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Review by Valarie Thorpe

Synopsis: One night a former native of a rural Thai village has his men steal the head of the town's ONG BAK (Buddha statue) to win favor with ruthless Bangkok crime boss Khom Tuan. The locals regard the theft as a catastrophe, and seek a champion to retrieve their lost treasure. They find their man in Ting (Tony Jaa), an orphaned youngster raised at the local temple, and schooled by Pra Kru, a kindly monk, in an ancient system of Muay Thai: 'Nine Body Weapons.' Ting travels to the mean streets of Bangkok, where he's forced to compete in illegal street fights, taking on both local and foreign opponents to win the head of ONG BAK from the pitiless underworld kingpin.

Ong Bak is stuntman-turned-actor Tony Jaa's first lead role. Doubling as the martial arts choreographer as well, Jaa does not use any wirework or CG effects in his stunts.

I'm not going to go into the story much, the synopsis provided by the production company is pretty good. There is a bit of slapstick, but nothing on the level of a Jackie Chan film. This movie is about the fighting and the fighting is nothing short of spectacular. No wire-fu stuff here -- this is the real deal and choreographed with a true vision. Set-ups I hadn't seen before, but not so contrived that it was unbelievable. [Click the ## symbol below for the entire review, trailer & photo]The cinematography is a high point as well. A sweeping style is used that makes scenes larger than life, exampled in the opening sequence when Jaa's character Ting wins a tree-climbing competition that gives a whole new, and painful, meaning to the game King of the Hill.

Nice transitions between the small town feel and the streets of Bangkok. I don't know if this was all filmed on location but is definitely seems like it.

But back to why we're here - the fighting. Awesome scene at a gas station where Ting's legs catch fire and he just keeps on fighting. Big flying kicks with flames leaping from his legs is something to see. Remember, no CG stuff here and it doesn't look like much in the way of pads to protect his legs either. Production notes revealed that Jaa said he actually got burned during that scene.

Another memorable scene involves Ting backed into a dead end alley. His exit comes via the tops of the heads and shoulders of the dozen or so men blocking his way out. Not a fight, but a cool stunt nonetheless.

The only minor quibble I had with the movie were the slow motion repeats of several of the cooler stunts. It takes you out of the moment and reminds you that you’re watching a movie. That's what we have DVD players for -- we can flashback on a scene at will. Director doesn't need to do it for us. Small thing though.

The story's fine, no real surprises but solid. Very cool underwater scene near the end as well. Won't ruin that for you but it's sweet looking.

Ong Bak is thigh-pounding Thai fighting and Jaa's Muay Thai technique is a complete blast to watch. And if this movie is any indication, filmdom has a bright new star on the action roster. Ong Bak is a furiously paced, beautifully choreographed movie.

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Ong Bak hits theaters Feb. 11.
Ong Bak Trailer