Do you want to see ‘Ong-Bak (Ong Bak: Muay Thai Warrior...’?

Ong-Bak (Ong Bak: Muay Thai Warrior) (2005)

tomatometer

All Critics
Top Critics

Average Rating: 6.9/10
Reviews Counted: 102
Fresh: 87 | Rotten: 15

While Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior may be no great shakes as a movie, critics are hailing the emergence of a new star in Tony Jaa, whose athletic performance is drawing comparisons with Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, and Jet Li.

Average Rating: 6.5/10
Critic Reviews: 25
Fresh: 19 | Rotten: 6

audience

liked it
Average Rating: 3.8/5
User Ratings: 65,547

My Rating

Added to your Facebook Timeline. — undo

Movie Info

When the head of Ong-Bak--the sacred Buddha of a poor village--is stolen, the population is plunged into misery. The Buddha was the focal point of an anniversary vigil believed to bring rain to the drought-stricken area. Young Ting is selected by the villagers to travel to Bangkok and rescue the relic in time for their ceremony. Ting has an affinity with the statue as he was left on the temple steps as a baby and raised by monks, who taught him muay thai, but forbade him to use it in combat. But

R, 1 hr. 47 min.

Drama, Action & Adventure, Art House & International

Directed By: Prachya Pinkaew

Written By: Suphachai Sithiamphan

In Theaters: Feb 11, 2005 Wide

On DVD: Aug 30, 2005

Box Office:$3.9M

Magnolia Pictures

Ong-Bak (Ong Bak: Muay Thai Warrior) Trailer & Photos

More Photos (6)

Cast

Critic Reviews for Ong-Bak (Ong Bak: Muay Thai Warrior)

All Critics (113) | Top Critics (27) | Fresh (92) | Rotten (15) | DVD (24)

Jaa's moves are impressive, but the choreography ranges from bland to ridiculous (as when one dirty fighter resorts to using major appliances as weapons).

March 3, 2005 Full Review Source: Arizona Republic

| Comment (1)

Kerry Lengel

Arizona Republic

Top Critic

No prizes will be awarded to anyone who guesses that Ting beats all assailants and recovers the artifact. What you might not anticipate is how viscerally exciting director Prachya Pinkaew makes the action scenes.

March 3, 2005 Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune

| Comment

Colin Covert

Minneapolis Star Tribune

Top Critic

What Jaa does is often mesmerizing.

February 17, 2005 Full Review Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution

| Comment

Bob Longino

Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Top Critic

The artifice-free antidote to such F/X enervation -- a jaw-dropper of a star-making display from lithe fighter-artist Tony Jaa, framed by a plot as bare-bones as a backroom boxing ring.

February 16, 2005 Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly

| Comment

Lisa Schwarzbaum

Entertainment Weekly

Top Critic

I think you have to hang a plot and some suspense around this. It was just so dopey and so endless and so repetitive. The guy's got talent, but thumbs down for this movie.

February 14, 2005 Full Review Source: Ebert & Roeper

| Comments (2)

Richard Roeper

Ebert & Roeper

Top Critic

An effective martial arts film destined to leave mouths agape.

February 12, 2005 Comment

Andrew Sun

Hollywood Reporter

Top Critic

May be the supreme example of a filmic endeavor succeeding exclusively for one cinematic aspect.

September 26, 2009 Full Review Source: Film and Felt

| Comment

Gabe Leibowitz

Film and Felt

Just a showcase for Jaa's athletic abilities.

August 24, 2006 Full Review Source: Lessons of Darkness

| Comments (4)

Nick Schager

Lessons of Darkness

Skittishly directed and haphazardly written, Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior is a bundle of old action movie chestnuts brought briefly to life only by Jaa's presence.

May 26, 2006 Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid

| Comment

Jeffrey M. Anderson

Combustible Celluloid

While many martial arts movies rely on wires or computer graphics to pump up the action, this one is all natural.

March 7, 2006 Full Review Source: Laramie Movie Scope

| Comment

Robert Roten

Laramie Movie Scope

Ong-Bak takes [martial arts movie] elements and synthesizes them into something more than... the typical martial arts movie.

October 27, 2005 Full Review Source: Now Playing Magazine

| Comment

Tony Whitt

Now Playing Magazine Source: Now Playing Magazine

I haven't been this thrilled by a new star since I saw my first Jackie Chan movie.

September 1, 2005 Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com

| Comment

David Cornelius

eFilmCritic.com

More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Ong-Bak (Ong Bak: Muay Thai Warrior)

View All

Tony Jaa burst onto the scene with this high octane Muay Thai fighter which really turned my head, a long time fan of good old JCVD I knew of kickboxing and Muay Thai but this film really displayed it properly.Its a silly film lets be honest, like all fighter action films the plot is childishly basic and revolves

January 15, 2012

Phil Hubbard

Super Reviewer

A young country man travels to Bangkok to recover the stolen stone head of Ong-Bak, the Buddha statue of his village. Though he is an incredibly skilled Muay Thai fighter, his master asks him not to use his dangerous skills, in an effort to keep him from accidentally killing someone and being forced to live the rest of

August 23, 2011