Reviewed by David Franklin
Stars Tony Jaa, Sorapong Chatree, Sarunyu Wongkrachang, Nirut Sirichanya,
Dan Chupong, Santisuk Promsiri, Primorata Dejudom, Natdanai Kongthong, | Written by Panna Rittikrai
UK certification 15 | UK RRP £22.99 | DVD Region 2 | Runtime 94 minutes | Directed by Tony Jaa & Panna Rittikrai
It was with 2003’s Ong Bak that international audiences got their first taste of martal arts superstar Tony Jaa’s bone-shattering, multiple villain-dispatching fighting technique, called Muay Thai. The diminutive but lethal Jaa returns with Ong Bak 2, though it’s a sequel in name only: as far as I can tell there are no story links to the original film, not least because that film was set in contemporary Bangkok, whereas Ong Bak 2 takes place in the Thailand of 1421.
Jaa plays Tien, a young man who dreams of becoming a warrior but whose father would prefer he took dance lessons. When their kingdom comes under siege, Tien witnesses the murder of his family, and escapes into the jungle. Initially captured by slave traders, he is eventually rescued by an oddball gang of bandits who recognise his potential to be... well... extremely hard. Tien is trained in a broad range of skills and fighting techniques (though they neglect to teach him the snooker-ball-in-a-sock technique - perhaps in the third film Jaa will complete his training in a Glasgow pub). And when I say broad range of skills, I do mean broad: impressive though it undoubtedly is, you would think the ability to run up the tusks of a stampeding elephant before bringing it to halt with a smack on its head is a skill destined to remain unused except in very specific pachydermal circumstances... but we’ll come back to that. Once Jaa becomes the ultimate killing machine and bandit leader, he goes about getting revenge on his family’s murderers.
What sounds like a straightforward revenge plot is in reality often confusing, as the film jumps around in time needlessly and eventually becomes just one context-free fight after another. There’s not enough plot to generate any kind of forward momentum in the story, which an adventure film like this needs. So to whom do we address complaints about the film’s story and structure? None other than Tony Jaa himself, who stepped behind the camera for this film, both co-writing and co-directing. Sadly, as actors-directing-themselves films go, this is less Costner’s Dances With Wolves, and more Van Damme’s The Quest.
But Jaa is nothing if not ambitious. The film, which had an enormous budget for a Thai film, looks fantastic, with lush cinematography and sweeping jungle vistas, reminiscent of something like House of Flying Daggers. But any sense that Jaa would try to capture the graceful rhythms of that film’s fight scenes is dispelled when he uses an opponent’s thighs as steps, running up his legs and burying his knee in the poor chap’s face. You really need the words “FLAWLESS VICTORY”, in pixellated videogame text, to flash on screen at that point... because that guy is not getting up.
And so to the fights, because let’s face it that’s why we’re here. Do they overcome the flaws in the story? Well, up to a point. Jaa is a quite awesome physical performer, like a more brutal version of Jackie Chan in his heyday. In the original Ong Bak Jaa utilised to blistering effect his signature Muay Thai fighting style which uses knees and elbows instead of hands and feet. (My new fighting style, in which I take on hordes of attackers with just my hips, has yet to take off.) Muay Thai is on display less often in this film, since Jaa is often seen using other methods involving swords, a giant set of nunchakas and er... elephant slapping. Impressive and elaborate though these scenes are, you find yourself wishing he’d go back to the stripped-down, bone-cracking simplicity of the first film. The fight choreography in this film is occasionally over-elaborate, and can seem more like a dance sequence than a fight; one early confrontation in particular starts to resemble a mating ritual between two strutting peacocks.
That said, the combat is usually pretty entertaining. The climax is an exhilarating masterclass in choreography, editing and Jaa’s breathtaking athleticism as he gets to use all the techniques he learnt at the beginning of the film. That’s right... all the techniques. You can almost see Jaa’s face light up with glee when the elephant turns up. That training wasn’t a waste of time after all! He stops it in its tracks, obviously, and then proceeds to fight an opponent on top of, underneath, and around the poor beast, even swinging from its tusks. Members of the RSPCA might want to avert their eyes during that sequence.
After that final fight, there’s a couple of lines of voiceover before the film just abruptly stops, and the credits roll. The film was apparently a troubled production, and this seems to be evidence of that; it’s as if they just didn’t have an ending. Although I actually think it’s quite a good way to end an action film. I don’t need to to see Jean Claude Van Damme hugging his kids and winking at a sexy FBI lady... the final fight is over, just switch everything off and go home.
In conclusion this film is pretty good fun. You could probably just turn the sound down and watch it like a Chaplin film, Jaa’s physical presence is that hypnotic. You’ll emerge from the film feeling more aware of your own physicality, you may even hope for a confrontation with an aggressive parking attendant, who you can dispatch with a flying knee-smash to the skull. But you and I both know the truth: your eyes water when you stub your toe.
EXTRAS ** A pretty poor selection compared to the US Blu-ray release – there's just some interview clips from a press junket, sme behind-the-scenes footage, a photo gallery and the theatrical trailer.