I'll be blunt, this movie left me upset an unfulfilled. The action sequences were amazing, and showed off all of Tony Jaa's phenomenal skills in both weapons, and acrobatics. However, over directing, bad pacing, a meandering story, and over production destroyed this movie. I realize that this is Tony Jaa's first directing job and he had a lot of pressure to turn out a good product but that doesn't mean that basic directing should be thrown out. Every scene in the movie was too dramatic and too over the top. What made Ong Bak 1 so great was its simple story line and directing. The predecessor felt more raw and real. Ong Bak 2 has neither elements and what you get is a jumbled mess that overloads your senses to the point of boredom. Half way through the movie I got tired of seeing water droplets and different zoom levels. It hurt to watch after a while because the directing took away from enjoying the fight sequences.
Bad writing and pacing are hallmarks of Thai movies, and this was no different. Ong Bak 1 had a very simple story line of a man just trying to get back a relic. In the process he makes friends who change and develop with him. In the end, there's a triumphant ending and we all go home happy. In this movie, the story is so unorganized you don't know what's going on. Long scenes are spent to develop characters, but nothing is ever resolved. They spent 10-15 minutes developing the female lead, only to conclude it with some eye contact and him running off. Nothing is resolved and plot holes are a plenty. The ending *spoiler alert* is him just dying. After 90 minutes of fighting, he just dies, and we are taught a lesson about how not to let revenge consume us. That's it. The ending scene is a 20 spectacle on par with Tony Jaa's spiral stair sequence scene from "The Protector". However this just randomly ends with him getting killed. The story and ending left me upset, and unfulfilled. Tony Jaa again tried to do too much and ended up with too little.
The production in this movie is epic. There are costumes, settings, and sequences that are a feast for the eyes. They also cost a lot of money and were completely unneeded. I know that Tony Jaa wanted to show off the splendor of Thai culture but a lot of the extravagant scenes did not add to the story and were a waste. The production in this movie easily explains on why this movie ran out of money so many times. Did they really need fake fire and CGI for a grand palace? No, they didn't they needed a coherent story line. Simply put, they should have spent money on other things besides sets and costumes, maybe something like a complete movie.
Many of us watch these movies for the martial arts and action sequences. So how good were they? It was honestly a mixed bag. His over directing really takes away from this experience. The directing didn't allow me to enjoy his acrobatic leaps and kicks, which is the fun of action movies. Tony Jaa's vision was to create a movie that combines martial arts from around the world to create an ultimate fighter. The way they present the scenes make all the different styles distinct. Tiang explicitly switches from one style to another, and every time he does, the directing makes it apparent. As a result, the action feels very forced. Tony Jaa, although very good at his new styles, he seems very uncomfortable when using different styles that are not Muay Thai. The best action sequences, and the times he feels the most comfortable, are when he is using Muay Thai. As a martial artist who has studied martial arts from around the world also, I combine these different arts into my own style. As a result, what I do feels natural to me and looks natural in the way I fight. In separating all the fighting styles, it took away from showing off Tony Jaa's true skill, made the movie feel a little forced. They are all still amazing sequences and he a great martial artist but it could have been better with a different approach.
All in all Ong Bak 2 was a disappointment for me. The bad story and horrible pacing (sequences of stories and action were not connected most of the time, leaving you just annoyed) really did this movie in for me. Furthermore, over directing and over production made things worse by creating an over budget, uncompleted movie. The action sequences although entertaining, lacked the tension and drive of his previous movies. They felt like scenes that were there just to keep the movie going and the character had no really purpose in doing them. I can only hope that Tony Jaa's next endeavor goes back to basics and makes something good again. If you read down below, it's a summary of the rest of the movie that was cut. You'll see scenes from the trailer that didn't make it in the movie, namely him in the white outfit. Read it if you want to understand what Tony Jaa's entire vision was. This could have been a better movie if it had been entirely shot but, not that much better. Either way this movie is going to make a lot of money and a lot of people will see it. He'll still be rich and famous so I really can't feel all that bad for the.
Bad writing and pacing are hallmarks of Thai movies, and this was no different. Ong Bak 1 had a very simple story line of a man just trying to get back a relic. In the process he makes friends who change and develop with him. In the end, there's a triumphant ending and we all go home happy. In this movie, the story is so unorganized you don't know what's going on. Long scenes are spent to develop characters, but nothing is ever resolved. They spent 10-15 minutes developing the female lead, only to conclude it with some eye contact and him running off. Nothing is resolved and plot holes are a plenty. The ending *spoiler alert* is him just dying. After 90 minutes of fighting, he just dies, and we are taught a lesson about how not to let revenge consume us. That's it. The ending scene is a 20 spectacle on par with Tony Jaa's spiral stair sequence scene from "The Protector". However this just randomly ends with him getting killed. The story and ending left me upset, and unfulfilled. Tony Jaa again tried to do too much and ended up with too little.
The production in this movie is epic. There are costumes, settings, and sequences that are a feast for the eyes. They also cost a lot of money and were completely unneeded. I know that Tony Jaa wanted to show off the splendor of Thai culture but a lot of the extravagant scenes did not add to the story and were a waste. The production in this movie easily explains on why this movie ran out of money so many times. Did they really need fake fire and CGI for a grand palace? No, they didn't they needed a coherent story line. Simply put, they should have spent money on other things besides sets and costumes, maybe something like a complete movie.
Many of us watch these movies for the martial arts and action sequences. So how good were they? It was honestly a mixed bag. His over directing really takes away from this experience. The directing didn't allow me to enjoy his acrobatic leaps and kicks, which is the fun of action movies. Tony Jaa's vision was to create a movie that combines martial arts from around the world to create an ultimate fighter. The way they present the scenes make all the different styles distinct. Tiang explicitly switches from one style to another, and every time he does, the directing makes it apparent. As a result, the action feels very forced. Tony Jaa, although very good at his new styles, he seems very uncomfortable when using different styles that are not Muay Thai. The best action sequences, and the times he feels the most comfortable, are when he is using Muay Thai. As a martial artist who has studied martial arts from around the world also, I combine these different arts into my own style. As a result, what I do feels natural to me and looks natural in the way I fight. In separating all the fighting styles, it took away from showing off Tony Jaa's true skill, made the movie feel a little forced. They are all still amazing sequences and he a great martial artist but it could have been better with a different approach.
All in all Ong Bak 2 was a disappointment for me. The bad story and horrible pacing (sequences of stories and action were not connected most of the time, leaving you just annoyed) really did this movie in for me. Furthermore, over directing and over production made things worse by creating an over budget, uncompleted movie. The action sequences although entertaining, lacked the tension and drive of his previous movies. They felt like scenes that were there just to keep the movie going and the character had no really purpose in doing them. I can only hope that Tony Jaa's next endeavor goes back to basics and makes something good again. If you read down below, it's a summary of the rest of the movie that was cut. You'll see scenes from the trailer that didn't make it in the movie, namely him in the white outfit. Read it if you want to understand what Tony Jaa's entire vision was. This could have been a better movie if it had been entirely shot but, not that much better. Either way this movie is going to make a lot of money and a lot of people will see it. He'll still be rich and famous so I really can't feel all that bad for the.