The first Ong Bak was good because
a) North American audiences hadn't really been exposed to Thai martial arts and the movie showcased the more violent aspects in a very acrobatic way.
b) they kept the story really simple: get the head of the statue back, no matter what.
The audience cheered and rooted for Tony because his character seemed like a nice guy that was just trying to do the right thing and who doesn't want to get behind that kind of guy.
Ong Bak 2 wasn't horrible like the other reviewer mentioned unless you were going into the theater thinking it was going to be Ong Bak 1 all over again. Kind of like Martial Arts meets Die Hard lol. This wasn't the case. Yes the movie is dim at times but obviously that's the way they wanted it to be for certain scenes and it certainly doesn't last long. It's got pretty good action but the story is the weakest link. It's not well thought out and maybe that's because Tony and his mentor wrote it.
It probably won't make it into your Top 10 list but that doesn't mean it can't help you kill some time :)
a) North American audiences hadn't really been exposed to Thai martial arts and the movie showcased the more violent aspects in a very acrobatic way.
b) they kept the story really simple: get the head of the statue back, no matter what.
The audience cheered and rooted for Tony because his character seemed like a nice guy that was just trying to do the right thing and who doesn't want to get behind that kind of guy.
Ong Bak 2 wasn't horrible like the other reviewer mentioned unless you were going into the theater thinking it was going to be Ong Bak 1 all over again. Kind of like Martial Arts meets Die Hard lol. This wasn't the case. Yes the movie is dim at times but obviously that's the way they wanted it to be for certain scenes and it certainly doesn't last long. It's got pretty good action but the story is the weakest link. It's not well thought out and maybe that's because Tony and his mentor wrote it.
It probably won't make it into your Top 10 list but that doesn't mean it can't help you kill some time :)