Ong-Bak: Muay Thai Warrior
If you’re anything like me you’ve gotta love a good action flick now and then. It’s also entirely possible that, like me, you might be suffering from a little Matrix induced Computer-Generated-Effects overload. If that’s the case then keep your eyes peeled for Ong-Bak and when it shows up in your local theatre get down there and check it out. Why? Because it’s all real. No CG, no wires, lots of injuries in filming.
So what’s it about I hear you asking. From a plot point of view, nothing too special. A kid from a remote little Thai village is sent on a quest to bring back the head of the village Buddha that was stolen by some low ranking mafia types. He makes his way to the big city (Bangkok) and gets himself into all sorts of trouble including bar fights, a tuk-tuk chase, and a way cool running-from-thugs bit that has to be seen to be believed.
The main role is played by a guy named Phanom Yeerum and according to the IMDB it’s his first role. They also say that he’s currently in training for the sequel. Dude, you’ve got my money.
What’s the catch? Well, you may have to wait a bit. It’s been showing throughout Asia and has just made its way into Japan (where I am). It should be out in North America sometime before the end of this year. On the plus side, it’ll probably have English sub-titles there. I watched it in Thai with Japanese sub-titles so my plot summary might be on the simple side…
Go Boonting!