Review of Ong Bak 2 (2008) by N H — 10 Feb 2010

After many delays, the long-awaited "Ong Bak 2" has finally arrived and makes one wonder why it even has that title; this so-called prequel takes place hundreds of years in the past, but Ong Bak, the sacred head from the original, is nowhere to be found (given the prominence of elephants in this film, it may have been more appropriate to bill this as a prequel to "The Protector").

Tony Jaa films generally function as nothing more than a showcase for its star and contain a very simple formula: hero has something stolen and kicks a lot of ass in order to recover it. "Ong Bak 2" tries to deliver a more intricate narrative than usual for a Jaa vehicle, but the overall plot isn't very interesting; there are some good action scenes in the first two acts of the film, but the whole thing really gets bogged down when it presents flashback scenes of its main character as a child because, well, Tony Jaa isn't onscreen.

However, just when one is ready to write the movie off as a disappointment, it recovers beautifully for a truly spectacular climactic fight that showcases the star at his absolute best. However, an abrupt cliffhanger ending prevents the film from being altogether satisfying; this decision was reportedly made because the production ran out of funding, but if the filmmakers are able to hit a home run with "Ong Bak 3", all will be forgiven.