Raphael Martial Recaps - Tony Jaa's Ong Bak 2003 : The Muay Thai Worrior
Ong-Bak: Muay Thai Warrior, also known as Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior or simply Ong-Bak, is a 2003 Thai martial arts film directed by Prachya Pinkaew and featured action choreography by Panna Rittikrai. It stars Tony Jaa in the lead role, alongside Petchtai Wongkamlao and Pumwaree Yodkamol.
Ong Bak ; The Muay Thai Warrior, Tony Jaa, the fighting superstar destined for film's martial arts pantheon, electrifies as a religious young warrior who when a gangster steals the head of Ong-Bak, his village's deity, he heads for Bangkok to get it back. In a film Time Magazine calls exhilarating with relentless, fever-pitched action free of stunt doubles and special effects, Jaa performs some of the most awesome physical feats ever seen on film.
Ong-Bak proved to be Jaa's breakout film, with the actor hailed internationally as the next major martial arts star. Jaa went on to star in Tom-Yum-Goong (called The Protector in the US and Warrior King in UK) and directed and starred in two prequels of Ong-Bak titled Ong-Bak 2 and Ong-Bak 3.
Ong-bak was praised for its action sequences, especially its onrush of chase scenes, hand-to-hand combat and acrobatics, which are emphasized over its plot or characters. The action choreography drew notice for its quality, the inventiveness of the moves and lack of CGI and wire-fu.
Tony Jaa performs all of his own stunts. No wires or CG work were used in the fights. Tony Jaa trained extensively in the ancient form of Muay Boran (the predecessor to Muay Thai) for four years in preparation for this film. Many of the "bad guys" had weird hairstyles to hide their head padding. During the-slow motion scenes you can see them angle their heads downwards to catch elbows on the tops of their heads, presumably where the padding was thickest. The story may be predictable, but the fights and stunts combine the bloody brutality of Sonny Chiba with the wit of Jackie Chan and the quiet charm of Bruce Lee.
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Raphael Martial Recaps.