Ong Bak 2 ( องค์บาก2 )
Sahamongkolfilm Co. Ltd., 2008
Magnolia Pictures, 2009
Directed by Panna Rittikrai (Born to Fight) and Tony Jaa
Running Time: 110 minutes
Rated R for graphic martial arts violence.
Cast
Tony Jaa (Ting in Ong Bak, Kham in Tom Yum Goong) as Tien Sihadecho
Sorapong Chatree as Chernung
Sarunyoo Wongkrachang as Lord Rajasena
Nirut Sirichanya as Master Bua
Synopsis
In the Buddhist Calendar Year 1974 (1421 A.D.), ancient Thailand is in the middle of a war between the Ayutthaya Kingdom and the Sukhothai Kingdom. Tien, the son of a military leader, escapes from a massacre at the hands of the treacherous Lord Rajasena. While being held captive by a group of slave traders, he is saved by Chernung and the "Pha Beek Krut" - a powerful guerilla group. For the next decade as a member of Pha Beek Krut, Tien undergoes training in various forms of martial arts from Muay Thai to Kung-Fu to Kenjutsu. Using his acquired skills, Tien sets his sights on avenging the death of his parents.
Lowdown
The most anticipated martial arts sequel has been made, but is it worth the full admission price?
Not really.
Normally, you'd watch a Tony Jaa film to see how Muay Thai stacks up against other forms of martial arts. Unfortunately, Muay Thai is only used in roughly 10% of the film. Instead, Tony Jaa shows the viewers how well he can mix other forms of martial arts to fully combat his opponents. That's nice and all, but it pretty much defeats the purpose of a Tony Jaa film. We want more elbow and knee strikes and less drunken Kung-Fu.
Another problem with this film is the storyline. Characters keep on appearing and disappearing, and you can't keep track on who these other people are. And for a martial arts film, the story is very dragging in length. With an ancient setting in mind, the cinematographers try too hard to make the film feel like Apocalypto mixed with Gladiator and 300, but it just doesn't work. And the Ong Bak statue has nothing to do with this film except for an appearance in the end.
Speaking of endings, Ong Bak 2 has the single most anti-climactic of any martial arts film. The movie ends in a cliffhanger where the narrator vaguely explains that Tien finds a way to cheat death.
Sad to say this, but Ong Bak 2 is the weakest of all Tony Jaa films. Hopefully, Ong Bak 3 resolves all the plot holes.
Rating: C-
Links
Official Ong-Bak 2 Homepage
Reference
The Internet Movie Database