ONG BAK -- Bring it!!!

[ShinHakkaider]

Ebert well-summed my thoughts. 107 minutes of "Holy Crap!" I don't really understand comments about the acting. I mean, it didn't make me cry... but it's a FIGHT movie. What are the actors supposed to do? Well, I think they're supposed to convince me they're trying to beat the snot out of each other. They did.

Likewise the story. What do you want? The bad guys are bad, you understand what's at stake in each fight scene, and there's a minimum of crap in between the jaw-dropping fight scenes.

Again, it's not going to make you cry. But it IS going to make you WINCE.

I SO got my money's worth. And I am SO buying the DVD.

D00d, I got this on DVD in late 2003 early 2004 and I still went to the theater to see this movie. Mainly becasue I wanted to suport the movie and secondly I wanted to see it with a crowd to gauge their responses.

Man, there is NOTHING like seeing a movie like this with a Manhattan crowd.

People were gasping and there were both muffled and highly vocal "OH SH*T's!!" all through the movie. By the end when people thought that the last fight scenes were going to be repeats of what they saw earlier, then realized that those early fights were just preludes to when Ting and George go to the cave to retrieve the statue, it was a whole new level of amazement.

My love for this movie is PURE.

 

[thatdarncat]

Good fight movie, but if you like your kung fu with a little plot, stay far far away. As soon as we got home, I put Drunken Master II on to get the bad taste out of my mouth. Don't get me wrong, some scenes are brilliant. The opening climb, the chase through the market. WOW. The ending? Not so much. The second chase scene... Was that necessary? There also seemed to be a lack of direction with the feel of the movie - it seemed to be trying to be a lighter comedic film AND a dark fight film.

I'm curious. People who have seen this release and DVD versions, was anything cut involving: (spoilers)

Spoiler

the guy selling cigarettes in the club for the second fight, who starts naming Ting's moves? How about the girl who Don killed? Did they chop anything off the ending?

 

[barsoomcore]

Bad taste?

I mean, I agree that it's not in the same league as DMII, but "bad taste"? It's definitely in the same league as Young Master or Snake in the Eagle's Shadow, which is how I'd compare it.

I mean, Drunken Master 2 was Jackie's what, THIRTIETH film? Something like that, I'm sure. This is Tony Jaa's FIRST. Cut the kid some slack. Let's see where he is in ten years, then DMII is a fair comparison.

My feeling is that he won't ever really top Chan's work. I just don't think he has Chan's charisma or natural storytelling gift. But if he hooks up with a really talented director (which Prachya Pinkaew might just turn out to be), I think he's got a fine career ahead of him as a top-notch kung-fu dude.

 

[Tanager]

Bad taste?

My feeling is that he won't ever really top Chan's work. I just don't think he has Chan's charisma or natural storytelling gift. But if he hooks up with a really talented director (which Prachya Pinkaew might just turn out to be), I think he's got a fine career ahead of him as a top-notch kung-fu dude.

I think what he's really lacking, in comparison with Chan that is, is Chan's sense of humour. Chan's fight scenes usualy have theatrical whimsy about them that sets them apart from most other martial arts choreography. Tony Jaa's on the other hand have a butality that I'm hard pressed at the moment to find a decent comparison.

 

[barsoomcore]

I wouldn't call "less funny" a lack, exactly. And there's certainly no end to the brutality of Jackie's late-80's/early-90's stuff - the first two Police Story movies and the Project A pictures feature stuff every bit as bruising and wince-inducing as Jaa's. I'm not sure Jackie was a real happy camper in those days -- the films are definitely an exercise in self-inflicted punishment. And Jet Li's films from the same period exhibit similar levels of pain.

But he doesn't seem to have Chan's whimsy, I absolutely agree. Just not certain that "whimsical" is a quality that is needed for a serious martial arts star.

And his upcoming Tom Yum Goong film looks like it might go a little further into the whimsy direction.

 

[Tanager]

I wouldn't call "less funny" a lack, ... Just not certain that "whimsical" is a quality that is needed for a serious martial arts star.

And his upcoming Tom Yum Goong film looks like it might go a little further into the whimsy direction.

I didn't mean to imply that difference in humour is a priori a bad thing, or that it's something he needs as a martial arts star. What I meant was more of a simple observation of a different approach to fight choreagraphy, and that I'm not entirely sure that one can make a valid comparison between them for that reason.

Also, while many of Chan's scenes have had me picturing some poor unfortunate stunt man saying "you want me do WHAT Mr Chan?" the most brutal beating are usualy delivered TO Chan, with the few exceptions of driving into a guy on a motorcycle and plowing him through about a city block's worth of glass panes .

I do have to admit to being somehat less familiar with Jet Li's stuff, not that I haven't liked it, but most of what I've seen has been his bigger budget, tailored for american releases.

 

[talinthas]

just saw Ong Bak today. Fan-freakin-tastic =)
They say a muay thai fighter's weapon is his whole body. I believe it now =)

And it was awesome to see that a bunch of his moves were named after story elements of the Hindu Ramayan =)

 

[reanjr]

Any idea when it will come out on video? I can't see any evidence that it's actually playing anywhere in Detroit.

AMC Livonia 20 is playing it. I bet the Star theatres (either Fairlane or Southfield) are also playing it, but movietickets.com apparently doesn't have showtimes for Star theatres.

 

[Desdichado]

Yeah, it showed up since I typed that, apparently. I plan on catching it at Star Fairlane today, I think.

Unless I waffle again and see Constantine instead...

 

[Desdichado]

Just got back from a "Thai lunch". Holy ! This movie really is da bomb! I mean, yeah, a lot of the acting could use some improvement, but George and Muay weren't bad anyway, and, holy ! Those fight scenes rock! You were right about the flaming legs only being the tip of the iceberg!

Spoiler

Splitting the motorcycle helmet! Again, holy !

It was fun to see a totally different style of martial arts than you usually do in the movies to. Not that I don't love to see my various forms of karate and kung fu, but muey thai boxing really is quite different.