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Starring: Tony Jaa, Sorapong Chatree, Dan ChupongSynopsis: In a time of civil war, young Tien, son of a general, manages to evade capture by his father’s enemies only to witness his parents’ death and then fall into the clutches of slave traders. Tien fights for his freedom and is rewarded for his struggles by being thrown into a crocodile pit for the amusement of the other slave buyers. However, Tien’s spirited fight stirs something within Chernang, a bandit chief. He and his men rescue Tien and offer to train him in the many disciplines of martial art that they practice. Now a grown man, Tien leads the bandits on their many fruitful raids. However, one particular raid unlocks repressed memories of his fateful childhood, propelling Tien to avenge his parent’s deaths and fulfil his destiny. Review: Ong Bak –The Beginning had a notoriously troubled production. The martial arts epic originally envisioned by Tony Jaa went way over budget and eventally needed another director to step in and finish the film. It is only in the second half of the film that this really becomes apparent. For example, the sequences which are supposed to show Tien leading the bandits on their raids is cut down to a confusing montage. A key childhood friend appears late on, but with nothing to add to the film. And then there is the horrible voice-over right at the end...
Nevertheless, OB- TB makes good on it’s promise of being a treat for martial arts and action fans. Thai action movies have become synonymous with death-defying stunt-work (often they will show the same stunt from different angles and speeds to get as much mileage out of them as possible – although Tony Jaa doesn’t do that here), and Ong Bak 2 has a number of such feats. One of the most jaw-dropping sees Tien running across the backs of a stampeding herd of elephants in order to reach and tame the leader. Unlike his previous films, Ong Bak The Beginning sees Tony Jaa employing a number of different martial arts, including samurai swordsmanship, kung fu and, most exceptionally, drunken boxing (in a great scene where Tien re-visits the slave traders for some payback). 
The ending brings both climax and anti-climax. First there is an all-out battle with the Emperor’s many personal assassins. This is pretty epic as Tien has to adapt to and overcome their various fighting styles and weapons. This isn’t some Steven Seagal fight either – Tien gets increasingly battered, bruised and bloody as the fights go on and at one point has to hide between the protective legs of an elephant just to get his breath back!
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ends with a voice-over which, to a western audience at least, seems very silly. It is akin to the audience being asked to yell “I believe in fairies!” in Peter Pan to save Tinkerbell. It is very apparent that the studio decided to cut it’s losses and try to tie up the film at this point. However, the film went on to break box-office records on release in it’s home country, and Ong Bak 3 is currently filming. It looks like Tony Jaa will get to finish his masterpiece afterall.Verdict: There was a lot of internet gossip surrounding this film but at the end of the day, Tony Jaa has produced a jaw-dropping martial arts showcase. With Part 3 in the works, he can pretend he meant to leave the audience hanging, and we can forgive the abrupt ending here. 7 out of 10 (MikeOutWest)
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