Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior (2003) User Reviews (394)

One of the greatest martial arts films of all time.

[ZOMBIE-8 · 7/10 · 13 February 2005]

Ong-Bak. A movie I had first heard about almost two years ago as a little blurb on the internet. A little less than a year ago, I began to read more and more about it and some new actor by the name of Tony Jaa. I finally began to see clips online of the film, and started to notice what people were raving about. While international DVDs had appeared in front of me left and right, I held out for the big day to see it on "the big screen" fresh and with few spoilers. And that day, was today. My expectations were already moderately high, reading that this new actor is the next Jackie Chan, and even Bruce Lee, and how he too uses no doubles... but he also uses no wires, which even Chan has used. Well, all I can say is that after sitting in the theaters for nearly two hours, my expectations were far surpassed.

Tony Jaa's performance brought back memories of seeing Bruce Lee for the first time in The Big Boss (Fists of Fury here in the US). Both characters were naive, innocent, and had left their home for the sake of family. Both characters in some shape or form had to hold back their extraordinary physical abilities for the sake of honor. And finally, both characters were pushed beyond their tolerance level and became the most deadly fighters in their times. After seeing wire work martial arts in every direction after The Matrix, it became very tired. While it still works in some cases, it's just not awe-inspiring... because we all sub-consciously know it's fake. With Ong-Bak, we know that Tony Jaa is performing all of his stunts and martial arts with NO tricks. This makes the fight sequences more intense and realistic, something which many fight sequences are lacking in today's film world.

This being said, the fights in the film are so intense and emotion driven, that my heart was literally racing as each fight passed... I felt like I was going to pass out after the last fight. This is something that no previous martial arts film I have seen has ever done to me, not even the Bruce Lee films. By the time I left the theaters, I was shaking from the film's intensity. Now, THAT'S what I call a martial arts film.

And yes, the plot IS flimsy... but the plot is basically there to set up Jaa's interaction with all of the characters he meets in his travels, whether it is to fight, or to aid his search for the head of Ong-Bak. This is basically what I would call a "journey film"... kind of like Kill Bill. As for Jaa's acting, he didn't have much to work with, but what he was given, he had enough charisma to make his character one you want to side with and cheer for in your mind.

Overall, this film is without a doubt mandatory viewing for martial arts film fans and/or martial arts practitioners... and being both, I can personally vouch for both groups. And if you get a chance to see it on one of the 380+ "big screens" in the US, do NOT pass up the chance to see it... it will be a movie going experience that you'll remember for years to come.

Thai me martial arts down, sport

[skymovies · 8/10 · 17 May 2005]

In terms of sheer athleticism and martial artistry, Tony Jaa certainly lives up to his billing as 'the Next Bruce Lee'. He puts the kick into this quick-fry Thai fightfest that mixes dynamic set-pieces with skull-splitting one-on-ones. It should also remind fans of the Crouching Hero, Flying Dagger brand of Eastern blockbuster (including myself) that Oriental action cinema was founded on action without safety nets, never mind all that fancy wirework and colour-coordinated mysticism.

But for all his physical prowess, Jaa falls short of Bruce Lee (and even Jet Li) when it comes to charisma, sounding nervous and looking slightly uncomfortable in the action-free scenes. Director Pinkaew perhaps recognises that Jaa will need time to build his own screen persona, so wisely gives him very little to say. I wish the same could be said of screechy female sidekick Muay who is both an irritation and a distraction. However, quibbling too much about the acting would be churlish.

Who cares that the plot's straight out of The A-Team when the adrenaline flows this thick and fast? The foot pursuit through Bangkok's backstreets is not just five minutes of pure exhilaration, it turns a few chase clichés on their heads (uh-oh, look out for those two guys carrying panes of glass across the road… hold on a minute!). There are even replays of the most jaw-dropping bits so that you can believe what you just saw.

Wow, someone totally missed the point

[mastercko · 8 December 2004]

Saying that Ong Bak was a bad movie because of the weak story is like saying that the Simpsons is a bad series because of the lack of continuity from show to show.

YOU'RE MISSING THE POINT! The story is only there to loosely tie together the fact that this guy is being a badass. Which he is. There were only a FEW fight scenes? What are you talking about? There were so many fight scenes and chase scenes and the like. Every time you thought you saw the coolest thing ever, he breaks out another move that STILL totally blows you away. The only reason that this movie exists is simply to showcase Phanom Yeerum's skills as a martial artist and an acrobat, which frankly, is enough for me.

*sigh* If you care so much about story, steer clear. If you have any interest whatsoever is the GENRE of martial arts movies (where the quality of the story is usually not the primary concern), watch this movie. You won't be sorry.

Tony Jaa is for real, but this movie is just OK

[sopclod · 6/10 · 14 May 2007]

Imagine you and your buddies are in high school, and one of your friends is Tony Jaa, and you want to make a little movie to show off Tony's awesome talents, like that ninja guy you see on youtube. Then imagine that the Thai government gives you a couple of million dollars to do it professionally. That's how this movie comes off.

The plot and characters are pretty forgettable. I guess if you know nothing about Buddhism or Thailand you might get something out of it, I don't know. The real reason to watch this movie of course is for Tony Jaa. And don't worry, you won't miss anything. Every time Tony does something cool, which is often, you get to see it two or three times in slow motion. I didn't mind it here because this is my introduction to Jaa, but now that he's got a few movies under his belt he should probably cut back on that stuff.

The fight choreography was a mixed bag, IMO. There was a lot of pausing between moves, which made it seem a bit old-fashioned. The opponents were pretty uninspired too; I don't think much thought went into them.

It's exciting to see a talented young martial arts performer like Jaa come along, but for anyone who thinks Jackie Chan (who Jaa borrows heavily from) or Jet Li have something to worry about, you're dead wrong... at least for now. I look forward to the next one.

Brutally Beautiful

[kamwingp · 9/10 · 18 November 2003]

The storyline is predictable, but the visual and the fights makes up for it. I understand why people compare the lead actor with Jet Li. They both have that presence on screen, the amazing flexibility and fighting sequences. Outstanding acrobatic movements when running from the bad guys in the street and it was good to see the shots from different angles.

It reminds me of some Jet Li's better fighting sequences before he took to the wires. This is the kind of martial arts film that makes me smile and cheer.

If you like martial arts films, then you'll sure to like this.

Impressive fights with bounds and leaps and no stunts but the same actors are the fighters

[ma-cortes · 6/10 · 13 December 2005]

Each decade ,the cinema produces a new martial arts hero .On the years 70s ,from Hong Kong arrived Bruce Lee,the Kung Fu hero whose shadow still moves about the cinematographic industry, thus successors were Wang Yu,Sonny Chiba,Sammo Hung...At the years 80s decade was Jackie Chan and still continuing.His amazing slickness united with a great humor sense and risk converted him in an international star.Also in years 8os were Japan and the Ninjas whose principal representation was Sho Kosugi.At the years 90s,Jet Li defied the gravity in a films series that would make a revolution in chop-socky genre.Today in this decade and with a new century has originated a new star.He comes from Thailand and is called Tony Jaa.

The picture deals about robbery a Buda head (Ong Bak) which is adored by a village people.A young,the Muay Thai warrior,is assigned to retrieve it, and he flies to the city where is allegedly found .Colourful,Backock-set chopsocky big budget, leave no cliché untouched,but fights are well staged with spectacular pursuits of Thailand typical cars.,He'll fight for a big match which turns out to be fixed by a local mobster .For a little more entertainment ,our hero saves an abducted girl and struggles a hired killers. The movie is well directed by Pinkaew. The motion picture will like to martial arts fans.

Awesome

[AwesomeWolf · 9/10 · 5 November 2004]

Version: Edko's Hong Kong VCD release

In only their first movie, director Prachya Pinkaew and lead actor Tony Jaa have created a very impressive, awesome action movie in "Ong Bak". Jaa plays Ting, a muay thai fighter from a small village in Thailand. The villagers revere Ong Bak, a statue of Buddha kept in the village's temple, and believe it guarantees the safety of the village. Don, a former villager turned criminal, removes the head from the statue and takes it to Bangkok, to curry favour from the crime lord Khom Tuan. Ting follows Don to Bangkok and fights for the return of Ong Bak.

Story wise, its a pretty standard action movie - it touches briefly on serious social issues in Thailand, but only very briefly. Action wise, its a pretty awesome action movie. Tony Jaa is pretty good showing off his muay thai skills on screen as he fights a range opponents. Most of the one-on-one fights are well choreographed and quite intense. As for stunts: some of them would make even old-school Jackie Chan green with envy. Jaa and Pinkaew have hit the nail right on the head when it comes to action movies, and in only their first go!

9/10 - Hopefully I can catch it on the big screen some time.

Real Action Film (No Bias)

[Mr_Sensitive · 6/10 · 2 February 2005]

This movie base on nothing but some excellent Thai Boxing tricks that have been projected very beautifully. After all it is one of the only movie that actually have true Muay Thai in it after watching a Hollywood style kick-boxing for so long. It is nice to see some differences side and that what make this movie stand out.

Added with no stuntman, no trick that is not real (and some of the tricks is like "woah how the hell did he did that?") And some good pure boxing this movie is what you actually called an "Action" action film.

For what it is the movie seem to be anticipated by lots of action movie lover and this is definitely the one not to be miss.

Rating: 6.5/10 (Grade: C+) Rating in action wise: 8.5/10 (Grade: A-)

One Of, If Not The, Best Martial Arts Movie Ever Made

[Cian-Faal · 10/10 · 19 February 2005]

I've seen some of the negative comments people have made, and they are really off base, and quite frankly, stupid.

This movie is filled with incredible fight scenes, from the multitude of fights in the fighting circle, to that final fight in the cave. Most of the movie, in fact, was fight scenes, so I find it hard to believe that people think that there aren't any fight scenes in it. Those people who think that there aren't any action scenes in it are blind, obviously.

As another user has said, the whole point of Ong Bak was to display Tony Jaa's skill at martial arts, which is utterly incredible. Tony Jaa is the best martial artist I have had the pleasure of watching on the big screen.

While the plot wasn't the most original, why on earth did you go into Ong Bak expecting some sort of Oscar winning drama, such as Titanic? This movie was merely introducing Tony Jaa's skill to the North American audience.

People really need to lighten up. Just because a movie doesn't have an incredibly detailed and complex plot, that doesn't mean it's a bad movie! There is nothing wrong with a so-called "mindless" action movie, such as Ong-Bak! Just because it isn't some sort of drama, or another plot-saturated film, that doesn't mean it is garbage! While it may not have the best plot around, in terms of pure martial arts, this is the king. There is not a single martial arts movie out there that I have seen, that is more enjoyable than this movie, and I've seen a lot of martial arts movies.

If you are not stuck up, and you are able to enjoy a good martial arts movie, than Ong Bak is definitely for you! This movie is the best marital arts movie I have ever seen, and I gladly give it a 10/10.

good, yet overrated

[angry_red_planet · 6/10 · 26 March 2006]

in a t.v program they called Tony-Jaa "the new Bruce Lee", so I decided to give the movie a try.

Well, there is good Muay-Thay fighting and nice stunts. But, anyway, as i had practiced martial arts for several years, I can say that Bruce Lee is way better than Tony-Jaa when it comes to fight. The movie is also very predictable, just like this kind of movies are. Tony-Jaa's voice is a little annoying, a lot of sequences were there just to show how good Tony-Jaa is at fighting, and even though they said that Tony-Jaa doesn't use wires, i noticed one:

in the beginning of the film, in the tree sequence, comes a moment in which Tony-Jaa jumps from branch to branch, look at the top of the screen: there's a white wire going out of Tony's back.

in spite of all that, is nice fun, yet overrated

Most awesome, violent, raw martial arts film ever made

[rcropperUK · 10/10 · 24 February 2004]

Tony Ja is the new Jet Li and Jackie Chan with a thai boxing background. This guy moves as quick as Jackie, has the strength of Jet Li, put packs a more violent, deadly assault - he uses his knees and elbows for pure annihilation. Why does he use his elbow and knees so much? Because they are the hardest parts of the human body. And god damn in Ong Bak he proper messes up everyone he comes across. Thai boxing is proper hardcore, they don't mess about.In Ong Bak, the story is pretty non existent, basically some gangstas from the city come to our heros poor village and steal the Buddha's head statue, and so Tony Ja commits to bringing it back and restoring peace. Now with that out of the way, let's talk about the fighting as this is where the film excels. WOW, this IS the most realistic fighting you will ever see. The only thing I can compare it to is Ultimate Fighting, but ten times worse. Tony Ja will become a legend this is fact. His flexibility in fighting is so extreme, and this film is basically just crammed up with the biggest, most violent stunts you will ever see. For instance, in a scene where Tony and his newly met friends run away from a group of hoodlums, he gets away in style. This is done by jumping through the tiny gaps, either backwards sliding underneath cars, jumping feet and hands outstretched through a hope, running across people's heads, flippin, kicking, somersaulting absolutely everywhere. Remember when you first saw the matrix and you were like `woah', well this is so much better. For starts, the stunts in this film are REAL. Everybody gets injured. There are no wires, pulleys, fake punches, fake blood. This is how it should be. Hollywood take note. The best scenes come where there is a kinda of street fighter style arena, where the deadliest fighters compete to be champion. Tony gets accidently caught up in this, and doesn't mess around by defeating the champion with a single powerful knee thrust into the opponents chest as Tony bends forwards and twists to avoid the ensuing punch from the opponent then unleashes the killer blow. Everyone in the arena is stunned and Tony gets booed for bad sportsmanship.. But don't worry about that has the biggest fights of his life coming up.You need this film in your life. I haven't seen anything as violent and hardcore as this ever before. But even though its hardcore and low budget, the direction is slick. Double takes are often used for the incredible action so you can really appreciate, for example, taking out three men with a triple, twisting back flip and smashing their heads in with your knees and elbows at the same time with pure accuracy. I have watched this four times now and cannot get enough. Overall, the story line is weak and there are some hilarious cheesy moments, but this all works perfectly well as instead of going `god damn thats sick!' at the beginning, you will end up saying `ha ha! Did you see his elbow get torn backwards then snapped! Ha ha! This is genius!'. It's like CKY2 with all the accidents, but here it is intentional for someone to do themselves in. This is a film you will watch over and over again, and show your mates everytime they come round. 10/10

Promise for the future the present is a work in progress

[kergillian · 7/10 · 27 March 2005]

There's no denying Jaa's talent - one merely has to look at the foot chase through the streets of Bangkok, with Jaa leaping, nay FLYING, through the air over everything and everyone, through hoops, under cars, between-over-under-around obstacles everywhere, to see the grace and flow of his movements, and the raw potential that lies within his body, untapped.

But first he needs to work on the other side of film-making - you know, the acting? Jackie Chan has the clownish charm, Jet Li has the smile and the presence - the charisma, Chow Yun-Fat has the eyes - that disturbing glare and the sense that he is none-too- stable, Chieu Shek has the raw emotion and the on screen pain, and Lao Ching-Wan has the whole package put together. Tony Jaa needs to find the emotion, needs to let it out. Because although this film is essentially an action-packed showcase of his ability as a raw fighter, Wongkamlao steals the screen in almost every scene.

When Jaa finds his role, he will take his place among the greatest Asia martial arts/ action stars of today. But he has quite a ways to go before reaching that level. 6.5/10.

Impressive stunts, childish writing

[tonytanti · 1/10 · 3 March 2006]

While I will admit that the fights were impressive especially in light of the fact that no special effects were used I still cannot believe anyone would consider this a good movie. It got repetitive quite quickly and I have a feeling I could see the same impressive stunt work at the circus. And was it just me or were some of the fights sped up? I'm not sure if this movie was poorly translated but the writing and dialogue was among the worst in any movie I've ever seen. Come to think of it it can't have just been translation problems because the worst lines were all the English ones.

I think a class of grade 4 students could have written a better script and then the stunts would have been showcased more effectively.

Entertaining

[Antagonisten · 29 October 2004]

I saw Ong-Bak for the first time on the Stockholm Film Festival in November of 2003, and now recently saw it again on DVD. I usually see at least 4-5 Asian films on the festival every year and each one is a gamble. At worst Asian action films can be unbearably slow and dull with uninteresting action scenes and horrible acting. At their best they can be like a wonderful ballet with astonishing moves and moods. Ong-Bak falls somewhere inbetween these two.

The story and set-up in Ong-Bak is nothing very original. The head of the village Buddha-statue (named Ong-Bak) is stolen which spells bad luck for the village. So they send their best man to the city to find the son who moved away, and they can search for the head together. Of course the villager is completely lost in the city and soon gets himself into trouble.

So the story is nothing new, neither is the setup which is more or less van Damme standard fare movies like "Lionheart" except in Thailand. We see some street-fighting and some tournament-style fighting in seedy bars. So, what makes Ong-Bak stand out? Well, the fighting! I have seldom seen such well-made fighting scenes. Both well choreographed and plentiful! The thai-boxing done here might be very stylized to look good, but it really does the trick. The fights are simply put amazing! The lead actor really knows his moves and his acrobatics, and many times you can really feel the crushing hits as kicks and elbows hit home. Also the pace is very high with almost constant fighting in the last half of the movie. And it all looks very very nice.

So, Ong-Bak is definitely for those of you who are suckers for martial-arts and fighting. Don't expect an original story or terribly solid acting. But expect a fun ride, lots and lots of violence. And for me that's enough. Ong-Bak receives a 7/10.

Great martial arts!

[imdb-5721 · 7/10 · 9 February 2005]

This movie is a spectacular departure from the "wire-fu" that's all the rage these days. This is real people doing amazing things. Ong Bak takes up the mantle of early 80's Hong Kong cinema, and adds quite a bit of style. Also refreshing is the lack of "dark room, cameraman is on speed" camera-work in the fight scenes. The fight choreography is fluid and fast, and the aerials are stunning. The camera doesn't try to hide anything, it exposes the actors in their full glory.

The acting is, well, better than most martial arts movies, but that isn't saying much. The plot is fairly disposable. Personally, I found the voice of the female lead rather grating. Overall, though, worth watching, if you like the genre.

I can't wait to watch it on the big screen.

[RobertMGomez · 10/10 · 4 December 2004]

My girlfriend bought this movie for me as a gift and it turned out to be one of the greatest gifts I was ever given. I saw clips of it on the internet that just blew my mind, but the actual movie is amazing. Tony Jaa is going to be greater than Jackie Chan and Jet Li. I hope some American studio gets him in a high budget movie that allows him to show a larger audience how amazing he is. So many martial artists or action stars resort to camera tricks, wires or stuntmen for their films. Tony is the stunt man. He spent so many years doing stunts for other stars and it shows when he does his. It reminds me of the way Bruce Lee movies were made. I have seen Jackie Chan movies and even though he does many of his stunts, he still resorts to wires. In Bruce Lee films it was just pure badassness. No wires, just a show of talent and that is what Tony Jaa brings...no wires, no tricks, just whoopass.... I know this comment just went on and on, but there is a minimum so I just kept typing.

I Know Kung Fu - Thai Bruce Lee

[markbarros5 · 7/10 · 8 February 2005]

I feel Panom Yeerum first major role is an equivalent to the modern day Bruce Lee's Big Boss. Not Only is this film about a poor peasant boy from the country that is throw in the hussle of city life to help his family and friends, but he must over come an evil boss and his gang. The final 25 minutes of the movie show a great choreography that you would expect with a Jackie Chan movie, but with all the mystic of a Bruce Lee/Jet Li Movie.

The only negative point to this movie is that Panom Yeerum lacks screen presence, though I can foresee Yeerum over coming this problem with his future movies and experience that he will gain with his movies.

Excellent Action Movie But....................

[soorajsm-1 · 10/10 · 23 February 2005]

Wow! The film overall shows how perfect a debut star can manage the action scenes. He makes us say "ouch"s and "ooh"s while watching the movie. forget the illogic scenes, ( Thailand underworld, drug mafias, boxing ring in pubs, replacing Buddha's head etc) it is actually foolishness to find errors in such scenes. I agrees cent percent that the movie is a good entertainer and Tony Ja aka Phanom proved himself with his excellent performance. The direction is also flawless and comes up to the mark especially in the fighting scenes. But i just disagrees somebody who argues that Tony Ja is the good than legendary Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan. Both of them did more daredevil stunts than tony did. Let's say Tony Ja is excellent but not the best ever seen.

continuous action for those of you who can't stand a story line

[mungerc · 7/10 · 13 February 2005]

When I see an action movie I don't want it to be burdened by a plot. All I want to see is people getting knocked unconscious and high speed car chases without all the mind numbing character development and complicated plot twists. This movie delivers just what I was hoping for. The exposition sets up a conflict and that's all that is needed for the oncoming barrage of impressive fights, chases, and stunts. For those of you who want plot with your action movies, go see The Matrix.

I was also not disappointed by the technical work on this movie. There were no annoying super close shaky camera shots lit by strobe lights. The main actor knew his moves and did them well so there was no need to hide him through shoddy camera work. Most of the time the camera was pulled back enough that you could see him do all his stunts with clarity. The editing was also done in a way to showcase all his stunts. The most impressive stunts were shown at least three times from different angles to make the stunts look three times more impressive I'd guess.

The pure pleasure of the real thing

[Chris Knipp · 9/10 · 20 April 2005]

That "Thai Warrior" is Worowit/Panom Yeerum, AKA Tony Jaa, and he's the reason for watching this movie. He's an amazingly gifted young Muai Thai kick boxer and stunt man who did all his leaps and jumps and dives. My favorite moment of all is the one where he's chasing through the streets and dives under a car, slides out the other side, and pops up again all in one smooth motion. Do you think that's easy? It's barely even conceivable. And he does all this without digital manipulation or the wires we've gotten all too familiar with in Chinese martial arts movies. Look for the real thing here, no arty made-for-westerners romances à la "Crouching Tiger" or "Flying Daggers." This is like finding a dirty little restaurant in San Francisco's Tenderloin that has really authentic Vietnamese or Pakistani food. No frills -- just the joy of truly unmediated experience. The story, something about the head from Ting's (Jaa's) village temple's Buddha statue (or ONG-BAK) whose theft by a gangster's low level employee disgraces the village and must be restored, is a mere formality, just enough to get things going and give Ting a back story.

Tony Jaa's face is pretty, almost feminine, and his body is stocky and incredibly flexible and strong. Despite a poster for the movie that shows his broad tapered back, you may not notice how well muscled he is at first. None of this movie is about superficial show so much as it's about accomplishment. Jaa's expressions are intent and sensitive, but unlike the "Beautiful Boxer" star Asanee Suwan (whose character, Nong Toom, is supposed to be a cross-dresser fighting to earn money for a sex change), Jaa doesn't mug in an attempt to act and isn't called upon to do so.

This was a relaxing way to end a movie marathon of three films in one day -- the other two were the Kazakhstan charmer "Schizo" and the doc of US soldiers in Iraq, "Gunner Palace" -- because you don't need to take it seriously. In fact you must adopt a mindless attitude watching "Ong-bak" (which I couldn't for "Sin City" or "Oldboy," hence my difficulty with those two productions) because it contains a lot of bone-crushing violence. Sometimes you can even hear the bones being crushed. The movie has been called "insanely brutal" and that's about right, though all the brutality is pretty much in hand-to-hand fighting and stays close to the kick boxing techniques. You have to focus exclusively on Tony Jaa's physical prowess and remember that this is just a movie -- that people are not really being killed or their heads mashed in -- but if you do so you will be amply rewarded. There are car chases, battles, competitions, sexy girls, and evil gangsters, the kingpin of them all, Khom Tuan (Sukhaaw Phongwilai), being a depraved cripple with a scary voice-box. It's not that there's no plot, just that you'd waste your time taking it seriously.

The other most purely enjoyable sequence in "Ong-bak" comes even earlier than the street chase, when Ting is demonstrating his training for his Buddhist teacher through adopting a sequence of ritualized positions. This is sheer physical grace, like a dance broken into a series of sudden tableaux, and you realize what a heap of actual ART there is in the martial arts. You can't fake this kind of thing, and what impresses in this scene is not the moves and positions in themselves, but the clear sense you get that Tony Jaa knows all this deep in his bones. More than just showing off a series of carefully memorized moves this sequence is like someone with a beautiful voice and perfect diction reciting a long, awesome prayer. It's beyond words, and beyond interpretation. It just IS.

It's said that "The Making of Ong-bak" is even better. Could be. Also it's said that Tony Jaa's going to be bigger than Jackie Chan and Jet Li. That's not too far fetched either. But even if this was only a unique moment in time, it'd be a movie that's fun to watch for anyone who enjoys seeing the body in graceful, powerful, acrobatic motion. In the world of martial arts stunts, it just doesn't get any better than this.

A Taste of Thai

[thaimoss · 7/10 · 20 February 2005]

I saw this movie in Thailand, where I lived for a few years. It was one of the more popular local flicks released that year. The Thais loved it, and they're quite proud of its international success. A Thai friend of mine has told me every day this week how well Ong Bak is doing at the box office.

When I saw it, my first reaction was "Unbelievable!" Lets face it, since Bruce Lee, up through Chuck Norris and Van Damme, to Jackie Chan and Jet Li... these flicks are always over the top. But this guy has moves that will drop your jaw. Some of them are shown from a couple angles, or in slow-mo, and even after this "instant replay" you'll still leave the scene wondering "Man, how'd he do THAT?". The guy is amazing.

This film also puts a nice touch on the genre, since it isn't "from China", or based on the tried-and-true Chinese origins. The filming in Thailand will give you some different scenes, and some local variations on your favorite themes (the Tuk-Tuk chase scene is great!).

I'd say if you love your martial arts, you'd be a fool to miss this one.

...What can I say?!!?!?

[sahsool · 10/10 · 29 January 2005]

Firstly, Please, please ignore any negative comments about this film.... I watched this film on it's release in Thailand a couple of years ago and I have a subtitled copy.

If you are of sound mind, this film will leave you gob-smacked at the way that Muay Thai has been portrayed on film -promoting its effectiveness in streetfighting situations and the acrobatics performed by this guy are just incredible.

Secondly... the person who wrote that the 18 year old white dudes were out of place ...do you know anything about Thailand and bars on Khaosan Road?????? the place is full of them.

If you want to see something more incredible watch the 'making of Ong Bak'

Tony Jaa Opened the Door for Non-HK Cinematic Martial Arts

[bbally81 · 7/10 · 9 March 2005]

The title of my comment says it all. Tony Jaa has what it takes to compete with the likes of Jackie Chan and Jet Li. The plot of a warrior from a village searching for an stolen statue may be simple but the top notch action sequence definitely makes up for it. The acting in the movie aren't award worthy but they were competent enough to make you care about the characters. Of course, the highlight is the action, which isn't really a surprise, considering that Tony Jaa was a stuntman and has an incredible background on the art of Muay Thai. The action is so breathtaking, that it will have you at the edge of your seat and your jaw dropping especially that most of the scenes required no wires nor CGI. I give it a 7 out of ten.

Spectacular Choreography

[UrbanFilmCritic · 5/10 · 21 February 2005]

I believe in not expecting more from a movie than it is capable of. For instance, the best part of a musical is supposed to be the music. If the plot is good that's just an added bonus. Right? I don't watch a movie like "Chicago" and expect "The English Patient". With that in mind, I watched Ong Bak knowing full well that it was a martial arts film. That means bad plot, bad acting, and good fight scenes is a recipe for success.

The fighting scenes in Ong Bak were spectacular! And that's all that matters! The best part about watching this movie was being part of a raving audience reaction to every kick and punch.

So it was good. Go see it with your boyfriend!!!