'ONG BAK 3': Three and a Half Stars (Out of Five)
Thai martial arts superstar Tony Jaa (who's been compared to the likes of Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and Jet Li) stars in this sequel to the international blockbuster 'ONG BAK 2', which actually isn't a traditional sequel to the original 'ONG BAK', seeing as that movie was set in modern day Thailand and the two sequels are set in the year 1431. This third chapter takes off right where the second part left off though and continues the adventures of Tien (Jaa). The film is directed, written and produced by Jaa and Panna Rittikrai (the team also co-directed the second film). While it doesn't live up to it's two predecessors or Jaa's other works it's still a more than decent martial arts adventure.
The film begins with a montage of the closing scenes from the second film, which ended on a cliffhanger. Tien has been captured by the evil Lord Rajasena (Sarunyu Wongkrajang) and is nearly beaten to death by his men. Just before his execution though Tien is pardoned by the king and is taken by the messenger back to his people, the villagers of Kana Khone. There he is revived, from near death, back to life and goes through a special Buddhist healing process of both his mind and body. He must then prepare to do battle with his enemies once again and a new foe with powers of deadly magic (Dan Chupong).
The story doesn't really matter as it's mostly incoherent and irrelevant. It's really just used as an excuse to string a bunch of elaborate action scenes and other spectacular visuals together. Going in to this movie I had low expectations, having had seen the mostly negative reviews it got from critics and fans alike but that was mainly due to disappointment. It's true that it doesn't live up to the other two chapters or 'THE PROTECTOR' (my favorite Tony Jaa film) but it's still better than a lot of other comparable martial arts films. Tony Jaa is an amazing martial artist and screen presence and in that way he definitely doesn't disappoint here. The fight choreography is stunning, the action scenes are spectacular (and surprisingly brutally violent) and the visuals are breathtaking. The story and character development is almost nonexistent but those things aren't really that important in a movie like this anyway. This movie is just a great action thrill ride, almost like an over long martial arts music video. I really liked the score music of the film as well as the directing (which stylistically speaking is very cool). I might have enjoyed the film quite a bit more than others because of my low expectations but I definitely had a pretty good time watching it.
Watch our review show 'MOVIE TALK' at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffxjYiwLUko
Thai martial arts superstar Tony Jaa (who's been compared to the likes of Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and Jet Li) stars in this sequel to the international blockbuster 'ONG BAK 2', which actually isn't a traditional sequel to the original 'ONG BAK', seeing as that movie was set in modern day Thailand and the two sequels are set in the year 1431. This third chapter takes off right where the second part left off though and continues the adventures of Tien (Jaa). The film is directed, written and produced by Jaa and Panna Rittikrai (the team also co-directed the second film). While it doesn't live up to it's two predecessors or Jaa's other works it's still a more than decent martial arts adventure.
The film begins with a montage of the closing scenes from the second film, which ended on a cliffhanger. Tien has been captured by the evil Lord Rajasena (Sarunyu Wongkrajang) and is nearly beaten to death by his men. Just before his execution though Tien is pardoned by the king and is taken by the messenger back to his people, the villagers of Kana Khone. There he is revived, from near death, back to life and goes through a special Buddhist healing process of both his mind and body. He must then prepare to do battle with his enemies once again and a new foe with powers of deadly magic (Dan Chupong).
The story doesn't really matter as it's mostly incoherent and irrelevant. It's really just used as an excuse to string a bunch of elaborate action scenes and other spectacular visuals together. Going in to this movie I had low expectations, having had seen the mostly negative reviews it got from critics and fans alike but that was mainly due to disappointment. It's true that it doesn't live up to the other two chapters or 'THE PROTECTOR' (my favorite Tony Jaa film) but it's still better than a lot of other comparable martial arts films. Tony Jaa is an amazing martial artist and screen presence and in that way he definitely doesn't disappoint here. The fight choreography is stunning, the action scenes are spectacular (and surprisingly brutally violent) and the visuals are breathtaking. The story and character development is almost nonexistent but those things aren't really that important in a movie like this anyway. This movie is just a great action thrill ride, almost like an over long martial arts music video. I really liked the score music of the film as well as the directing (which stylistically speaking is very cool). I might have enjoyed the film quite a bit more than others because of my low expectations but I definitely had a pretty good time watching it.
Watch our review show 'MOVIE TALK' at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffxjYiwLUko