Ong-bak 3

Plot synopsis:
In the year 1431 in Thailand, Tien (Tony Jaa) is held captive being beaten with wooden staves. On the orders of Lord Rajasena (Sarunyu Wongkrajang), his elbows and knees are snapped. As Lord Rajasena sleeps, Tien's guerilla fighters attempt to free Tien, but Bhuti Sangkha (Dan Chupong) appears and kills them. Lord Rajasena offers to hire Bhuti, but he refuses and gives the offer to remove the curse which has been placed on Rajasena before leaving. Rajasena orders his men to kill Tien, but before this can be carried out, a man arrives with a pardon from the king, indicating that he will take Tien, much to Rajasena's ire. The messenger returns Tien to the Kana Khone villagers. After fending off the village from invaders who are after Tien, Master Bua (Nirut Sirijanya) feels guilty over Tien's imprisonment and becomes a Buddhist monk. Pim (Primrata Det-Udom) heals Tien to life, but finds that Tien is still crippled from his beatings. Tien then embarks on a rehabilitation regimen with the help of Master Bua.
Rajasena visits Bhuti at his temple to remove his curse, but Bhuti reveals his true motive of usurping Rajasena and becoming the new king. After a battle, Bhuti decapitates Rajasena, but his severed head curses Bhuti. After meditating, Tien returns to his village to find it in ruins, and the surviving villagers kidnapped and enslaved by Bhuti. Bhuti uses his magic to summon an eclipse. When Pim reveals herself as Tien's companion, she is taken to Bhuti's palace, where she is killed. Tien witnesses this killing from a statue and fights his way through the guards before confronting Bhuti, who launches a spear at Tien's chest. As he falls to his knees, defeated, he remembers Bua's words, and finds himself again atop the statue. Overcoming Bhuti's illusion, lightning strikes and Bhuti's eclipse magic is dispelled. Bhuti attempts to escape but is confronted by Tien. Bhuti attempts again to throw a spear at Tien, who catches and throws it aside. On the royal ledge above the arena, Tien's upright finger tips hold Bhuti aloft by his chin. Suddenly an elephant's trunk butts the doors below the ledge, causing Bhuti to fall from Tien's grasp. Bhuti falls, over the elephant's tusks. The camera pans as we watch Bhuti dying on the ground, pierced by the elephant's broken tusk. As he breaths his last breath, the elephant, now resembling the one tusk Ganesha, raises his head in a victorious trumpet. Beginning life anew, with good having triumphed over evil, the final scene opens as Tien, Pim and the remaining villagers, pray before the statue of Ong Bak.

Tags: violence

Review:
Especially the final fight is very disappointing and if you've watched the previous Tony Jaa movies you know all his moves by now.
While I appreciate the effort to make a "real" film instead of an action flick, it was done horribly as the cinematics are awful: numerous completely pointless close-ups and weak special effects make it look like a college project at times.
For the first hour we only have limited battle sequences involving our hero, so savour whatever you can in his fight for survival against hordes of weapon wielding enemies who have the unfair advantage of strength in numbers against a badly beaten (just came off those numerous fights from Ong Bak 2) Tien.
Totally broken and just as he's about to be executed, Tien gets saved by the bell and brought back to the village of Kana Khone, where another fight ensues involving his new rescuers against Rajasena's assassins.Then it's a good plod onto the hour mark, where Tien goes through a reincarnation of sorts, involving body wraps, mystical chants, Master Bua (Nirut Sirichanya) turning to monkhood and imparting pearls of wisdom, the rehabilitation of body, mind and soul, time for romance with Pim (Primorata Dejudom) his pillar of strength, discussions of karmic philosophy and the circle of life.
Tien has to unlearn what he has learnt, and basically has to snap all the bones of his body back in place before he can practice martial arts again, which brings us a bearded Jaa and a training montage in a tree, under water, showing off a lean though scarred body, and is that a little paunch I see as well?So while Tien takes a breather of sorts for his transformation, the duty of keeping the action junkies entertained fell on Dan Chupong's shoulders, as his very short supporting role as the Crow Ghost got expanded here, with his motivation fully revealed.
Ong Bak 3 straddles martial arts and philosophy very openly and tried to strike a fair balance between the two, but alas it came off as quite a schizophrenic film very much like True Legend in spirit.
I hope the Ong Bak 2 and 3 episodes don't tank Tony Jaa's career, because I'm sure he has enough in reserve to wow audiences once again, should the right story come along that pushes his physical boundaries..
the end fight scene was disappointing.ong bak came out 7 years ago that and his other films were great.
Well...The storyline was almost non-existent, and whatever story was being told there was told in a really confusing and weird way, so it was difficult to make any sense of the movie.It seemed like this was a showcase of how cool can we make Tony Jaa look?
Honestly, I liked seeing those cultural scenes, but again, not really something that can carry a movie.I think "Ong Bak 3" is pretty much as weak as the 2nd part, except the story in this one is more confusing.
They should have stopped after the original "Ong Bak" movie which was a blast of an action movie.I was disappointed with this movie, and I was actually just sitting through it at the end to watch Tony Jaa fight and show what he can do.
Brought up by a group of warriors, Tien grows up to become a fearsome fighting machine himself- which is really an excuse for Tony Jaa to show off his bone-crunching moves."Ong Bak 2" ended on a cliffhanger, with Tien overwhelmed by the sheer number of Rajasena?s soldiers and taken away to be tortured to death.
Picking right up after the events of "Ong Bak 2", this installment begins with an unpleasant sequence where Tien is beaten and brutalized in ways apparently too disconcerting even for an NC16 rating (yes, it's cut).
His body covered with tattoos, the Crow Demon soon uses his supernatural powers to enslave the villagers, setting the stage for an epic confrontation with Tien.True enough, like "Ong Bak 2", audiences will be treated to a no-holds-barred vicious climax with plenty of jaw-breaking, head-cracking and knee-crunching action.
And once again, like its predecessor, you can be sure that you'll be left in awe at Tony Jaa's physical agility and martial arts prowess- which was the very reason his name was mentioned among the greats Jet Li and Jackie Chan when "Ong Bak" was first released.Here, Tony Jaa also showcases the 'nattayuth' fighting technique, a combination of traditional khon dancing with mixed martial arts, as his character Tien goes up against the Crow Demon.
(There is certainly a real-life parallel to be drawn here, as Tony Jaa's decision to join the monkhood in May shortly after this film was released can only mean that Dan Chupong may steal his thunder as Thailand's most famous action star.) Of course, there is a good reason for Tien's (or Tony Jaa's) departure, for "Ong Bak 3" tries- though rather clumsily- to be a film about the redemptive potential of forgiveness.
Whereas Jaa's Tien was driven by revenge in "Ong Bak 2", here he is driven by something different, something less destructive and ultimately liberating.In the hands of more experienced directors, this noble ambition might have translated better to the big screen- but co-directors Tony Jaa and Jaa's mentor Panna Pittikrai (who are also action choreographers and action directors in the film) are unfortunately out of their league here.
Indeed, it's especially telling when one of the best things about the film is the levity that Phettai Wongkumlao's village idiot Mhen brings, especially during Tien's fight when he first emerges from his self-imposed solitude.Much has been said about the production troubles surrounding "Ong Bak 2" and "Ong Bak 3"- Tony Jaa disappearing from the set for two whole months during filming for "Ong Bak 2"; subsequent studio pressure leading to the rushed production of "Ong Bak 2" and the decision to make this film "Ong Bak 3" partly to complete the story and partly to recoup costs.
At the very least, it's an excuse to watch Tony Jaa fight on screen again and probably for the last time in a long while.
One thing the viewer will notice in "Ong Bak 3" is that the degree of difficulty of the martial arts choreography is not nearly as high as Jaa's previous works.
"Mediocre" for Tony Jaa is "good" for everyone else, which means that the action in "Ong Bak 3" is engaging enough to be moderately entertaining.
In reality it's on the same level as something like "The Sanctuary" (2009) or "The Bodyguard" (2004) and comes off like a poor man's version of "Ong Bak 2." Jaa's typical critics – you know, the people with awful taste in action films – will have a field day lambasting this one while giving it a 1/10 rating.
I tried to understand what was going on, and I did not succeed.There's also scenes of graphic violence and torture that is a lot more mean spirited than what we've seen in Tony Jaa's other movies.
Let's get strait to the point, Ong Bak 3 have wonderful moments that can value the movie without all the fighting scenes.
The plots of those two films amounted to "Hey, the bad guys stole something from me, now I'm going to go get it (while kicking the ass of everyone who gets in my way), whether or not my pants are on fire." Ong-Bak 2 & 3, which Jaa directed, wrote and choreographed (he's most successful in the latter aspect), have a mytho-historic epic plot line that is as confusing as it is unnecessary..
If you want "something more", go on and watch "The Notebook" or something like that.For those who doesn't think that a movie should always try to be a "masterpiece", this is their kind of movie: pure fun, full of kicks, a history of vengeance, some love, and a lot of people getting kicked on the head.Maybe is not at the height of Ong Bak 1, but it doesn't mean that it isn't a good film to watch if you like martial arts flicks..
Ong Bak 3 instead of one fight scene after the other, Tony Jaa (Tien) now has a love interest and is keen on showing Thailand itself, Thai religions and Thon a form of Thai dancing in a good light, and this he does well, there are still spectacular fight sequences but not so many, the elephant scene towards the end is a worthy highlight for any Asian Cinema action fan.
It would be foolish to rate this as an action film, as obviously Tony Jaa is now much older and wishes to progress his acting career and wants to be taken seriously as an "actor", but as "World Cinema" goes it is definitely a step up from the usual non stop bone crunching high speed fighting and more into "Fantasy Adventure" which in the long term no disgrace to film-making.
So in conclusion, it does not have the fighting that made Ong Bak 1&2 and "Warrior King" so effective and glorious to watch, but it is now starting competing with other countries in the acting stakes, it still has some way to go, so expect some more intense Thai cinema in the future, and personally I wish it luck..
Tony Jaa has one fight scene in the first hour of the movie.
Like when after an hour of pretty much nothing, an action scene has finally happened, only it didn't because the movie rewinds itself to take it away.
The makers take "The Crow" premise, add some crappy special effects and a next to impossible story line(...yes even after having seen part 2 of Ong Bak,)and mashes it into a big fat fail of epic martial arts portions.
'ONG BAK 3': Three and a Half Stars (Out of Five) Thai martial arts superstar Tony Jaa (who's been compared to the likes of Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and Jet Li) stars in this sequel to the international blockbuster 'ONG BAK 2', which actually isn't a traditional sequel to the original 'ONG BAK', seeing as that movie was set in modern day Thailand and the two sequels are set in the year 1431.
While it doesn't live up to it's two predecessors or Jaa's other works it's still a more than decent martial arts adventure.The film begins with a montage of the closing scenes from the second film, which ended on a cliffhanger.
This movie is just a great action thrill ride, almost like an over long martial arts music video.
I might have enjoyed the film quite a bit more than others because of my low expectations but I definitely had a pretty good time watching it.Watch our review show 'MOVIE TALK' at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffxjYiwLUko. The best ending for the trilogy.
Tony Jaa was just as good in this one as he was in Ong Bak 2.I enjoyed watching this movie for its beauty, and action..
one must also know a little bit about the fighting style(s) being exhibited in order to fully appreciate the martial arts movie being viewed.
First, I have been a rabid fan of Tony Jaa since the first Ong Bak, and I've watched every one of his films since then.
The fights are fantastic, both in Ong Bak 2 and in Ong Bak 3, even though the 3rd part has less action than the 2nd...the "crow man" is also an awesome martial artist...I think that the movie needed some time to "mature" the ideas...but still, it's very entertaining.The Thai cinema industry often delivers very good efforts...and this one is another good movie...In my opinion, it deserves a watch....
Ong-bak 3 take right after Ong-bak 2 left Tony Jaa as Tien after failing to use brute force to revenge now he has to find his inner piece to face off with a out of no where villain.The writing is bad but one again i came here to see Tony kick a lot of ass and he do it with style while rocking a long hair.The action scene is well choreographed by Tony himself although not as memorable as previous Ong-bak movies.Strangle stuff like during the final battle Tony pull out Nicolas Cage power in Next (2007) may upset many people other than that this movie is a great watch don't let the poor IMDb score fool you.
Firstly, and this is key, the fight sequences are top notch and I come to expect nothing less from Tony Jaa. Having seen the prequels to this film (Ong Bak in particular is fantastic) and Warrior King this doesn't quite live up to first Ong Bak but it has a good go.
All people want is Tony Jaa's acrobatic fighting action.
After the second movie, Lord Rajasena is holding Tien (Tony Jaa) prisoner as he is beaten to a pulp.
Ong bak 3 has a story which suits me its not stupid the directing is bad and the film is rushed in many ways this also lacks action.
In my opinion, the first Ong Bak film had more of a cutting edge thrill ride filled with diverse fight scenes.
Ong Bak 3 is really good however, the time Tien spends healing himself lingers on for to long for my liking.
The bad guys are generally weak and indeed the crow-king character is just silly without any real sense of threat or presence (a couple of good moves though).Speaking of moves, this film's biggest disappointment is that the fight sequences are so very dull.
Instead we get fights that are mostly "OK" but nothing more than this; they don't cover for the poor plot and they certainly don't make up for long "training" sequences that feel like they are there purely to fill time (which of course they are).One could argue that viewers of Ong Bak 3 should know what they are getting, but I don't buy that.
When I watch Tony Jaa's movies I'm expecting for action, lots of action, it doesn't matter if the story is nonexistent...
The final fight, which should have been epic, is really disappointing because it is short, it has nothing spectacular, it lacks the flamboyant style of Tony Jaa and the other guy shows absolutely nothing..
I wanted action, real conflict, for Tien to struggle to win and fight to the near-death.All I got was a half-arsed film with sentimental crap and....oh forget it.It's miles away from the brilliance of Ong Bak 1..
premonition to lightning strike near the end was odd and seemed out of place, but can easily be interpreted as an intervention of good -> (you know, Tony Jaa all decked out in white, Chupong flossing his dark evil-emperor threads) and 2.the end fight, although awesome, should definitely not have been all slow motion, kinda ruined it, but thats just an editing mistake, after that 300 garbage everybody is doing it.anyway, i thought the movie was sick, agree disagree, i don't care.think of it this way, i'v been an IMDb user for a while now, never written a review, only made like 2-3 posts about anything in total, and the bad reviews that were floating around about this movie were honestly just too much, i felt somebody had to say something in this movies defense, because it is in all actuality a great film.
True, Ong Bak 1&2, plus the other Jaa's movies, didn't had good scripts, but he overcome this weakness by pretending he translated the life of real people on the screen.
Very little fighting in the whole movie, for the most of the way through, we the audience watch Tony jaa doing next to nothing in slow motion, be it dancing or sitting in a waterfall,(cheesiness is something that is common in all 3 movies ^^), he doesn't do much throughout the film.
Well, after what i saw (Ong Bak 2) i was expecting something with at least some good fighting scenes, but after watching the film over 90min i decided it was not worth my time.
(? !wtf have he said that i lot?!"well; IMHO, if you want good Tony Jaa's movies, stick with Ong Bak 1 and The Protector 1 and 2..
ONG BAK 3 starts off with an extended torture sequence that rivals the one in THE LAST TEMPTATION OF Christ; and, like Jackie Chan before him, Tony Jaa appears to be more than willing to suffer for his (martial) art...
While I've come to think of Jaa over the past few years as one part Bruce Lee (Real World hand-to-hand combat techniques) and one part Jackie Chan (death-defying, almost superhuman stuntwork), ONG BAK 3 (like all too many martial arts movies these days) employs totally unnecessary wirework as well.
After the events of the previous 'Ong Bak' film Tien has been captured by the evil Lord Rajasena.
The scenes showing Tien's recovery take far too long, especially given that the film is quite short, and the plot involving Bhuti is somewhat confused it would have been better if the conclusion was a fight between Tien and Rajasena.
When we aren't watching Tien recover there are some decent fight scenes; one even provides so good laughs when a comic relief character gets involved.
There is a clear difference between the tired feel of this movie and the extraordinarily brilliant Ong Bak and Ong Bak 2.Whilst the first two films had fantastic fight sequences, featuring brilliant stunts and awe-inspiring moves that showcase Tony Jaa's immense talent, this movie has none of these magic ingredients.The movie is slow moving...not a great thing for an action movie.
Big mistake.Ong Bak 3 picks up where the second film left off, not only in the story but in the confusing, jumbled mess of rubbish that spends most of its time posturing.
I love Tony Jaa's previous movies, and watched despite poor stories, simply for the enjoyment of the fight choreography.
So this is basically a sequel to "Ong Bak 2" which wasn't a good movie.