By Ben Johnson, on 07-05-2008 16:59

Ong Bak Distributor: Contender Entertainment Group Format: Region 2 (PAL) Length: 105 min. Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Audio: Thai, English (Dubbed) Subtitles: English Extras: Feature Length Commentary By Bey Logan; The Road To Glory Making Of Featurette; The Art Of Muay Thai Documentary; From Dust To Glory Interview With Tony Jaa; Ong Bak On Tour Promo; Deleted Scenes; Alternate Ending; Visible Secret; The Bodyguard Interview With Don Ferguson; Mad Dog Interview With David Ismalone; Pearl Harbour Interview With Erik Markus Sheutz; UK Promotional Trailer Sound: DTS 5.1; Dolby Digital 5.1

Year of Release: 2003; Origin: Thailand; Studio: Sahamongkol Film Co.

Director: Prachya Pinkaew; Producer: Prachya Pinkaew, Sukanya Vongsthapat; Script: Suphachai Sittiaumponpan; Action Director: Panna Rittikrai, Tony Jaa; Cast Tony Jaa, Petchtai Wongkamlao, Pumwaree Yodkamol, Suchoa Pongvilai, Wannakit Siriput.

Alternative Titles: Daredevil; Ong-Bak: the Thai Warrior; Ong-Bak: Muay Thai Warrior; Thai Fist

Trailer: Click below to view the trailer for Ong Bak

The most exciting Asian success of recent times is, surprisingly, of Thai origin – not the film, particularly (it’s a pottering drivel of a story), but rather the film’s leading actor, Panom Yeerum, or ‘Tony Jaa’ to us Westerners.

Perhaps one of the most remarkable finds in the evolution of modern martial arts cinema, Jaa resembles Jackie Chan in his stunt work, only with enough ferocity to make Steven Seagal look like a prancing mary.

Ong Bak is all about full contact Muay Thai kickboxing, and Tony Jaa is so remarkable to watch that he will quite literally leave you breathless: a chase scene through Thailand’s market streets sees the boy scale walls in a single leap, glide beneath moving automobiles and somersault through bustling traffic with split second precision.

And if you think that’s something, just wait until he starts beating people up. His knees and elbows can split through cycle helmets, and he performs wildly acrobatic kicks that defy gravity - even, in one scene, when his legs are on fire! The final brawl sees a succession of stuntmen line up as canon fodder for an exhilarating exhibition, which emphasises the movie’s selling point to such a degree that it beats any kind of wistful cynicism clean out of your brain.

The movie’s secret, and Tony Jaa’s, is the impressive lack of wire gimmickry, stunt doubles or computer generated nonsense, which is a rare thing in this new age of the instant kung fu hero. Ong Bak reclaims the genre by focusing on its bare essentials and emphatically embracing talent over trickery.

What Jaa also forces us to forget is a pitiful story line (another herald to the ‘golden age’) where he travels into the dark, criminal underbelly of Thailand to recover the stolen head of a sacred Buddhist statue. But in a movie this explicitly crowd pleasing, trivial issues like plot and characterisation are mere formalities. This movie kicks ass and should come with a band aid.

As for Tony Jaa, with a debut this strong, it remains to be seen how long he can resist the call from Planet Weinstein.