Ong-Bak

Ong-Bak - ***

Ong-Bak comes from director Prachya Pinkaew, but I doubt anyone is really concerned with that. Pinkaew wrote the film with martial arts choreographer Panna Rittikrai, but I have the suspicion that you don't give a damn about that either. No, this is not a film of unique direction or strong writing, or for that matter, even strong acting. This is an action film, made in a style no longer found anywhere in North America. This isn't cinema, it's a moment in time. Regardless of what happens to Tony Jaa, no one can take this remarkable accomplisment away from him. Jaa leads the cast of this otherwise B-film as Ting, a young man who is honor bound with the task of retrieving the head of a sacred statue from the man who stole it. This task leads him to Bangkok, where he teams up with Dirty Balls (I can't even make this up), a former villager of where Ting comes from, and his friend Muay Lek. Just as I've said though, storyline is not important here, this is a spectacle. Tony Jaa displays physical abilities perhaps never before seen on screen, and does things not even stunt workers would be willing to do. Perhaps it's a dark mark on the Japanese film industry that performers are goated into doing all of their own stunts like this, but in this case we should be thankful it does happen. Ong-Bak is a movie worthy of viewing even if strickly to witness the birth of a star. Thumbs up.