Review of Ong-Bak (2003) by Dead_Beat_Dave — 29 Oct 2014

Martial arts films don't come with more action than Ong Bak. Tony Jaa is by no doubt an astonishing fighter, and Prachya Pinkaew (director) & his cinematographer Nattawut Kittikhun do well in milking his talents for all their worth. The pair stun us with astonishingly detailed fight sequences, choreographed to perfection by Tony Jaa - the leading man himself. Cinematography is pin sharp, and the Thanat Sunsin-Thanapat Taweesuk editing team fly the banner of their craft high with jaw dropping cuts and manipulations - foremost being ingenious use of instant replays.

All that being considered, Ong Bak falls far too short in an area arguably more important than technical mastery of filmmaking: the script is a piece of garbage.

Gaps in the fighting sequences and landscape fills play out like a painful Jackie Chan overdub without the Chan. Suphachai Sittiaumponpan manages to produce a script which almost ruins this film; though it is difficult to place blame for this abhorrent piece of writing, as the story originated with Prachya Pinkaew - a director who should not be involved in story making!

Kittikhun manages to stun us with majestic landscape cinematography - which does somewhat make up for the shocking script; though cannot ever restore the potential destroyed by the shoddy framework.

Technically speaking, Ong Bak is convincing - it certainly lives up to its expectation as martial arts eye candy; though if story and depth are what you seek, then you can give it a miss.

But if mindless thrills portrayed with majestic technical mastery are what you seek, then Ong Bak is for you.