The only spoilers in this review is regarding the moves he uses throughout the movie. There will be NO plot spoilers.
First of all this is more of a prelude to the original Ong Bak. If you're reading this to decide whether to watch it or not, the answer is quite simply YES. It is difficult to compare with Ong Bak because it's slightly different, for example the entire movie takes place in the forest and not any cities or urban areas, and he uses a lot of weapons and different fighting styles than just the same Muay Thai elbows and knees. This time Tony Jaa himself is the director, and he has teamed up yet again with the excellent Panna Rittikrai. And the result is some seriously good cinema. The editing and cinematography is superb. Fans of the original Ong Bak may feel a bit disgruntled as the storyline doesn't seem to completely fit together, but don't let the finer details distract you from what is a fantastic directorial debut from Mr.Jaa.
Now I would like to take a moment and talk about the fighting in Ong Bak 2. That Tony Jaa is one cunning customer. I remember he said his childhood idol was Bruce Lee, and you can sometimes be reminded of Lee's style especially when he pulls a "WHOAAA" face after he just smashed someone. But why is he cunning you ask? Well after filming Tom Yum Goong, he seemed to have disappeared off the radar for quite some time. Well during this time he was getting busy traveling around and studying other people's martial arts! In Ong Bak 2, he pulls off signature moves from other famous stars, here are some off the top of my head: Jet Li (when he swung a fire hose around like a whip), Donnie Yen (flying spinning armbar), Japanese sword styles (especially Seiza, art of sword drawing defence), Shaolin styles, Kali knife fighting (quite authentic as well), even a rather rare scene from a Chinese movie where when the opponent thrusts his sword at him, he uses his own sword hilt and "captures" the enemy sword, effectively disarming him. He pulls off all these moves with incredible proficiency and smoothness. I wouldn't quite call it plagiarizing, as some of them are so obvious that it looks more like a homage.
Now, about his direction and acting. Again, I think Tony is very smart in that he plays to his own advantages. In his previous movies, whenever he opened his mouth he usually sounded wooden and dull. So in Ong Bak 2, he has very little dialogue, and lots of butt kicking. But seriously though, it really is a great debut for him. The story was good, the scenes well edited and the fights extremely stylish and tightly shot. He even had the audacity to pull off a shock ending, and never did I expect to feel emotion while watching a Tony Jaa film, not just adrenaline but emotion. The ending leaves you yearning for more.
In conclusion, it is a MUST BUY for any fan of Tony Jaa or martial arts collections. The harshest of critics will call it a simple movie incomparable to Hollywood productions, but looking back at the Jackie Chan and Jet Li movies, at least Ong Bak 2 doesn't have as much cheese and cringeworthy dialogue. I dread the day Tony pairs up with a hip hop star or some smart mouth pretty boy and run through the usual stereotypical humor of cultural clashes.
First of all this is more of a prelude to the original Ong Bak. If you're reading this to decide whether to watch it or not, the answer is quite simply YES. It is difficult to compare with Ong Bak because it's slightly different, for example the entire movie takes place in the forest and not any cities or urban areas, and he uses a lot of weapons and different fighting styles than just the same Muay Thai elbows and knees. This time Tony Jaa himself is the director, and he has teamed up yet again with the excellent Panna Rittikrai. And the result is some seriously good cinema. The editing and cinematography is superb. Fans of the original Ong Bak may feel a bit disgruntled as the storyline doesn't seem to completely fit together, but don't let the finer details distract you from what is a fantastic directorial debut from Mr.Jaa.
Now I would like to take a moment and talk about the fighting in Ong Bak 2. That Tony Jaa is one cunning customer. I remember he said his childhood idol was Bruce Lee, and you can sometimes be reminded of Lee's style especially when he pulls a "WHOAAA" face after he just smashed someone. But why is he cunning you ask? Well after filming Tom Yum Goong, he seemed to have disappeared off the radar for quite some time. Well during this time he was getting busy traveling around and studying other people's martial arts! In Ong Bak 2, he pulls off signature moves from other famous stars, here are some off the top of my head: Jet Li (when he swung a fire hose around like a whip), Donnie Yen (flying spinning armbar), Japanese sword styles (especially Seiza, art of sword drawing defence), Shaolin styles, Kali knife fighting (quite authentic as well), even a rather rare scene from a Chinese movie where when the opponent thrusts his sword at him, he uses his own sword hilt and "captures" the enemy sword, effectively disarming him. He pulls off all these moves with incredible proficiency and smoothness. I wouldn't quite call it plagiarizing, as some of them are so obvious that it looks more like a homage.
Now, about his direction and acting. Again, I think Tony is very smart in that he plays to his own advantages. In his previous movies, whenever he opened his mouth he usually sounded wooden and dull. So in Ong Bak 2, he has very little dialogue, and lots of butt kicking. But seriously though, it really is a great debut for him. The story was good, the scenes well edited and the fights extremely stylish and tightly shot. He even had the audacity to pull off a shock ending, and never did I expect to feel emotion while watching a Tony Jaa film, not just adrenaline but emotion. The ending leaves you yearning for more.
In conclusion, it is a MUST BUY for any fan of Tony Jaa or martial arts collections. The harshest of critics will call it a simple movie incomparable to Hollywood productions, but looking back at the Jackie Chan and Jet Li movies, at least Ong Bak 2 doesn't have as much cheese and cringeworthy dialogue. I dread the day Tony pairs up with a hip hop star or some smart mouth pretty boy and run through the usual stereotypical humor of cultural clashes.