CINE DE ARTES MARCIALES

Martial Arts FILM ONG BAK

The Muay Thai Warrior

Ong-Bak is an action and martial arts movie that was released in 2003. It is directed by Prachya Pinkaew and stars Tony Jaa, Petchtai Wongkamlao, Pumwaree Yodkamol and Suchao Pongwilai. Ong Bak is a legendary statue of the Buddha found in the Nong Para-du temple in rural Thailand. The villagers believe that Ong Bak's magical powers protect them from all evil. A ruthless gangster steals the Buddha's head, leaving the town totally unprotected. Its inhabitants will look for a warrior to retrieve the Buddha and face the gangster gang, finding Ting, an orphan raised in the temple, and a student of Pra Kru, a kind monk, an expert in the ancient art of Muay Thai: "The Nine Body Weapons¨.

I have known people and relatives who confuse Ong Bak with a film very similar to this one and starring the same actor who is Tony Jaa and well, that confusion is due to the fact that the plot is practically identical since in Ong Bak they steal the head of a Buddha and our hero must get it back at all costs and well in Thai Dragon the guy gets his two most precious elephants stolen from the ones he loves as if they were part of his family so he won't mind kicking the shit out of the guy he's with the sole purpose of recovering them and well, both films are very remarkable works within the Thai action and martial arts cinema and I like both films a lot but I think Ong Bak is a little better, it is seen that he had a little more budget and quality than Thai Dragon and in itself it is more frenetic and more exciting than the other.

Well, honestly, there isn't much to say about this movie because it doesn't give much to talk about, it's an action and martial arts movie with a very repetitive and simple plot but it's saved because the story is well told, it's exciting and those who enjoy the wafers, the kicks and good action choreography will find a memorable and remarkable film within the genre because I am almost sure that it will leave a good taste in their mouths and in the end they will end up loving it just as I love it me because it's a movie that I really love.

On the other hand, the performances are correct, Tony Jaa stars in his first feature film and he does it in style, the guy is not that he has great charisma like Jet Li or Jackie Chan but in the action sequences he does quite well because the guy shows to have an unparalleled fighting style that draws powerful attention so that's why this movie is worth it because seeing Tony Jaa in action is a real delight and well, apart from Tony Jaa, other secondary ones that stand out would be the character of Petchtai Wongkamlao who would also work with Tony Jaa in Thai Dragon although there he played the role of a policeman and here he plays a guy who loves to gamble and who lives in trouble since he is in debt and moreover they live with his niece scamming people for the sole purpose of easy money and if both guys manage to have a good chemistry on screen, it's funny, they are very funny and Petchtai Wongkamlao gives him a good humor pretty good to the movie that at no time does it feel bad.

Finally, I would only have to say that the best thing about the film would be its good action sequences since for me they were phenomenal and there are a variety of well-filmed and wellchoreographed combats and fights, apart from the fact that they are brutal and violent, something that attracts a lot of attention as well that at least I am completely sure that it will delight the faithful followers of martial arts since they are enjoyable and it is what stands out most in the film, so if you want to see action from all four sides it would be an excellent recommendation since It is not only a great movie but it is also one of the most remarkable martial arts movies of recent times.

In short, I found Ong Bak to be a very good movie, it's entertaining from start to finish and I'll be able to watch it countless times and I'd never get bored because it really is a great movie in all aspects. Curiously, a few years later, two more sequels would come out that were again starring Tony Jaa, which have nothing to do with this one and in themselves would not be worth seeing since they are quite weak on the bad side.

ONG BAK

The Muay Thai Warrior

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=nAYUv9wjV48