Ong-Bak (Ong Bak: Muay Thai Warrior) (2005)
Average Rating: 6.9/10
Reviews Counted: 105
Fresh: 90 | 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: 6.4/10
Critic Reviews: 27
Fresh: 19 | Rotten: 8
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.
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Average Rating: 3.8/5
User Ratings: 67,772
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Movie Info
Thai stuntman Tony Jaa makes his starring debut in this martial arts action film directed by Prachya Pinkaew. Ja plays Ting, a young man living in a village in rural Thailand. Discovered as an infant on the steps of the town's temple and raised by monks who taught him the Thai martial art of muay thai, Ting is sent to Bangkok when the head of the town's statue of the Buddha, to which they pray to bring the annual rains to their drought-stricken region, is stolen. The country boy is plunged into
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Cast
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Tony Jaa
Ting -
Petchtai Wongkamlao
George -
Pumwaree Yodkamol
Muay Lek -
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Chetwut Wacharakun
Peng -
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Sukhaaw Phongwilai
Khom Tuan -
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All Critics (115) | Top Critics (30) | Fresh (95) | Rotten (15) | DVD (24)
Ong Bak is not very good -- but Hollywood suits would be nuts not to give Jaa a role in every action flick they make from now on.
Top CriticJaa's moves are impressive, but the choreography ranges from bland to ridiculous (as when one dirty fighter resorts to using major appliances as weapons).
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.
What Jaa does is often mesmerizing.
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.
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.
The best parts of this movie are the gritty and grisly fight sequences that have a power and intensity you don't find in many movies nowadays.
May be the supreme example of a filmic endeavor succeeding exclusively for one cinematic aspect.
Knocked my socks off, and I was cursing myself for not seeing it sooner.
Genius. Perfection. Thai-style fighting with sequences that will make you shout at the screen.
Just a showcase for Jaa's athletic abilities.
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.
While many martial arts movies rely on wires or computer graphics to pump up the action, this one is all natural.
Ong-Bak takes [martial arts movie] elements and synthesizes them into something more than... the typical martial arts movie.
Audience Reviews for Ong-Bak (Ong Bak: Muay Thai Warrior)
Super Reviewer
Its a silly film lets be honest, like all fighter action films the plot is childishly basic and revolves around revenge, as they all tend to do. From there on you obviously get many excuses for Jaa to fight many guys who are much bigger and to show his prowess whilst remaining firmly faithful and good to his religion at all times.
The film is slick and well made with decent stunt sequences but its all about Jaa and his abilities which are impressive and very well choreographed. Could of done without the constant cheesy replays at different angles of virtually every little thing Jaa does, but if your a fan of these films you'll be used to that.
Super Reviewer
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Latest News on Ong-Bak (Ong Bak: Muay Thai Warrior)
June 1, 2010:
Tony Jaa Joins Buddhist MonasteryBad news, Tony Jaa fans: the famously mercurial star has quit the film industry -- at least...
January 31, 2010:
Ong Bak 3 Teaser PostedFor Tony Jaa, making merely one "Ong Bak" sequel is not enough, and YouTube has the "Ong Bak 3"...
August 5, 2008:
Sam Jackson's Top 10 New Classic Asian FilmsWondering if you've seen the latest, greatest Asian movies? Samuel L. Jackson is here to help: he's...
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Foreign Titles
- Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior (DE)
- Ong-bak (UK)
