Ong Bak 3 (2010)

The movie picks up where part 2 left off, with Jaa’s revenge seeking warrior Tien being captured by his nemesis, the evil Lord Rajasena, and subjected to all manner of tortures. Although his body and spirit are broken, he is pulled back from death by his master Bua and childhood love Pim. Recuperating in the remote Kana Khone village, Tien learns meditation and karmic acceptance, whilst deepening his martial arts skills through graceful dance. Meanwhile, the sinister Crow Ghost returns, attempting to seize control of the kingdom from Lord Rajasena for his own terrible purposes.

A major disappointment. I’ve enjoyed all of Tony Jaa’s movies until I watched this one. It is terrible. You usually expect lots of fast and furious action and some kind of coherent plot in Jaa’s movies – you get neither in this one. The final fight, which should have been epic, is really poor because it is short, it has nothing spectacular, it lacks the flamboyant style of Tony Jaa and the other guy shows absolutely nothing. You will get bored watching this movie, twiddling your thumbs until some kind of action happens – that’s how bad it is. It’s a complete waste of time and an epic failure.

Sadako’s Rating: 1.5 stars out of 5

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The Warrior King (2006)

Kham’s life is turned upside down when an international mafia syndicate, based in Australia, captures his two beloved elephants and smuggles them thousands of kilometers away to Sydney. The two elephants are far more than mere animals to Kham and his father; they are part of his family and were being prepared to be presented as a token of devotion to his Majesty the King of Thailand. The only way Kham can possibly save the animals is by venturing into a foreign land for the first time. Taking on a mafia group to rescue two elephants from a foreign country presents a huge challenge, even for a martial arts master like Kham. Despite the help of Sergeant Mark, a Thai police Sergeant based in Australia, and Pla, a Thai girl forced into modern day slavery, the going gets tough. They must take on the ruthless gang of Madame Rose, whose henchmen include Johnny, a Vietnamese thief and martial arts expert, and the hulking TK. Kham has no choice but to risk his own life for the animals he loves.

Tony Jaa is sensational but I think he was better in Ong Bak. Brilliant bone breaking fight sequences and the little elephant that appears in this movie is so cute.

Sadako’s Rating: 4 out of 5

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Ong Bak 2 (2009)

The 2nd Ong Bak movie is not a sequel to the 1st – different story, different characters. Tony Jaa is Tien, the son of Lord Sihadecho, a nobleman from ancient Thailand who is murdered by the vicious Lord Rajasena. Enslaved by him, he’s finally rescued by a man known as Cher Nung. Cher Nung is a renowned warrior and leader of the Pha Beek Krut, a group of pirates/guerilla fighters. Cher Nung realizes the potential in young Tien and takes him under his wing. The Pha Beek Krut are a group of expert martial artists of various styles from all over Asia, and Tien is trained to unify these different styles of martial arts. As Tien becomes a young man and with years of training under his belt, he finally goes on a mission of vengeance to destroy Lord Rajasena. The only problem is he has an entire army to protect him!

Yet another cracking movie by the Thai fighting sensation Tony Jaa who also directed it. It’s miracle the movie was actually finished due to the difficulties encountered in making it. Tony Jaa even went awol for a while and nobody could find him. Whilst this movie could be seen as an excuse just to showcase the many styles of martial arts he’s mastered you can’t hide the fact that the fight sequences are amazing and that the guy is incredibly skilful. The last big fight is breathtaking to watch. The movie though ends abruptly which will continue in a sequel. Forget the storyline, all everybody wants to see is the fights and you won’t be disappointed in them. They’re very creative and reminds me of how Jackie Chan and Jet Li used to be in their early years. Roll on Ong Bak 3.

Sadako’s Rating: 4 out of 5

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Ong-Bak (2003)

Thieves steal a buddha’s head statue from a remote Thai village. The villagers fear that bad luck will bestow upon them so one young man vows to restore the balance by going after them and retreiving it.

The movie that introduced the Thai sensation Tony Jaa to the world and put him on the map as one of the hottest martial artists around. Those that have longed for the type of action movie that Hong Kong was famed for in the 80’s when health and safety regulations were thrown out of the window just for the sake of creating a stunt and no holds barred fighting will no doubt be salivating at watching Ong Bak. The stunt people did get injured filming this movie. Words cannot describe my reaction when I saw Ong Bak on first viewing, my jaw hit the floor at the bone crunching fights I witnessed. It’s just awesome. The storyline is basically weak and just an excuse to showcase Tony Jaa’s incredible acrobatic Muay Thai fighting skills. One of the best modern martial arts movies in recent years.

Sadako’s Rating: 4.5 out of 5

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