Ong Bak 2

I missed the first "Ong Bak" but it was evidently successful enough to warrant a sequel and I certainly heard a number of audience members reminiscing about the noteworthy martial arts in that one. Other than the title, this latest one has nothing in it that implies an earlier film, although this ending absolutely indicates that there WILL be an "Ong Bak 3"! This movie from Thailand boasts an appealing lead actor/director Tony Jaa along with some truly despicable villains.

The training sessions with the bandit chief made me think of a Marine Corps Boot Camp. They master spears, swords, sabers, knives, nin- chucks (or numchucks), fists and fingers. They are killing machines!

Because I have never been a fan of the Chop Socky genre (although I get a kick out of Jackie Chan), I see very few of them. That means the spec- tacular moves the fighters make are not only impressive, they are brand new to me, so I gasp along with the rest of the audience. And Jaa doesn't over-do the slow-motion scenes.

There is very little story to recommend this actioner, so if you like non- stop martial arts that feature a lone hero confronted by insurmountable odds (in the rain!), this is just the ticket.