SXSW Review: ‘Ong Bak 2’

Jeremy:

Tony Jaa is back, but not exactly with much of a vengeance. ‘Ong Bak 2’ is not the nonstop, leg-breaking, elbow and knee flying action adventure we’ve been hoping for. Don’t get me wrong. There is plenty of Jaa throwing his appendages about knocking out bad guys in black with impacts that sound like gunshots. However, ‘Ong Bak 2’ still has a story to tell, and it is going to tell it come hell or high water.

Set in 1431 Thailand, the film tells the story of Tien (Jaa), a young boy whose father, a general, and mother are slaughtered by Lord Rajsena and his marauding army. Tien is the only one to survive the slaughter, and he is taken under the martial arts tutelage of Chernang. Years later, Tien has mastered his skills, learning to combat using all sorts of weapons including stampeding elephants, and, after taking over the leadership of Chernang’s clan, he sets out for his revenge against Rajsena.

The story, or, more so, the way in which the story plays out, in ‘Ong Bak 2’ gets too convoluted for its own good. What should be a rather simple story of revenge and a people taking their land back from the evil ones in power quickly becomes head-scratching as we are subject to flashback after flashback. All of this is done without much warning or any moment of clarity that lets us know where we are in the film’s timeline.

One minute, we’re watching Tien train, fighting a procession of three different fighters all with different special abilities. The next, we’re seeing a young Tien’s subplot of a love story. It’s supposed to help us understand Tien’s pain and want vengeance as much as he does. It doesn’t. It only makes us realize we’re not seeing anyone bleeding or getting their bones broken.

Sometimes it’s enough just to see the good guys kicking the crap out of the bad guys. Unfortunately, so much is built around the story in ‘Ong Bak 2’ that you spend as much time wondering why Jaa is beating up someone as you do staring in awe at his physicality.

As far as that goes, it is still amazing to see the guy move. The honeymoon might be over in regards to how awe-inspiring Tony Jaa is. We can never go back to before seeing the original ‘Ong Bak’ and being totally shocked and amazed at most of Jaa’s Muay Thai skills.

There are definitely some “holy shit† moments in ‘Ong Bak 2’. When young Tien is captured and sold into slavery, he is thrown into a pit of waist-high muddy water and forced to fight a crocodile. That scene, though a little more subtle than most of the action, is intense. The last half hour of the film is loaded with Jaa fighting one person after another, as if he is progressing through levels on a PS3 game. Some might find the final battles tedious, but I didn’t mind it.   The crow-lady was particularly creepy and should have had a bigger presence in the final battle.

When looking at something like ‘Ong Bak 2’, you have to decide whether or not the fight scenes make up for the story pace. Some will think they do not. I thought they did. The fight sequences are so amazing. There are sequences and martial arts moves so groundbreaking, not only have you never seen them before, you don’t even realize you’ve never seen something like this before.

‘Ong Bak 2’ is not as great a film as the original. It didn’t even need to be called ‘Ong Bak 2’ it has so little to do with the original’s story. Plus, the film is so open-ended, you know they were already planning a sequel to it from the start. However, getting past that, if you can ride through the tedium of the story and enjoy the film for the ass-kicking good time the action provides, you will be far from disappointed. Not exactly a rousing recommendation for something that has garnered so much anticipation, but that’s where it lies.

Overall: 3.75 stars out of 5