As a student of taekwondo, I often enjoy watching videos that feature different forms of fighting styles. This seems to be common to many martial arts students and a recent poll on Combat Canada shows that many of you enjoyed Ong Bak, featuring Muay Thai artist Tony Jaa.
Ong Bak 2 has been recently released to DVD to much anticipation. The story is not a sequel to Ong Bak, and takes place in ancient Thailand as we follow young Tien, the son of a murdered nobleman. After witnessing his family’s massacre, Tien eventually finds himself under the care of a group of bandits. Through training with them he pursues his dream of being a great warrior, and grows into a young man proficient in a wide variety of martial arts.
Jaa put in a lot of time and effort into learning these different styles, and it shows. He continues his tradition of performing his own stunts and there are many impressive fight sequences featuring these arts. Unfortunately, the plot is very convoluted and seems to be almost entirely traded off half-way through the film in order to fit in one fight after another. Whether this is a big issue or not is ultimately up to the viewer.
While perhaps not Jaa’s best film to date, I would recommend viewing it at least once, as there are some truly wonderful combat scenes. Ong Bak 2 shows that Jaa continues to be an excellent martial artist intent on expanding his skills and I look forward to his future projects.
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