Ong-bak (2003)

Director:

Prachya Pinkaew

Writers:

Prachya Pinkaew (story)
Panna Rittikrai (story)

Release Date:

23 October 2003 (Singapore)

Genre:

Adventure | Crime | Thriller

Tagline:

To fight for the honor of his village, he must unleash the ancient art of Muay Thai: 9 Body Weapons

Plot:

When the head of a statue sacred to a village is stolen, a young martial artist goes to the big city and finds himself taking on the underworld to retrieve it.

Plot Keywords:

Buddha | Head | Statue | Muay Thai | Thief

Awards:

2 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Petchtai Wongkamlao	...	Humlae / Dirty Balls / George (as Petchtai Wongkamlao)
Tony Jaa	...	Ting (as Panom Yeerum)
Pumwaree Yodkamol	...	Muay Lek
Suchao Pongwilai	...	Komtuan
Chumphorn Thepphithak	...	Uncle Mao
Cheathavuth Watcharakhun	...	Peng
Wannakit Sirioput	...	Don
Rungrawee Barijindakul	...	Ngek
Chatthapong Pantanaunkul	...	Saming
Nudhapol Asavabhakhin	...	Toshiro
Pornpimol Chookanthong	...	Mae Waan
Udom Chouncheun	...	Ta Meun
Boonsri Yindee	...	Yai Hom
Arirat Ratanakaitkosol	...	Tang On
Woravit Tanochitsirikul	...	Sia Pao

Also Known As:

Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior (Philippines: English title) (USA) (trailer title)
Daredevil (USA) (informal literal English title)
Ong Bak: Muay Thai Warrior (Singapore: English title)
Ong-Bak: Muay Thai Warrior (International: English title) (festival title)
Thai Fist (Hong Kong: English title)

MPAA:

Rated R for sequences of strong violence, language, some drug use and sexuality.

Runtime:

Canada:105 min (Toronto International Film Festival) | Hong Kong:108 min | USA:105 min | 104 min (director's cut) | Spain:100 min (DVD edition)

Country:

Thailand

Language:

Thai | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital EX

Certification:

Canada:14A (British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | Canada:18A (Alberta) | New Zealand:R16 | Spain:13 | Iceland:16 | Malaysia:18SG | South Korea:15 | Australia:MA | Austria:16 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Finland:K-15 | France:-12 | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:IIB (cut) | Hong Kong:III | Ireland:18 | Italy:T | Netherlands:12 | Philippines:R-13 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:M18 | Singapore:PG (cut) | UK:18 | USA:R | Mexico:B15

Filming Locations:

Bangkok, Thailand

Company:

Baa-Ram-Ewe

Trivia:

Tony Jaa trained extensively in the ancient form of Muay Boran (the predecessor to Muay Thai) for four years in preparation for Ong-bak (2003).

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Hum Lae and Ting venture into the Cave riding a motorcycle, the stand of the motorcycle is still down.

Quotes:

Humlae: At least let me help you start your motorcycle.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Lung gam wai yi dzi wang mo leung leung (2005)

Awesome

Version: Edko's Hong Kong VCD release

In only their first movie, director Prachya Pinkaew and lead actor Tony Jaa have created a very impressive, awesome action movie in "Ong Bak". Jaa plays Ting, a muay thai fighter from a small village in Thailand. The villagers revere Ong Bak, a statue of Buddha kept in the village's temple, and believe it guarantees the safety of the village. Don, a former villager turned criminal, removes the head from the statue and takes it to Bangkok, to curry favour from the crime lord Khom Tuan. Ting follows Don to Bangkok and fights for the return of Ong Bak.

Story wise, its a pretty standard action movie - it touches briefly on serious social issues in Thailand, but only very briefly. Action wise, its a pretty awesome action movie. Tony Jaa is pretty good showing off his muay thai skills on screen as he fights a range opponents. Most of the one-on-one fights are well choreographed and quite intense. As for stunts: some of them would make even old-school Jackie Chan green with envy. Jaa and Pinkaew have hit the nail right on the head when it comes to action movies, and in only their first go!

9/10 - Hopefully I can catch it on the big screen some time.