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100So just do yourself a favor, get out there and see Ong Bak. You’ll leave the theater bruised and battered, but you'll be happy about it.
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88Infusion of comedy elements keeps the story light, without dragging it into the cartoonish.
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83Ong-Bak (taken from the name of the sacred statue) is delivered raw, with an on-the-fly compositional approach from director Prachya Pinkaew that includes dim lighting and jumbled editing.
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An effective martial arts film destined to leave mouths agape.
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80Without doubt, Jaa's a star — a man very possibly worthy of the 'new Bruce Lee' tag.
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80However shrewdly he's been packaged, Tony Jaa is the real thing.
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The ferocious fighting moves (adapted from ancient Muay Thai manuals by veteran Thai martial arts director Phanna Rithikrai) that constitute Ong-Bak's money shots are often truly astonishing.
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80It's a display of phenomenal dexterity and nimble grace that's a joy to watch. That, friends, is entertainment.
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80Mr. Jaa, blessed with astonishing muscle definition and a stoical, sensitive face, clearly has the potential to be an international action movie star, and Ong-Bak feels like the start of a scrappy, potent franchise.
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80Pummeling, exhilarating.
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80Strongly recalls Hong Kong kung-fu movies of the late '60s and '70s, with physical grit, over-the-top heroics and inventive fight choreography providing the entertainment.
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80Overstays its welcome, but for mindless thrills you could do worse.
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78But the best way to enjoy Ong Bak is on its own gritty, low-budget level, skins, brains, and guts galore, a viscerally entertaining slice of Thai filmmaking that will leave you grinning ear to ear.
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75Did I enjoy Ong-Bak? As brainless but skillful action choreography, yes. And I would have enjoyed it even more if I'd known going in that the stunts were being performed in the old-fashioned, pre-computer way.
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75Every action scene is a spectacularly choreographed set piece. At one point, Jaa literally fights with feet of fire. Unfortunately, whenever he comes down to earth, so does the movie.
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75A thinly plotted, amateurishly acted, cartoonishly violent and hugely entertaining array of jaw-dropping stunts and corny slapstick.
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75An opportunity to enjoy the pure adrenaline rush that has always been the hallmark of martial-arts cinema.
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75An impressive, adrenaline-boosted action showcase.
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70Makes up in action what it lacks in storytelling finesse.
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70Ong-Bak's script, if you can call it that, is nothing but a series of setups for star Tony Jaa to show his stuff.
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63All about watching Jaa.
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60The meat of the matter is fight sequences, and rather than being goosed with now-common digital effects and Hong Kong-style wirework, it's all real and all breathtaking.
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60Ting's exploits grow ever more violent and repetitive, but a lot of Ong-Bak is very enjoyable.
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60Refreshingly free of the hyperbole of special effects...Ong-Bak will win no scriptwriting awards, but Jaa is definitely the real deal.
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Thus a tightly edited, 90-minute action flick becomes a bloated, 105-minute exercise on how not to direct an action film.
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50A sizable amount of national pride is on display in Ong-Bak.
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50The storytelling is cheesy, but action fans won't want to miss the debut of the Next Big Thing in martial arts.
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0Having root-canal surgery would be less painful than sitting through the martial-arts disaster Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior.