Some actors are defined by a film; some define it. "Ong Bak" would be nothing without Tony Jaa. He definitely defines it - and in turn, it defined him in 2003 as the next BIG THING in martial arts actors.
If you haven't seen Tony Jaa before prepare to be mindblown. He is a marvel, at times appearing to be beyond human. This 2003 film was his breakout film - it made him a superstar.
He is probably the most incredible martial arts actors, perhaps ever. His idol, Jackie Chan, is of course the standard by which all the rest of these lithe, leaping, kicking and punching amazeoids are measured, but Jaa has more raw power and tight skills and that gives him a slight edge on my scorecard.
"Ong Bak" proves that Jaa is superhuman - especially since the entire film was done without wires or CGI - it's all sweat, muscle and training. The martial discipline, of course, is Muay Thai with a liberal dose of gymnastics, and although Jaa has other martial arts training (including Aikido) it's Muay Thai that his fighting most closely manifests. In "Ong Bak" his magnificent skills are put to simply amazing extremes as action scene after action scene plays out - but let's not get too ahead of ourselves.
Jaa, a man of few words whether because he's in character or because he chose to be that way, plays a Buddhist priest-candidate from a small village in Thailand. In the insanely impressive opening scene, he is the one who reaches the top of this humongous tree, leaping from limb to limb like a Capuchin monkey, to claim the flag. This gives him a special blessing from Ong Bak, an ancient Buddha statue. Why it's called that is never clear and really who cares? Point is, it is the fountain of all blessing and good fortune for this poor village. When a Bangkok lowlife steals the head thinking he can get some cash for it the village is devastated certain that bad fortune will continue to visit them. Wells have dried, crops have failed and many of the young people have fled to the big city to survive.
Jaa volunteers to go get the head to restore the village's luck, and that's how he becomes Ong Bak, Thai Warrior.
Now something that with simple of a storyline would also imply that the movie itself would be. Not so. It is at times frustratingly simple-minded and clinched but in a lot of parts, the story narrative really soars. Whoever was behind the production really elevated it beyond what most films of this type would be. And there's a nice tone to it - not jokey and not so overly serious that you roll your eyes. There's good, tough, mean bad guys - a lot of them - and even better stunt people as Jaa fish-out-of-waters it in the big, bad city while trying to find the Buddha head and cope with the twisty ways of Bangkok.
While in Bangkok, Jaa's character comes under the attention of a local crime lord who has a taste for gambling on illegal, no-holds-barred, pit fighting. This guy is creepy and speaks through an electronic voice box which makes him even more sinister. Jaa never willingly wants to use his warrior-priest skills but once he's forced to and he's spotted by said crime lord, the plot really thickens. Now Jaa has to fight various opponents bent on destroying him while still searching for the Buddha head - and also trying to survive the conniving ways of a gambling cousin who had moved to Bangkok years before.
The extended chase scenes as Jaa tries to avoid gangsters bent on killing him and his cousin are jaw-droppingly good as is the incredible hand-to-hand fighting that Jaa does at various times. I LOVED the fact that we didn't have to put up with herky-jerky camera movements. They set up, and Jaa went wild. And, at times, you saw the same scene from a different angle - sort of like an instant replay which made it even more special. Are you fight directors listening? We don't want cameras poked into the fight and then spun around a room, then scooped into a set of flailing hands - we want to actually *see* the martial artist fighting.
I don't think anyone in Hollywood - or anywhere - has ever done this stuff better. The scenes are all well-crafted, fun at times, scary at times and feature some clever and creative set pieces. In one, Jaa fights with his pants literally on fire. In an interview he said he burned himself several times and singed his hair and eyebrows while shooting that scene. There's also a 3-wheeled tuk-tuk chase scene that's a blast. It's all balls-deep stunt work and nothing like anyone has ever done.
Jaa, like Chan and other masters, makes his work look effortless. A tribute, no doubt, to the years of study and training he did/does. From the age of ten he practiced doing moves like his heroes Jackie Chan, Bruce Lee and Jet Li. Note the men he chose to hero-worship even at such a young age - all incredible and real, ground-breaking martial artists. Jaa then demanded to be trained in Muay Thai and was given the go ahead by his father. He's never stopped learning, discovering an ancient form of Muay Thai that does find its way into Ong Bak. But honestly, I couldn't much tell the difference. It all looked like flying elbows and knees to me and the times it wasn't I was too busy shaking my head in amazement to break it down. I have honestly never seen a fighter so comfortable raining down punches while perched on top of an opponent's shoulders. Jaa does it as if it's de rigueur and you're always supposed to do something like that when engaged in mortal combat.
Some of Jaa's stuff is so Chan-like that you do think you are watching the master in action. But, as mentioned, Jaa brings a smooth power to his moves that Chan doesn't show very often. Jaa looks like he could easily knock you out cold - Chan more plays at the fighting and uses his incredible acrobatic skills to impress (although there is no
doubt that Chan is also an impressive and highly skilled martial artist.) Jaa's flying knees and this one signature kick he does just astound. And it never stops getting better which I was also amazed at. As good as the last fight is, the next one is somehow better. There's a move he does at the ending battle that I'm still wondering how he didn't blow out both knees doing.
Jaa is an incredible athlete who did track and field in college. He can still jump over six feet. He's demonstrated his leaping/kicking skills at American basketball games and when on tour. That photo above-left is him about to spin into an upside-down kick and blow that soccer ball up. You can find video of him doing that on YouTube. Like Bruce Lee's famous chandelier kick, you see it but you just cannot believe it.
Besides being a world-class martial artist, Jaa is also a gifted athlete, physical educator, choreographer, stuntman, and director, and had spent some of his younger days as a Buddhist monk.
There's not a lot of character or story subtext in this film, especially from Jaa's character. He is almost superhuman in skills and attitude. He rejects a large fight purse in lieu of just the money that was stolen from him and he only engages anyone in Bangkok when it's a woman in danger or he needs to to find Ong Bak's head. Some small bits of romance would have been nice (it's implied but never shown) but they left some of that for the sequels I'm sure.
On a minor note, I really enjoyed the scenery in this film as much as anything else - and by that I mean Bangkok. It may be mean and ugly in parts but it also looks fun! And it features some really gorgeous, uh, citizens - male and female to be sure, but honestly I only noticed the women.
If you're a fan of martial arts films in general this one will be a pleasing surprise. If you're a fan of hot action and/or Muay Thai in particular you can't get better than Jaa. He defines and then redefines the art and the team around him facilitates that expertly.
One of the reasons this film rocks the free world is because of uncredited exec producer Luc Besson ("La Femme Nikita" "The Professional" "Taken I/II.") His movies are known for their kinetic, frenetic high-impact action.
This film spawned two sequels (actually a prequel and a sequel to the prequel.) I haven't seen them yet but I will and anything else I can find of Jaa's. A video game had been planned but I can't find any information on if it had been released.
Jackie, your legacy is assured. Tony Jaa inherits your massive Hong Kong crown by way of Thailand.
