Ong-Bak (2003)
Genre: Action / Adventure
Duration: 105 minuten
Alternative titles: Ong-Bak: Muay Thai Warrior / Daredevil / Ong Bak / องค์บาก
Country:
Thailand
Directed by: Prachya Pinkaew
Stars: Tony Jaa, Petchtai Wongkamlao and Patrarin Punyanutatam
IMDb score:
7,2 (81.912)
Releasedate: 21 January 2003
Ong-Bak plot
"No computer graphics. No stunt doubles. No wires."
The 'Ong-Bak' is a Buddha statue that stands in the Nong Pra-du temple in rural Thailand. The villagers believe that Ong-Bak has magical powers and that he will save them from evil. One dark night, a former village resident, Don (Wannakit Siriput), chops off the head of the statue to gain the favor of crime king Khom Tuan. The young warrior Ting (Tony Jaa), must recover the severed head of the Buddha statue.
Actors and actresses
Ting
Humlae / Dirty Balls / George
Muay Lek
Komtuan
Uncle Mao
Saming
Toshiro
Reviews & comments
FinkPloyd
-
- 646 messages
- 1974 votes
Amateurism really trumps at all levels. Suuuuuperbroke story and then comes that ridiculous slapstick (that character George, sigh). The intro alone is really crying with the cap on, but there is not much improvement. I didn't even think the fight scenes (what it's about) were clever or exciting or whatever you want - too one-sided for that - and were also moderately to weakly portrayed. Those slo-mos and iterations of certain moves are unbelievably cheap and dated. And then some poorly chosen music as an accompaniment.
I am puzzled as to why this film scores relatively well here. A few more consolation points for Tony Jaa, but he alone cannot save the film either.
Translated from Dutch · View original
Vinokourov
-
- 3143 messages
- 2909 votes
Every now and then a martial arts film like this is fun and also very funny to watch. This one comes from Thailand and that Muay Thai is not nauseous! What a big blow to be dealt!
The story around it is of course also a bit dubious, just like some characters: hero Ting goes to the big city to bring a severed Buddha head back to his village. There he meets a brother and sister (both rather silly types) and through them ends up in the fighting circuit.
From then on, the film becomes really entertaining, especially the fights with two Americans (Mad Dog and Big Bear, yes what fantastic names!) stand out. Respect also for all those stunts during the spectacular chases, because they looked really convincing. Gradually, only those moves and all that action become less interesting. In the end it seems a bit much of the same, but nice enough entertainment to rate this film with no less than 4 stars.
Translated from Dutch · View original
Onderhond
-
- 87698 messages
- 13075 votes
Stays nice.
Almost 20 years later, this film still has quite an impact. The pain points remain and have certainly not diminished. Acting is often lousy, the story is nothing at all and especially the soundtrack is really bad. The latter is especially unfortunate, because that means that some action moments miss a little extra impact.
Fortunately, this is captured visually well, and there is still Jaa herself, of course. Not worth much here as an actor, but really brilliant as an action hero. Lots of charisma, and great, inimitable moves that are still very impressive. Nice alternating acrobatic chases and hard fight scenes, with the latter making the most impression.
The action scenes are still rock solid, and that's what it's all about. The rest of the film is somewhat sparse, but that is not so surprising given the limited budget and limited experience of Pinkaew and Jaa. Very nice to see you again.
4.0* and a extended review
Translated from Dutch · View original
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