Ong Bak Review (Sunday Business Post)

Ong Bak
Dir:
Principle Cast: Tony Jah

If you spent your teenage years watching American Ninja, No Retreat No Surrender Remo or anything from the Jean Claude Van Damme library from AWOL to Bloodsport, you will understand the unique animal that is a “martial arts” movie. Long before crouching tigers, flying daggers and angry butterflies there was a type of movie made that didn’t bother with silly things like acting, witty dialogue or even plots that made sense. Cinematographers were pussies and sweaty bare-chested men in bandanas were the opposite of gay. The eighties passed in to the nineties and the heady days of biker gang baddies and one liner put downs are long gone. Except in Thailand.
The story is as old as your grandmother’s old hat – a thug steals the head of a holy statue from the quiet village Ong Bak. The town has already been suffering badly from drought and the superstitious villagers fear for their futures unless the head is returned before the annual festival. It is decided that country boy/killer monk Ting (Tony Jaa) should go to Bangkok to get it back. While in the searching the backstreets, Ting comes across Humlae, a petty crook from his home town. When Humlae tricks Ting into fighting in an underground ring, he realises that he has the potential to make some serious money. Ting’s not interested, but starts attracting the wrong attention himself as he starts asking questions about the head of Ong Bak.
There’s nothing sophisticated about the joy derived from watching well-choreographed GBH – it’s a guilty pleasure. But watching Tony Jaa in action would have been appreciated by Nureyev (the ballet guy). The Thai actor apparently underwent 4 years of intense specialist training in order to be ready for the film. We can well believe it – he makes Jackie Chan look like Jackie Collins. Jumping feet and hands first through barbed wire mesh, leaping up buildings and kickboxing with his legs on fire, this is truly a remarkable man. Unfathomably, no wires or special effects were used in the fight scenes which, as hinted earlier, are pretty much the only thing to this film. Without gushing, there are truly few words describe the agility and grace demonstrated by this young man as he crushes heads like watermelons. This is unlike anything that has come before.
But if you’re not into a bit of kicky-kicky then Ong Bak will leave you emptyhanded, the villains are straight out of Rumble in the Bronks; the supporting cast just as comical, and there are no clever twists. There’s no point in mentioning Prachya Pinkaew’s direction or the lighting or the editing – it truly is a clunking oaf of a film, complete with slow-mo impact replays. But for Tony Jaa alone, you have to love it. If you’ve ever cheered for Rocky, you’ll get a kick out of Ong Bak. Sorry, couldn’t help it…

4/5