Ong Bak 3: I liked the original “Ong Bak” movie. I loved “Ong Bak 2”. And I’m disappointed in “Ong Bak 3”. A direct sequel to Part 2, this film continues the story of Tien (star Tony Jaa) and his fight against the traitor Lord Rasajena, as well as the evil, crow-themed Bhuti Sangkha. Captured by Rasajena, every bone in Tien’s body is broken by staves and the film spends most of the time charting his recovery through meditation, Buddhism, and dance, while Bhuti Sangkha consolidates his power in the region. A worthless subplot about a curse is thrown into to give the otherwise idle Rasajena something to do. Fewer fights than in the previous film, with long stretches in between devoted to rejuvenating Tien‘s spirit (I understand the Buddhism aspects may appeal to some viewers, but I personally don’t watch Asian chop-socky flicks for personal enlightenment) and at 95 minutes, this film drags. I don’t know about you, but I find endless shots of a guy sitting in the lotus position to be the antithesis of the words 'action' and 'film'. We get several actors back from “Ong Bak 2”, with Petchtai Wongkamlao (a familiar face from various other Jaa films) stealing the show as village idiot Mhen. If you’re looking for action equal to part 2, you’re going to be disappointed here. What there is…is good, it just leaves you wanting more. It’s obvious that in creating this film, Jaa got lost somewhere along the way (and given his brief conversion to Buddhist monk after its completion, this is not surprising). Woodchuck sez, “Worth a look.”
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