: The Thai Warrior Score Card The following scores are based on a 0.0 to 10.0 rating scale Hover your mouse pointer over the name of each scoring category below for a description Direction: 6.5 Writing: 4.0 Acting: 4.8 Cinematography: 6.0 Sound and Score: 5.0 Functionality: 8.0 Presentation: 6.0 Genre Comparison: 7.0 General Comparison: 5.0 Overall: 5.8 Reviewed 2006-01-20 20:50:11

Ong Bak: The Thai Warrior is a movie about Ting, a young Muay Thai master from the small town of Nong Pradu, on a quest to retrieve the head of their local deity, Ong Bak. The search for Ong Bak takes Ting to Bangkok, where he finds out that Ong Bak's head was given to Komtuan, a crime boss, who is a big fan of underground fighting. After teaming up with two small-time swindlers, Ting enters the fights to gather information and devise a plan to retrieve Ong Bak's head from Don, the man who stole it

This movie exists solely for the purpose of showcasing Tony Jaa's amazing stunts and fight sequences. Jaa performs all of his own stunts, which are just as extravagant as they would be if performed by stunt doubles. These stunts, although impressive, do tend to get unbelievable, making the movie seem cartoonish at times.

The special effects are minimal and are used only to enhance the visual appeal of the scenes. The highlight of each major fight scene is replayed from multiple angles to emphasize Tony Jaa's Muay Thai skill. This stylistic touch adds a great deal of realism to the fight scenes. The fight choreography remains faithful to Jaa's signature art, while creating a wonderful sense of excitement throughout the entire movie.

There is a Buddhist message at the core of the story. Komtuan, the film's antagonist is so egotistical, that he is having his likeness carved into a gigantic Buddha statue. The hero who is triumphant in the end is the humble Ting, from a small country town. When Ting travels to Bangkok in search of Ong Bak, he is bombarded by a metropolis thriving on worldly delights. Ting represents Buddha, showing that the simple, humble way of life is far more rewarding than that of the "floating world".

Ong Bak: The Thai Warrior is an excellent dumb fun movie. Without the Buddhist elements, this movie would have very little substance. There is plenty of action, the fight scenes are superbly choreographed, and the plot is easy to follow. Even though some of the choreography is unbelievable, the overall entertainment value is not diminished. This movie was made to establish Tony Jaa as the next legendary martial arts movie star. Jaa isn't as silly as Jackie Chan, more charismatic than Jet Li, and his martial arts skill is comparable to Bruce Lee. With all of these traits, Tony Jaa will have no trouble at all becoming the next big thing.