Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior

Reviewed by:
Paul Ulane

Some kung fu flicks pride themselves on stressing the hard work, honor, and tradition behind all of their flying jump kicks. But we'd shell out $8.50 for a bloody-knuckled highlight reel with no regard for substance—which is exactly why we highly recommend the rapid-fire Ong-Bak. Starting in rural Thailand with a brief history on the village's Buddha shrine, the statue is soon decapitated and stolen, sending the local, Muy Thai–trained Ting, (Tony Jaa) to Bangkok to hunt it down. The exposition takes 10 minutes, and after that, the movie explodes into a city-wide kickboxing match. Ting finds out the statue's head is being held by a local crime lord, so he starts chasing villains through the streets and climbing the ranks in illegal underground street fights bloodier than Tyler Durden's bachelor party. Jaa's stuntman background enables him to pull off moves that would send Jackie Chan to the chiropractor—some are so intricate they merit two or three slow-motion replays—and this nontraditional kung fu movie even incorporates bits of gunplay and car chases. If you're looking for honorable conquests with intricately woven plots, Nicole Kidman's got a movie coming out in April. But if you want to see arms cracked, legs snapped, and subtitles scrolled, Ong-Bak fully warrants the overseas trip.