Chop shop
Ong Bak 2 / Fan of Ong Bak can bear one sigh of release: The sequel has once again features Tony Jaa and his incredible martial arts and acrobatics. As for the rest, the only thing Ong Bak 2 shares with its predecessor is its name. Jaa, who co-directs this installment with Panna Rittikrai, seems to fear being lumped in with the like of Jackie Chan, mixing athletic prowess with humor, and so any sense of fun that was had with the original is mired in the mud. This is a serious take no prisoners film about a prisoner who wants to avenge the death of his family.
Set in 15th-century Thailand, Jaa stars as Tien, kept in a separate cage within sight of his also-caged mother as slave trade begins. Rather than try to profit from a young, fit, strong boy, Tien is thrown into a crocodile pit, reminiscent of the gladiator scene in the film of the same name, or perhaps Jabba the Hutt’s fighting pit. And that’s part of Ong Bak 2 problem. The story is so familiar, perhaps mirroring Buddhism’s wheel of suffering, endlessly repeating until we gain enlightenment. Since there is none to be had, the audience is beset with similar fight scenes again and again. Sure, there are variations–one scene has a crocodile to fight, another has pachyderms–but even when Jaa kicks it into high gear, it can’t help but feel like it’s something we’ve seen before.
And of course, we have. But what made the original so much fun was the amount of fun Jaa and others seemed to have with their cardio workouts. Here all the humor is gone, and instead of Jaa playfully running atop the heads and shoulders of his pursuers, he’s leaping across the backs of elephants to achieve alpha male position. The punched-up sound effects make every kick landed sound like shattered bones, and the unending assault wears thin.
Perhaps the barrage is by design because if one takes time to smell the semblance of a script, you’ll see how little is actually there amongst the elaborate sets and hundreds of extras waiting to get their ass kicked. Bad guys laugh maniacally for no reason (when they’re not letting food and spittle run down their chins, anyway. Bad eating habits equal a bad person). A girl is introduced, then cast aside in the mud like so many other extras. In fact, the co-directors are so enamored with Jaa and his fighting style that it forgot to provide an ending, and its abrupt finish rivals only No Country for Old Men. That film had something to say, however. With Ong Bak 2, Jaa seems to be telling us to talk to the hand.
COMMENTS
We often print online comments in our “Letters to the Editor” section of Honolulu Weekly. While submitted letters are often edited for length and clarity, online comments we use are printed entirely as they are written for the website. If you do not wish for your comment to be used in Honolulu Weekly print issues, please write “Don’t Print” at the end of your comment. For questions, e-mail editorial@honoluluweekly.com. Thank you!