Ong Bak 2 - La nascita del dragone

This followup to the hit Ong Bak has nothing to do with the original Ong Bak, and it seems like the producers were simply trying to cash in on the name, but boy- why did they have to? This movie stands upto itself on its own. Tight editing, lots of superb fight sequences, lots of innovative battle techniques, minimal storyline meaning minimal time wasted on anything but the raw action that we are there to see; all makes it a great movie impossible to miss. You get glued to your seat and wont even blink. Somebody wrote he was bored, which I tried hard to understand- but couldn't. Man, action movies don't get bigger or better than this. Its like Gladiator meets Apocalypto meets Rambo, only better. Raw gut wrenching intensity makes it a pleasure to watch. Don't miss this.

With a storyline reminiscent of Japanese video games and Samurai classics, it is nice to see this genre back on the big screens. The action sequences muscle out the storyline a bit, but they remain quite spectacular to watch. Tony Jaa clearly left a piece of his soul on the celluloid for the next generation to remember him by. The scenes are beautifully framed, full of color and contrast. All I felt that was missing was a control pad between my fingers and the freedom to take the character around the village to search for hidden treasure.

If the movie leaves you scratching your head a little at the end, you are not alone. However I suspect that it implies that a sequel is in the works and I am in favor for that. It is great seeing the epic martial art films back on the big screen, with a devoted cast ensuring the audience that they will get their money's worth. It is the best film in this genre that I have seen in a good long while.

In 1431, the Kingdom of Ayutthayan conquers the territory of Sukhothai expanding their lands to East. The noble Lord Siha Decho is betrayed by his Captain Rajasena and is murdered together with his wife. However their son Tien is saved by one loyal soldier and left alone in the woods. Later he is captured by slave traders but he is rescued by Chernang, the leader of a group of thieves from Garuda Wing. He learns martial arts and arms and becomes a leader of the thieves, but he leaves the gang seeking revenge against Rajasena.

"Ong Bak 2" is a good epic, with a non-original storyline but a magnificent choreography of fights and art direction. The plot is predictable but very entertaining, supported by the ability of Tony Jaa in martial arts, and the conclusion seems to be the beginning of an unnecessary sequel. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Ong-Bak 2"

The movie is wonderful, to the point and did not mess-up up with too much story and dialogs.

The movie shows tony ja's wish to cover the major martial art skills such as Chinese kung fu, Japanese Samurai, Ninja, Muay Thai, Drunken kungfu etc.,

The fight sequences are brilliant, rough and the art of Drunken fighting is shown perfectly as you will see the real essence unlike that of older movies which have portrayed it as a funny martial art. tony ja's love for elephants is obvious(Thailand's national animal).

overall 9/10 (-1 if there is no sequel) one can obviously see that even though the movie is tony ja's first direction it is very maturely taken and it's sure that it makes you feel like there should be some more at the end but The movie is unfinished as tony and the producers had some unknown clashes behind the scenes.

Yet the movie is full of brilliant fights and you will surely be satisfied while expecting for a sequel.

Ong Bak 2: The Beginning is not a continuation of the first film, neither is it a prequel in the true sense; the story takes place several hundred years ago, and tells of Tien (played as an adult by Tony Jaa), the son of a murdered lord, who becomes a powerful warrior after a clan of outlaws adopt him and teach him their combat skills.

This period setting allows for a far more epic feel than the first film, but the broader scope of the plot ultimately means less minutes devoted to pure, bone crunching action, a fact that has understandably disappointed those hoping for another relentless, adrenaline fuelled, juggernaut of a martial arts movie. Add the fact that Jaa's impressive Muay Thai skills are often overlooked in favour of weapons based action, and it's not surprising that this film hasn't been as overwhelmingly well received as its predecessor.

On a more positive note, the film looks absolutely fantastic, with beautiful cinematography, sumptuous costumes, and some truly outlandish characters, and when the action does kick into top gear, it is utterly breath-taking, especially during the flawlessly executed, bone-crunching final battle between Tien and a host of enemy warriors, where we finally get to see the star delivering his trademark punishing blows with knee and elbow.

In short, Ong Bak 2 is a very enjoyable slice of solid action entertainment—not quite as jaw-dropping as part one, but then what is?

7.5 out of 10, rounded up to 8 for IMDb.