Metacritic reviews

So just do yourself a favor, get out there and see Ong Bak. You’ll leave the theater bruised and battered, but you'll be happy about it.

Strongly recalls Hong Kong kung-fu movies of the late '60s and '70s, with physical grit, over-the-top heroics and inventive fight choreography providing the entertainment.

Pummeling, exhilarating.

The ferocious fighting moves (adapted from ancient Muay Thai manuals by veteran Thai martial arts director Phanna Rithikrai) that constitute Ong-Bak's money shots are often truly astonishing.

However shrewdly he's been packaged, Tony Jaa is the real thing.

An effective martial arts film destined to leave mouths agape.

Mr. Jaa, blessed with astonishing muscle definition and a stoical, sensitive face, clearly has the potential to be an international action movie star, and Ong-Bak feels like the start of a scrappy, potent franchise.

It's a display of phenomenal dexterity and nimble grace that's a joy to watch. That, friends, is entertainment.

Makes up in action what it lacks in storytelling finesse.

Ong-Bak's script, if you can call it that, is nothing but a series of setups for star Tony Jaa to show his stuff.