A mutiny in the military command in the late 15th century (the 1350-1767 Ayutthaya era of Thai history), leads to the deaths of its top leader Lord Sihadecho (Santisuk Promsiri) and his wife (Pattama Panthongphetthai). Their young son, Tien (Natdanai Kongthong), barely escapes but is then captured by a gang of murderous slave traders, who throw him into a crocodile pit for gladiatorial combat after he resists capture. He defeats the crocodile and is rescued by Chernang (Sorapong Chatree), the leader of the “Garuda’s Wing Cliff” bandits who, sensing a budding fighter’s spirit in the boy, takes him as his protégé and trains him in various martial arts forms. Years later, the grown-up Tien (Tony Jaa), sets out to find his parents’ murderers and avenge their deaths.
What follows is a barrage of non-stop, exhilarating, adrenaline-pumping, violent combat centered on the real skills of the martial arts actor writ large with a modicum of special effects. A rite of passage scene showcases Tony Jaa’s masterful command of Japanese sword, kung fu, and Muay Thai in consecutive procession. However, the true highlight of the film lies in the climatic battle in which Jaa is pitted against the army of his parents’ murderers. Here he goes berserk with sansetsukon (a form of nunchuks), samurai swords, and even his own creative blend of kickboxing and the traditional Thai khon masked dances.
Paradoxically, all this violence and destruction transcend mere savagery to celebrate human physical prowess. Not since Bruce Lee (especially the posthumous Game Of Death which is referenced here in the form of a very tall adversary reminiscent of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) has one martial arts movie demonstrated such versatility across a range of martial art disciplines as Jaa in the extended mano-a-mano duels that characterize the climax of Ong Bak 2.
Tony Jaa continues to astound with his seemingly invulnerable character as he is put through a punishing series of combats. He falls through roofs, crashes into walls, and survives an elephant stampede (taming them in the process!). His stunts are death-defying and awe-inspiring, overriding some of the narrative ellipses in the film which not only has very little apparent relation with Ong Bak 1 (whose contemporary setting means there’s about 500 years separation between them), but also begs for a sequel (Ong Bak 3 that Jaa is currently making).
In fact one could say that the Ong Bak narrative is Tony Jaa - the story of a martial artist who continues to inspire and excite with his raw and inventive talent.
Sorradithep Supachanya