Beowulf Beowulf
Jun
16
2008

Tony Jaa Brings The Pain!  We’ve Got The ONG BAK 2 Promo Reel!

Posted by Todd Brown at 4:59pm.

Posted in Trailer Alerts , Martial Arts, Action, Asia.

Ask any martial arts fan who the best screen fighters of today are and it certainly won’t take long until Tony Jaa’s name gets mentioned.  After working in supporting roles for a number of years Jaa exploded on the international scene when he first took the lead in Ong Bak, blowing minds with his obvious skill level and willingness to risk life and limb in a series of extreme stunts.  Making Jaa even more impressive was his insistence that his fight work be all natural:  he uses no wires, no CGI, it’s all him.  Though let down by a weak script Jaa’s follow up role to Ong Bak - Tom Yum Goong, released in North America as The Protector - proved once again that Jaa is a simply huge talent.

And now comes Ong Bak 2, Jaa’s third leading role and his directorial debut.  The film has no story connection to the first Ong Bak, instead moving the narrative back in time and casting Jaa as a young man saved from execution by a group of global martial artists as a boy who has since trained in every one of their arts in an attempt to fuse them all into one master martial art.  From a fight standpoint this is clearly Jaa’s most diverse role to date and any fears that he wasn’t ready to step behind the camera will disappear within the first couple shots.  Clearly Jaa knows what he wants to do back there and the level of detail in the production design and the kinetic shooting style are both very impressive.  More impressive?  Seeing Jaa fight with weapons and using kung fu techniques on screen for the first time.  And if you’re thinking he’s just faking the Chinese martial arts in this one, that’s where you’re wrong:  Jaa’s history with martial arts actually began with kung fu and he didn’t pick up muay thai until his mentor, Panna Rittikrai, suggested he might want to play to the local audience a little more.

Anyway, enough of the background.  You want the sales reel.  The good people at Shamongkol have been kind enough to give us an exclusive first look at the English subtitled promo reel prepared to sell the film at this year’s Marche du Film in Cannes.  Strap in and get ready for three and a half minutes of non stop action.  You’ll find it below the break in the Twitch Player.


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Reader Comments

  1. The Amazing Psycho Per 06/16/2008 @ 5:33pm

    Finally!!! It looks awesome! Damn, I shouldn’t have watched, now I’m all hyped up. It would’ve been so sweet had it premiere this year at Fantasia… One can dream… Any words on when it hits the screens?

  2. wisekwai 06/16/2008 @ 5:45pm

    Wow!

    It looks so much different than any other Thai action film. Grittier, yet more polished.

  3. Todd Brown 06/16/2008 @ 5:52pm

    It’s not done yet, so it won’t be on screens until late this year, at earliest.  And, yeah, Wisekwai ... I totally agree.  Very well shot but surprisingly brutal at the same time ... I was really surprised to see him lay on the blood ...

  4. Opus 06/16/2008 @ 6:02pm

    Sweet merciful crap!

  5. Mack 06/16/2008 @ 6:34pm

    Hey. That’s my line!

  6. ChevalierAguila 06/16/2008 @ 7:05pm

    Wow, just wow., i mean...damn!

  7. Rhythm-X 06/16/2008 @ 7:22pm

    Whoa.  This looks like it’ll be worth the wait and then some.

  8. seventhbrother 06/16/2008 @ 9:04pm

    I keep rewinding this video and I still can’t stop watching this footage! My God, Tony has definitely carved his place in kung fu film history. This is some of the most fantastical screen fighting that I have ever seen. The cinematography, editing and overall look of the film puts his last two to shame. I think he has a career in directing (unless we see the finished product and its uneven- I think NOT!) Now I am interested to see what he could do with the star of CHOCOLATE. Can’t wait, can’t wait, can’t wait…

  9. Mike 06/16/2008 @ 9:15pm

    Sweet, finally!

  10. kungfueurotrash 06/16/2008 @ 9:19pm

    Holy Temple Shit..

  11. LT Roberts 06/16/2008 @ 9:44pm

    Oh my. I think I just soiled myself.

    I would say something else, but everyone has stolen my words. It’s been a while since I’ve seen a trailer that has made me giddy with glee. Even longer since a fight film has done that (probably harkening back to SPL and then Ong Bak).

    Supa-fresh!!!  Can’t wait.

    Too bad the Weinersteins will totally ruin this by buying it, slapping over some terrible dubbing, and re-editing it with some hip-hop music and less violence. Why oh why do these guys get away with stupid sh*t like that????

    But I digress… THIS LOOKS AWESOME.

  12. LT Roberts 06/16/2008 @ 9:45pm

    PS. God Bless you Todd, for bringing us this fine, fine trailer.

  13. MikeOutWest 06/16/2008 @ 11:27pm

    The scenese with the elephants just totally blow my mind, let alone the incredible fight scenes. Not only is Tony Jaa very capable of making himself look good, but he seems to be generous to the many actors who have to take his punishment.

  14. ChevalierAguila 06/17/2008 @ 12:45am

    If anything, i do wish that the fights are not just “Tony beats standing extra number 5, number 6, then number 7”.

    Also, gotta love that shot with the elephants bowing infront of him. Now that looks powerfull.

  15. quadshock 06/17/2008 @ 12:51am

    damn… looks like he’s finally getting balance into his movies.

  16. john 06/17/2008 @ 1:53am

    This looks insane. I have a feeling that this will be number one on the twitch player for a while.

  17. plastique 06/17/2008 @ 3:16am

    “Real Fight...is Back!”

    Yes. Yes it is.

  18. buckykrooks 06/17/2008 @ 4:11am

    I just cried a little bit.
    Thank you Tony Jaa.

  19. Pico 06/17/2008 @ 4:12am

    The first minute looked god awful. If this is the first movie with Tony Jaa directing, it really shows.

  20. The Visitor 06/17/2008 @ 4:12am

    SUPERCALIFRAGILISTICEXPEALIDOCIOUS!

    sorry, everyone had used up the best lines, so all i had left was that.

    this looks like Matrix meets Drunken Master meets Crouching Tiger meets Iron Monkey meets National Geographic meets Fearless meets Discovery Channel meets Shaw Bros meets ... oh wow.

    Tony Jaa is The One.

  21. M@rc 06/17/2008 @ 4:42am

    Awesome. What more is there to say?

  22. BtoFu 06/17/2008 @ 5:13am

    I just shit my pants. Thank you, Todd.

  23. anton_es 06/17/2008 @ 8:14am

    holy elephants back batman

  24. andrewz 06/17/2008 @ 9:19am

    I get a “this video is unavailable” error message. Has the file been removed or is it just a temporary error?

  25. anton_es 06/17/2008 @ 9:58am

    it’s temp. just try it more often

  26. Todd Brown 06/17/2008 @ 9:58am

    Temp thing, Andrewz ... server’s getting slammed ...

  27. Papigiulio 06/17/2008 @ 11:55am

    Hellz yeah!!! I was really dissapointed with Chocolat, but I think this movie will make up for it. Looks sooo damn evil!!!!

  28. ap007007 06/17/2008 @ 4:17pm

    Ja. Just to inform you guys that Jaa is using lots of stunt doubles in the material in the trailer. This is not speculation.

  29. The Amazing Psycho Per 06/17/2008 @ 7:26pm

    Watchoo talkin’bout, ap007007? I don’t think it’s a big deal if the fights delivers…

  30. Todd Brown 06/18/2008 @ 2:49am

    Stunt doubles where?  You can see his face in all of the fights.  Maybe for the other guys but not for Tony.

  31. ChevalierAguila 06/18/2008 @ 3:37am

    Proof of Jaa using stunts or get the hell out of here.

  32. ChevalierAguila 06/18/2008 @ 3:42am

    stunt doubles*

  33. MikeOutWest 06/18/2008 @ 6:55am

    It wouldn’t surprise me that as Tony Jaa is now undertaking a director role as well as kick-ass star, that he is obliged to use stunt doubles for certain scenes/stunts - for example the running across the backs of elephants - for insurance purposes. I’m not saying that this is the case, and to be quite honest who cares as long as the action onscreen looks authentic and has the wow factor. I’ve often said that the best fx are the ones you don’t even think are fx - be it a piece of blended cgi or a stunt double making you believe what you’re seeing is real.

  34. The Amazing Psycho Per 06/18/2008 @ 7:53am

    I totally agree. Even the bests like Yuen Biao (who has acted as a stunt double in many movies) or Jackie Chan have used stunt doubles at one point or another in their carrers. It’s a common practice and I don’t see why it should come as a shock. Many reasons can explain the use of a stunt double for those action stars: shooting time restrain, exhaustion, injury on the set, insurance problems or just plain common sense that you don’t want your main star to get injured. It doesn’t take anything from the amazing physical abilities of those action stars. People like Tony Jaa are a rare breed in this day and age, even IF he uses a stunt double on occasions, he’s still an amazing performer like their are sadly so few left…

  35. Jahsoldier 06/18/2008 @ 9:32am

    Looks amazing but I have reservations. This looks more like BORN TO FIGHT and less like ONG BAK 2. As cool as BORN TO FIGHT was, there really was no story, just a collection of stunts. Which is fine, but I actually liked the story of the first ONG BAK and the dialogues inbetween the fighting. I also hope there is a story to explain why he is using so many different fighting styles and not just Muai Thai (which we all know has done the job perfectly well before).

    The fighting will be awesome not doubt, I just hope for a full movie and not just a collection of stunts, because it would the film that much better and more memorable.

    Even with stunt doubles, the fact its all done without cgi or other trickery is always an amazing sight to behold and so rare these days. Even Jackie uses wires and cgi more often these days (obviously due to his age).

  36. Gunde 06/18/2008 @ 11:26am

    Hmm didn’t wow me :(

  37. MikeOutWest 06/18/2008 @ 2:18pm

    Jahsoldier makes a good point. My fave martial arts movie of the moment is The Rebel, because the story is as compelling as the fight scenes.  However, I think its best to remember that this is only a promo reel, not a proper trailer. I think Todd mentioned above that the movie is still in production. I think its too early days to start worrying about depth of plot, just based on this.

  38. ForgottenFilms 06/18/2008 @ 3:21pm

    Wow. Finally. I had to attempt Dynamite Warrior to satisfy my lack of T. Jaa fix
    and turned in off within the first 10 WEAK minutes of the film.
    This looks astounding I almost cried in glee.

  39. ChevalierAguila 06/18/2008 @ 4:32pm

    Agree with what has been said about the stunts and story, but so far from what i see in the video (and i have seen it like a dozen times already) i always saw Jaa doing everything, elephant-running scene included. Maybe two or 3 shots of him spinning very fast could not be him, but hard to say for the moment.

    And Gunde, let me be the first to welcome you to this plane, how long have you been undercover within the human race, and from what planet you came from?

  40. Swarez 06/18/2008 @ 6:34pm

    A lot of the action stars use stunt doubles who do a certain trick better than they do. Jackie Chan has said so and has used them almost all his career.

  41. seventhbrother 06/18/2008 @ 9:52pm

    Thank you Swarez- Like the aforementioned Yuen Biao, Mars and the late Lam Ching Ying..

  42. Deadpool 06/19/2008 @ 4:20pm

    I just got happy in my pants!

  43. El Duderino 06/21/2008 @ 6:12am

    Yeah, it looks cool, but how about a good story too, once in a while.

  44. Rhythm-X 06/21/2008 @ 10:10am

    People keep talking about this film like the Weinsteins don’t already have the US rights or something.  As far as I can tell the Weinsteins have had them for ages.  They once had global rights to it, but they re-negotiated their deal and presently only have the US rights to the film.  Or at least that’s Variety’s story.

  45. MikeOutWest 06/21/2008 @ 11:21pm

    If this found its way onto their Dragon Dynasty label I’d be happy, as so far they’ve put out some very good discs. UNLESS they do their horrible habit of renaming the movie. Having heard come across Tom Yun Goon as either The Protector (UK title) or Warrior King, you could have knocked me down when | finally saw the movie and discovered the Tom Yun Goon was the name of the Restaurant being used as a front for the badguys. How dificult would that have been to market, really? And don’t get me started on what the hell “Killzone” has to do with SPL… or how “The Banquet” becoming “Legend of the Black Scorpion"…

  46. lovenara 06/23/2008 @ 10:14am

    Yeah tony ja leads the thai invasion!
    for more of thai invasion go see my myspace,hehe
    cheers

    L

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