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Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior

Play trailer Poster for Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior R 2005 1h 47m Action Play Trailer Watchlist
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85% Tomatometer 106 Reviews 84% Popcornmeter 50,000+ Ratings
In Thailand, the impoverished village of Ban Nong Pradu has its most precious Buddha statue stolen from the temple. Luckily the small town also has a very skilled fighter in the form of Ting (Tony Jaa), who sets out on a quest to recover the cherished figure. His journey leads him to Bangkok, where he must wrangle the statue from Don (Wannakit Sirioput), a volatile drug dealer. Meanwhile, the village is suffering a severe drought and needs the Buddha to restore vitality.
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Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior

Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior

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Critics Consensus

While Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior may be no great shakes as a movie, critics are hailing the emergence of a new star in Tony Jaa, whose athletic performance is drawing comparisons with Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, and Jet Li.

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Critics Reviews

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Nick Schager Lessons of Darkness 08/24/2006
C
Just a showcase for Jaa's athletic abilities. Go to Full Review Kerry Lengel Arizona Republic 03/03/2005
2/5
Jaa's moves are impressive, but the choreography ranges from bland to ridiculous (as when one dirty fighter resorts to using major appliances as weapons). Go to Full Review Bob Longino Atlanta Journal-Constitution 02/17/2005
B-
What Jaa does is often mesmerizing. Go to Full Review Rob Gonsalves Rob's Movie Vault 09/19/2022
B+
But most of the movie has a more visceral goal — to make you gasp or laugh or cringe at the physical excesses of Tony Jaa. Go to Full Review Mike Massie Gone With The Twins 11/09/2020
8/10
Employing no special effects or wirework and doing all of his own stunts, Tony Jaa is clearly the man to watch for the future of martial arts movies. Go to Full Review Miles Fielder The List 04/24/2019
2/5
While the Muay Thai kickboxing style employed by star and action choreographer Tony Jaa is impressive, the way in which the various bouts are filmed is uninspired and ultimately tiresome. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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felipe g @RT02922576 May 8 Um dos filmes mais autêntico do gênero e o Tony Jaa é um artista marcial fenomenal sem dúvidas! See more Virgo V @vision Apr 26 Ong-Bak is a 2003 Thai martial arts film directed by Prachya Pinkaew and featuring action choreography by Panna Rittikrai. It was written by Suphachai Sittiaumponpan. It stars Tony Jaa in the lead role, alongside Petchtai Wongkamlao and Pumwaree Yodkamol. It is also called Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior in North America, Thai Fist in Hong Konog, Enter the New Dragon in India and Ong-Bak: The Hunt of the Statue of Buddha in Vietnam. Ong-Bak proved to be Tony Jaa's breakout film with the actor hailed internationally as the next major martial arts star. After Ong-Bak became a hit in Thailand, sales rights for outside Asia were purchased by Luc Besson's EuropaCorp, which in turn re-edited the film. Most of the subplot involving Muay Lek's sister, Ngek, was removed and the final showdown between Ting and Saming was shortened. Vision wrote: "Ong-Bak showcases an amazing improvement in Thai action choreography. Tony Jaa at his finest. The story was progressively perfect, the martial arts were fantastic and convincing, the acting was comical and impressive, especially from Tony Jaa and Petchtai Wongkamlao and the production was a fine tune of the Bangkok crime world. Four fries!" See more Felipe G @RT89683895 02/06/2025 Na minha opinião Ong-Bak é um dos melhores filmes do gênero destaque para o Tony Jaa ele é um artista marcial fenomenal! See more KingProsi T @RT44987486 12/17/2024 It’s mostly the nostalgia speaking, but I loved this movie as a kid and still do now. It’s fun to watch and the action is nice. Tony jaa does a great job with his skills. See more Fer S @RT07531533 10/20/2024 Much of the action did not make sense. The main actor's skills are impressive, but the performances were unrealistic. See more felipe g @RT71513113 08/23/2024 Na minha opinião Ong-Bak é um dos melhores filmes do gênero destaque para o Tony Jaa ele é um artista marcial fenomenal! See more Read all reviews
Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior

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Cast & Crew

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Prachya Pinkaew

Director

Tony Jaa

Ting

Phetthai Vongkumlao

Humlae

Pumwaree Yodkamol

Muaylek

Suchao Pongwilai

Komtuan

Wannakit Sirioput

Don

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Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior

Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior (2003) Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior (2003) Ting (Tony Jaa) in "Ong Bak: The Thai Warrior." Ting (Tony Jaa) in "Ong Bak: The Thai Warrior." View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis In Thailand, the impoverished village of Ban Nong Pradu has its most precious Buddha statue stolen from the temple. Luckily the small town also has a very skilled fighter in the form of Ting (Tony Jaa), who sets out on a quest to recover the cherished figure. His journey leads him to Bangkok, where he must wrangle the statue from Don (Wannakit Sirioput), a volatile drug dealer. Meanwhile, the village is suffering a severe drought and needs the Buddha to restore vitality.
Director
Prachya Pinkaew
Producer
Prachya Pinkaew, Sukanya Vongsthapat
Screenwriter
Panna Rittikrai, Prachya Pinkaew
Distributor
Magnolia Films
Production Co
Baa-Ram-Ewe
Rating
R (Sequences of Strong Violence|Language|Sexuality|Some Drug Use)
Genre
Action
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Feb 11, 2005, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Feb 7, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA)
$4.6M
Runtime
1h 47m
Sound Mix
Surround, Dolby Digital
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