Film Review: Ong-Bak

No Doubles, No Strings, No CGIs…
By: Rianne Hill Soriano

Starring: Tony Jaa
Directed by: Prachya Pinkaew

This is a film that amazes and defies the Hollywood cheats of stunt doubles, creating CGIs and animation, and putting strings while shooting on chroma to let the characters fly in mid air. This time, it shows the real thing… of what an expert can really do without using the tricks.

The film presents the art of Muay Thai in the Thai contemporary scene – yet inspired by the people’s carried on traditions and culture and inspired by their ancient fighting spirit. Muay Thai transforms the human body into a multifaceted weapon for close-combat fighting. And this film being released internationally as here in the Philippines paves way to a wider perspective for this Thai art and sport. It is now seen more as a modern sport, rather than a battlefield skill. But the film exposes more on the really impressive hand-to-hand combat with a background from a deep spiritual training.

More than anything else, what strikes most in this movie is not the story, script, acting nor anything else, but the symphony of flying bodies, breaking bones and elaborately staged chasing scenes. Ting (Tony Jaa) defies gravity and physics with his authentic Muay Thai moves. He leaps over cars, two intersecting bicycles, market stalls, and even on top of people’s heads, slides under a moving truck, and runs and escapes through a large coil of barbed wire. He seems to show off what he can do best. And the film seems to be a primer in techniques for hitting people with your elbows and feet through conceivably defensive stances.

Ting keeps the hype strong. All his fight scenes are jaw droppers. They are all spectacular enough to ignore the other stuffs on the film especially the story. It puts life in a probably lifeless or less of a life film with the overused plot for a hero finishing his mission. Things could have been really dragging already, but we see Ting outrunning gangs in strictly designed obstacle courses placed in everyday Bangkok busy streets in its dark side.

The opening scene of the tree-climbing contest sets the pace of this action movie filled with those impressive camera movements supplementing the stunts (of fighting with the use of their limbs). The take-off of the story happens when the ancient Buddhist statue of the hero's village, Ong-Bak, is stolen. And Ting is the town’s hero bound to bring back Ong-Bak’s head with a clear heart and mind of not fighting for reasons of vengeance, money or personal gain, but only to retrieve the sacred statue, and later on, be a monk. The story is very simple (which, at a certain point, is considerably a good move to give more creative inputs on the intentional action-packed storytelling). No much complication on the storyline is seen. In fact, I can’t remember much films as this one, which never really pays attention to even a slightest touch of romantic involvement for the main character. Only one goal is with him: to finish his mission. No girls, no much fuss about the world, just bring back the statue through the art and combat of Muay Thai. Honestly, I rarely see a movie without any much romantic side to dwell into. But overall, the film seems to concentrate more on its physical aspect that the story has not been pushed into a more brilliant way. If it has been, I’ll be hands up to the film entirely then.

The attempt to promote the metaphor for being a god and stealing the head of a town’s god through the local crime and drug lord who keeps on using that weird voice producer is a good enough deal. The idea that he has the money and power to control and dictate who he wants to die and who he wants to live gives a validation on his dialogues of revering himself as the god. True evil, actually. The drug world exposed comes out as the heaviest part of the story. While the comic relief is Humlae/George, the guy who starts out as a selfish, worldly guy and ends up with a heroic act of saving the statue’s head, side by side with Ting. He is the character who gets that major character change in the story. The comedy chasing scenes courtesy of this guy, along with that pretty girl with an irritating high pitched voice, makes the film a lighter load of fun and action. The utilizing of silence stylized to promote the shock of the moment in some scenes (especially on the fight zone scenes) is effective, and quite comic in its very intentions. The film complements a reddish color grading for the right feel and mood for an action-packed visuals. The effects utilized are as simple as dynamic and moving camera shots matched with the right camera lenses and good camera angles, slow motion and fast motion effects, the old school repeating of action shots seen on different angles… such simple, low-budget editing tricks. The gravity-defying stunts and the jumping and bouncing human bodies are all but real, no strings attached. I have to say, no big budget has been placed on the post-production/editing really. A big portion of the budget falls into the burning of cars, falling 3-wheeled Thai vehicles, destroying market stalls, pounding bottles, chairs and tables, even lamps and appliances like refrigerator over the human body, putting some car mounts for the elaborate chasing scenes, and making a great number of giant statue heads mostly shot underwater and in a cave. Therefore, expenses incurred are more into the production design, and probably film rolls to make sure the director captures all the right moves on different angles and varying takes. I get to appreciate the fact that it has been filmed minus the fakes as with the usual getting of stunt doubles. It has not dealt much with the post-production special effects but more into the rawness of what has been captured during the principal photography. However, there are times that some choppy edits are seen, but I would have to say that most of these are overlooked by the overwhelmed eyes because of the extraordinarily striking moves of the main character.
In the cave sequence, taking it in a more realistic way, a quite mocking audience would ask how come there are no much guns used there for enough defense? It’s a contemporary setting, where are the guns to kill? Well, it’s obviously the usual fall ignored in the plot to control and contain the action into the hand-to-hand combating. And it’s a movie. Some might say, just try to forgive that part for the entertainment. Just watch Ting’s tremendous fight scenes and things are just left interesting in the eyes. There is also a fight scene where Ting catches fire on his legs, and he attacks opponents with his blazing legs. Whew! How blazing could it really be as seen behind the scenes? Curious…

Could the director or any production staff a Spielberg fan or something? Correct me if I’m wrong, but looks like I have seen a wall with the writing: Spielberg, lets go together, or something to that effect (Spare me, I have seen the film just once, and that scene has been a really fast shot). Subtext??

Personally, what I learned after watching this film is that Muay Thai is a remarkable form of martial arts which is noted in maximizing great counter attacks. Its stance conforms to an exceptional body defense and seeing your target from your opponents’ movements through your hands on guard similar to targeting from a gun. Personally, I see some of its footworks to be quite similar to that of fencing. And those who are into martial arts or are fanatics of martial arts can get so much things from Jaa’s moves. The authentic fight scenes are really worth the immortalizing in those organic film strips. And this Thai film seems successful in promoting interest and curiosity to the Muay Thai especially in a non-Thai’s perspective.

Ong Bak is a breath of fresh air from those usual Hollywood “action fakes.” Special effects? What special effects? Jaa’s moves surely blow the audience away.

With the great, impressive action but not so compelling story (but this one tends to be overlooked upon seeing Jaa’s Muay Thai moves), I would have rate this film with a 3.8 (with 5 as the highest). Watch it for the action. It’s worth it.