Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior

R

Released Feb 11, 2005

1h 47m

Action

List

85%

109 Reviews

Tomatometer

84%

50,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

In Thailand, the impoverished village of Ban Nong Pradu has its most precious Buddha statue stolen from the temple. Luckily the small town also has a very skilled fighter in the form of Ting (Tony Jaa), who sets out on a quest to recover the cherished figure. His journey leads him to Bangkok, where he must wrangle the statue from Don (Wannakit Sirioput), a volatile drug dealer. Meanwhile, the village is suffering a severe drought and needs the Buddha to restore vitality.

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Critics Consensus

While Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior may be no great shakes as a movie, critics are hailing the emergence of a new star in Tony Jaa, whose athletic performance is drawing comparisons with Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, and Jet Li.

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Roger Moore

Orlando Sentinel

Rated: 3/5

May 13, 2009

Full Review

Nick Schager

Lessons of Darkness

Just a showcase for Jaa's athletic abilities.

Rated: C

Aug 24, 2006

Full Review

Empire Magazine

Rated: 4/5

Apr 1, 2006

Full Review

Rob Gonsalves

Rob's Movie Vault

But most of the movie has a more visceral goal — to make you gasp or laugh or cringe at the physical excesses of Tony Jaa.

Rated: B+

Sep 19, 2022

Full Review

Mike Massie

Gone With The Twins

Employing no special effects or wirework and doing all of his own stunts, Tony Jaa is clearly the man to watch for the future of martial arts movies.

Rated: 8/10

Nov 9, 2020

Full Review

Miles Fielder

The List

While the Muay Thai kickboxing style employed by star and action choreographer Tony Jaa is impressive, the way in which the various bouts are filmed is uninspired and ultimately tiresome.

Rated: 2/5

Apr 24, 2019

Full Review

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Elvis D

Después de haber trabajado como doble en la secuela de Mortal Kombat, Ong-Bak fue la película que le dio su primer papel protagónico y fue una gran oportunidad para demostrar sus increíbles habilidades. Es una clásica historia de artes marciales que envuelve a nuestro protagonista en un mundo criminal que debe combatir para recuperar un objeto valioso. El guion no es del todo excelente, pero es una historia sencilla y Tony Jaa logra apoderarse de la película con sus estupendas escenas de pelea. Demuestra una gran agilidad y las escenas de combate llegan a ser muy impactantes. Ong-Bak es una estupenda película de acción que logra mantener la atención del espectador en pantalla y gracias a esta película, Tony Jaa ha demostrado ser un artista marcial bastante talentoso para convertirse en otra futura estrella de acción. Mi calificación final para esta película es un 8/10.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

09/30/23

Full Review

DanTheMan 2

Ong Bak is a one-man show and Tony Jaa is that show, bringing the art of Muay Thai to the mainstream in all its bone-crunching glory. While it certainly struggles with giving many of its characters coherent motivations or personalities outside of stock archetypes, Jaa's violent strikes and sheer versatility keep it from getting boring. The first knee to the face is enough to make anyone wince. Jaa manages to combine the brutality of Bruce Lee, with the sheer speed of Jet Li and the wild athleticism and sheer determination of Jackie Chan into set pieces that manage to showcase the man's skills as a fighter and out-and-out action star. It contains all the classic hallmarks of Hong Kong cinema but lacks the writing, acting and glossy filmmaking to fully back it up. It's not terribly original but as entertainment goes, Ong Bak delivers with an effortless proficiency for brutal violence and inventive action scenes that remain endlessly engaging for fans of martial arts cinema.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

09/19/23

Full Review

Sylvia T

If you like martial arts movies, you'll love this!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/21/23

Full Review

Alain M

great action, but very thin storyline, but that is ok, tony Jaa action allways makes up for that

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

10/11/23

Full Review

shaina

an excellent action film. amazing chase scenes, amazing fight scenes. a great movie to watch with friends, or on your own. i've rewatched it.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

12/29/22

Full Review

Audience Member

i also train muay boran that tony jaa use and i can say that tony jaa is my idol before this review but i keep this review pro! so tony jaa actually learned muay boran for this movie and it shows (RIP STUNT GUYS). ALSO STORY IS REALITY IN SOME CITYS!!!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/30/23

Full Review

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Prachya Pinkaew

Director

Tachakorn Yeerum

Ting

Pumwaree Yodkamol

Muaylek

Phetthai Vongkumlao

Humlae

Suchao Pongwilai

Komtuan

Wannakit Sirioput

Don

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Synopsis

In Thailand, the impoverished village of Ban Nong Pradu has its most precious Buddha statue stolen from the temple. Luckily the small town also has a very skilled fighter in the form of Ting (Tony Jaa), who sets out on a quest to recover the cherished figure. His journey leads him to Bangkok, where he must wrangle the statue from Don (Wannakit Sirioput), a volatile drug dealer. Meanwhile, the village is suffering a severe drought and needs the Buddha to restore vitality.

Director: Prachya Pinkaew
Producer: Luc Besson, Somsak Techaratanaprasert
Screenwriter: Panna Rittikrai, Prachya Pinkaew
Distributor: Magnolia Films
Production Co: Baa-Ram-Ewe
Rating: R (Sexuality|Sequences of Strong Violence|Language|Some Drug Use)
Genre: Action
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Feb 11, 2005, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 7, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $4.6M
Runtime: 1h 47m
Sound Mix: Surround, Dolby Digital

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