THE PLOT THUS FAR
ONG BAK: THAI WARRIOR, Tony Jaa, the fighting superstar destined for film’s martial arts pantheon, (New York Daily News) electrifies as a religious young warrior who swears an oath of peace. But when a gangster steals the head of Ong-Bak, his village’s deity, Ting heads for Bangkok to get it back. In a film Time Magazine calls exhilarating with relentless, fever-pitched action free of stunt doubles and special effects, Jaa performs some of the most awesome physical feats ever seen on film. ONG BAK 2: THE BEGINNING, Tony Jaa, the martial arts master who is as mesmerizing as ever, (Entertainment Weekly) stars in this epic tale of revenge set hundreds of years in the past. This prequel to Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior takes Jaa’s skills to the next level, showcasing him as a master of a wide range of martial arts styles. The beatdowns are epic, with several jaw-dropping set pieces. The climactic scene qualifies as one of the best martial arts fight scenes ever. (LA Daily News) ONG BAK 3 picks up where Ong Bak 2 concluded. Tien is captured and almost beaten to death before he is saved and brought back to the Kana Khone villagers. There, he is taught meditation and how to deal with his Karma, but very soon his arch rival returns challenging Tien for a final duel.
WHAT WE THOUGHT
“Ong Bak” debuted among American film nerds right when I was getting out of college. I used to have Internet buddies screaming up and down about how Thailand was reinventing Martial Arts movies. So, I bought in and I saw a movie about a dude that really loved elephants. The sequel jumps way into the past almost like a reverse Highlander 2. Then, Tony Jaa gets royally destroyed in the third movie and he has to slowly build himself back up for a lame final confrontation.
The trilogy is sloppy and the pacing is all off. That being said, the action is out of this world. What does one really need with these movies? I prefer narrative and I don’t believe we should have to sacrifice it now when we never had to do it in the past. Is there some sort of happy medium?
The Blu-Ray comes with featurettes, stunt performances, music videos and trailers as the special features. The A/V Quality is better than the FOX Blu-Ray for the first movie. The encodes seem to allow for higher bitrates which allow for stronger 1080p transfers. The same can be said for both language cuts in DTS-HD 5.1 master audio tracks. In the end, I’d recommend a purchase to fans of the series.
RELEASE DATE: 07/29/2014