Ong Bak



Ong Bak (2003) is a new martial arts film that’s been getting a lot of buzz from fans of the genre. It’s a Thai movie, and it represents another attempt by Thai filmmakers to make B-movie fare that will compete with films from Hollywood or Hong Kong.


GYMKATA!!!

The plot is simple, and could have easily been used as the basis for any Jean Claude Van Damme or second tier Hong Kong action film of the late 1980s. The head of a Buddha statue is stolen from a temple in a rural village. The local Buddhist priest sends his most promising disciple, Ting (Tony Jaa, real name Phanom Yeerum), to the big city (presumably Bangkok) to retrieve the head from Don, the former villager who stole it. Upon arriving in the city it becomes clear that Ting is out of his depth. Don sold the head to an evil crime lord who is confined to a wheelchair and can only speak with a voice box due to a tracheotomy. The subtitles on the copy I saw were a little vague, so I’m not really sure why a crime lord collects the heads of Buddhist statues, but he does. With the direct route to getting the head back no longer available Ting falls in with George, a former resident of that same village and general loser, and Muay, a spunky young woman whose incessant talking is probably supposed to make her cute and endearing but instead made me hope that something really bad would happen to her.


That's what friends are for.

George and Muay are low level scam artists, so just by hanging out with them Ting ends up in club run by the crime lord. The crime lord runs illegal fights in the club, and of course Ting ends up competing against other street fighters. There are also the requisite street chases and even a cab chase scene before Ting finally gets the head back.

Having a simple plot is one thing, but it really shouldn’t be so bad that it distracts from the martial arts fighting. Unfortunately the plot of Ong Bak sometimes is that bad, especially when it comes to the character of Muay. The one time they try to give her some connection to the main plot it’s through a relationship so arbitrary and in a scene so maudlin the movie could only be improved by cutting the whole thing out. I was also confused by the fact that her first appearance in the movie establishes that she’s a really good motorcyclist, but when Ting has to chase some people on a motorcycle at the end of the film he pointedly leaves Muay behind. Then she just materializes from nowhere at the climax of the film.


Tough actin' Tinactin!

However the point of Ong Bak is the action, and most of it well mounted. Tony Jaa is an impressive athlete, especially when it comes to some incredibly gymnastic feats of jumping and flipping during the street chases. One trick so impressive they do it twice has Jaa running on top of the shoulders of his pursuers. The fights are generally good, though they seem choppy and lack suspense compared to the best work of Hong Kong fight choreographers. Jaa’s physicality is impressive, but I’m not sure if he has the charisma to overcome his limited acting skills. All in all Ong Bak is not a very good movie, but it does serve to demonstrate that the people who made it may have the potential to make really good movies if they get the chance.

Posted: Thu - October 7, 2004 at      

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