Ong Bak: The Thai Warrior องค์บาก (2003) Thai

Tony Jaa, Petchtai Wongkamlao, Pumwaree Yodkamol, Chattapong Pantana-Angkul

Movie rating: 8/10     Neck score: A

I don't remember why I watched Ong Bak 2 before the first one, but I think it had something to do with my little brother thinking the first one might be too violent for me... and then we watched Ahjussi together, haha. I actually liked Ong Bak better because it was easier to follow and had some really great fight scenes. It is about a righteous village dude who goes to Bangkok to get the head of Ong Bak, the village's Buddha statue, back after it gets stolen by some thug from a gang. All he wants is Ong Bak's head, but naturally it becomes something much bigger than that, requiring him to use his awesome Muay Thai skills to defeat all the gang members.


It basically has everything a good Muay Thai, or any martial arts film, needs. The righteous warrior Ting, who is a martial arts master and incorruptible guy. He is a fairly static character because of this, as he has already started in a pretty good place. His biggest struggle is that he wants to use his martial arts, but knows he shouldn't since it is dangerous and he could potentially kill people (it is Muay Thai). His teacher warns him against this at the beginning, that he should never use his skills, except to protect. He resists fighting until they force him, usually by beating on women, which is something our righteous dude will not tolerate. There is also the comedic side kick, his cousin Humlae, who is from the same village, but has come to Bangkok, tossed his heritage aside, and is addicted to gambling. He is in a con-partnership with a young student named Muay Lek, who can hold her own, but is also someone to be protected. Humlae has a great character arch, as he is both a comedic character, and representative of the redemptive arch as he reconnects to the past he has shunned.

Then you have the fight scenes. Such good fight scenes. Tony Jaa is basically amazing at everything. His martial arts are beautiful. His stunts, which he does himself, are amazing. There is a chase scene that, I kid you not, is there for the sole purpose of him showing off his acrobatic skills. It's super flashy and awesome. He's jumping through things, jumping over things, bending in half. It's great. There is a time when it's like a solid half an hour of fighting because he gets caught in the gang's fight club and no one will let him leave until he fights through the entire lineup of thugs, so he is trapped in a street fighter tournament.

There are some pretty graphic moments in some of the fight scenes. The saw dude at the end is a little cringy. Muay Thai is a bit prone to some bone breakage and skull cracking, so be prepared for that. There is also some drug abuse and sexual violence, so you are warned about that too. It got the rating it did for the violence though. Most of it is pretty cool and not really gratuitous, so it's not just violence for violence sake, it's awesome fighting.