Prachya Pinkaew
Ong Bak

Prachya Pinkaew - Ong Bak / 2004 (01 Distribution)

Van Damme, Jackie Chan, and Jet Li have been roughly the three actors who have most distinctly brought martial arts to the big screen and to the large audience from the '80s to present day. Now it is Tony Jaa's turn. After an apprenticeship and a myriad of semi-unknown films with predominantly local production, at 27 years old, he receives his consecration with the first film aimed at a Western audience thanks to 01 Distribution. "Ong Bak" is the title of this film, which is a small gem for the high-level martial arts content, both qualitatively and quantitatively.

Let's be clear, the plot of the film is absolutely in line with the scripts of the genre: simply atrocious. A warrior who lives minding his own business in the proverbial remote village has to try to retrieve a sacred stone (Ong Bak) stolen by merchant traffickers of works of art. Our hero goes to the city and against his will (because, of course, he does not want to use violence) kicks the behinds of all the bad guys and retrieves Ong Bak. The absence of a 'damsel in distress' is a good thing because it ensures the film does not slow down too much and leaves the right space for the only thing that makes this work appealing: the fights.

The supporting actors are as indecent as the characters. There's the martial arts master who preaches non-violence but at the same time teaches Ting (the hero of the film) how to break bones abundantly. There is the fake rebel, who in truth eventually becomes good and redeems himself. The antagonist of the final fight pulls faces like Sylvester Stallone, while the head of the art trafficking group, confined to a wheelchair, is so laughably unbelievable. Add to this a pinch of oriental humor and the lethal mix is served.

Let's move on to the fights, which is better.

All the scenes have not been edited as is so fashionable nowadays, but shot at normal speed. The director in this case enjoys replaying the best moves in slow motion from different angles. This way you can fully appreciate Tony Jaa's sublime technique, essential in movements, clean and very cinematic in the jumps he performs. Scenes like the one inside the nightclub (20 minutes of pure fighting) are memorable, and even the final showdown inside the cave does not disappoint expectations.

What I can't stand in the vast majority of action/martial arts films is that the protagonist must inevitably be beaten down in the final fight before gaining the upper hand by divine grace. In this case, our Ting for nearly the entirety of the film kicks, punches, and elbows anyone in his path, and the lengthy, technical, and spectacular climax is exhilarating. Lightning fast, Tony Jaa seems like an animal in his movements, and the precise and devastating grips leave one amazed.

In short, apart from the screenplay, the actors, the editing, the quality of the film, and the soundtrack, this is a great martial arts film. Few dull moments (about thirty out of a hundred) and so much gratuitous violence splendidly executed by a phenomenon that makes action movies like Rumble in the Bronx (Chan), Bloodsport (Van Damme), Romeo Must Die (Jet Li) and similar pale in comparison, appearing definitely slow and scant of highly spectacular scenes in abundance.

Strictly for enthusiasts.