Ong Bak 2 (2008) Biography, Plot, Production, Distribution, Reception, Fight.

Ong Bak 2 (2008)

Ong Bak 2: is a 2008 Thai martial arts film co-directed by Panna Rittikrai and Tony Jaa. Starring Jaa, it is a standalone prequel to the 2003 film Ong-Bak: Muay Thai Warrior. Set in 15th century Thailand, the film revolves around Tien, the son of a murdered nobleman. Captured and sold into slavery, Tien is saved from death by Chernang, the leader of the Pha Beek Khrut, a group of martial artists specialising in various Asian combat styles. Chernang takes Tien under his wing and realizes unsurpassed physical potential in the boy by training him in all the different types of Asian martial arts. When Tien grows up, he goes on a lone mission of vengeance against the slave traders and the treacherous warlord who killed his family. Released on 4 December 2008, the film was followed by Ong Bak 3 in 2010.

Plot.

The film is set in Siam in the 15th century during the reign of Borommarachathirat II of the Ayutthaya Kingdom (reigned 1424–1448). Tien, the son of the nobleman Lord Sihadecho, aspires to be a warrior like his father but, much to his disdain, he is forced to learn dancing instead of combat skills. Meanwhile, Lord Rajasena, a treacherous warlord, sends assassins to kill Sidahecho’s family. Tien, the only survivor in the massacre, manages to escape and he swears vengeance on Rajasena. Tien is captured by a group of slave traders, who throw him into a pool with a large crocodile when he proves uncontrollable. Just then, the Pha Beek Khrut (“Garuda Wing Cliff”), a group of warriors specialising in various Asian martial arts, show up and attack the slave traders. Chernang, the group’s leader, saves Tien by throwing him a knife, which Tien uses to slay the crocodile. Intrigued by the boy’s physical prowess and sheer willpower,

Chernang takes Tien to meet Father Sengpa, a soothsayer who claims that Tien is destined to become a great warrior. Chernang adopts Tien as his son and gets his followers to train him in the different types of Asian martial arts, including muay boran and krabi krabong, Japanese kenjutsu and ninjutsu, Indian Kalaripayattu, Malay silat, as well as various Chinese martial arts. Tien also learns to use weapons such as the ninjatō, katana, jian, dao, talwar, nunchaku, rope dart, and three-section staff. When Tien grows older, he is eager to start his quest for vengeance. With help from the Pha Beek Khrut, he tracks down the slave traders who enslaved him and kills them. After that, he disguises himself as a dancer and infiltrates Lord Rajasena’s palace to assassinate the warlord. After he had apparently killed Rajasena, he returns to the Pha Beek Khrut village, where he comes under attack by many masked assassins.

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After defeating wave after wave of assassins, he finally meets his match at the hands of Bhuti Sangkha (“Crow Ghost”), a formidable martial artist. Shortly after Bhuti Sangkha leaves, Tien finds himself surrounded by Rajasena’s soldiers. It turns out that Rajasena has survived the assassination attempt because he was wearing an armored tunic beneath his robes. Rajasena then reveals to Tien that Chernang was actually the masked warrior who killed Tien’s father years ago. Chernang explains to Tien that he must obey Rajasena or else the warlord will send his army to destroy the Pha Beek Khrut. As Tien reluctantly fights Chernang, the latter pins him to the ground, acknowledges him as his adoptive son, and asks him to kill him and avenge his father. Chernang then causes the blade of Tien’s sword to snap and slash across his throat, killing himself.

Production.

Shooting of the film began in October 2006. It was released in Thailand on December 5, 2008. In July 2008, rumor surfaced that Tony Jaa had disappeared from the production set. Prachya Pinkaew commented to the press that Tony Jaa had disappeared from the set for almost two months, leaving the film unfinished; and that the delay caused more than 250 million baht damage due to the breach of contract with the Weinstein Company who had also canceled the contract. Later in an interview with the press, Tony Jaa stated that the production was on hiatus because Sahamongkol Film could not release the obligated funding for the film. Sources within Ayara Film, the subsidiary of Sahamongkol Film that handled Ong Bak 2 production, stated that no more funding came from Sahamongkol after it took over the budget and management role from Tony Jaa from May 2008 to July 2008.

Tony Jaa and the owner of Sahamongkol Film later made a joint press conference stating that the production and funding would continue after several concessions were agreed upon between Tony Jaa and Sahamongkol. Famed Thai action choreographer and Jaa’s mentor Panna Rittikrai was brought onto the project in the capacity of director to help complete the film. In addition, Rittikrai added martial artist Dan Chupong to the cast. An international trailer for the movie was released during filming, showing the fictional setting in which Tony Jaa’s character is being rescued in the jungle by a group of martial artists of various styles, and trained to unify these different systems. However, production still encountered financial problems as it came to a close. In order to complete the production on time, the filmmakers decided to end Ong Bak 2 with a cliffhanger ending, and then continue the story in a sequel, Ong Bak 3, which was announced to begin production for a 2009 release.

Distribution.

Worldwide distribution and sales rights to Ong Bak 2 were purchased by The Weinstein Company in March 2006. A little over a year later, Harvey Weinstein visited Bangkok and renegotiated a deal in which Sahamongkol Film International bought back most of the rights to the film, except for North America, which The Weinstein Company retains. At the 2007 Cannes Film Festival market, Sahamongkol sold some rights to Germany-based Splendid Films. On 10 February 2009, it was announced that the Wagner/Cuban Companies’ Magnolia Pictures acquired the U.S. distribution rights for Ong-Bak 2 under their Magnet label. The deal was negotiated by Tom Quinn, Senior Vice President of Magnolia, with Gilbert Lim of Sahamongkol Film International.

Reception.

The film holds a 49% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 70 reviews. The site’s consensus reads: “It suffers from comparisons to its predecessor, not to mention Tony Jaa’s less-than-nimble direction, but Ong Bak 2 has all the extravagant violence and playful style that fans of the original will expect.” Despite political turmoil in the film’s native Thailand, in its opening weekend (8 December 2008) Ong Bak 2 grossed about 58 million baht ($2.06 million), according to Variety Asia Online, and was number one at the Thai box office. Ong Bak 2 did better at the Thai box office than Tony Jaa’s previous film, Tom-Yum-Goong.

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Home video.

There have been numerous DVD releases of Ong Bak 2. Various versions with regional subtitles and dubbings were released throughout Asia, South America, Australia and New Zealand in the months shortly after the film’s premiere in its native Thailand. The film was released for the European Film Market on 6 February 2009. The United States version was released on February 2, 2010, although it is already available in English language version. A bootleg all-region-compatible version with English subtitles of Ong-Bak 2 was internationally released April 2, 2009 on DVD, although this version is not as yet widely available. There are no significant reviews, such as on Rotten Tomatoes, yet.