Ong-bak 2

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Movie
German title Ong-bak 2
Original title องค์ บาก 2
Country of production Thailand
original language Thai
Publishing year 2008
length 100 minutes
Age rating FSK 18
Rod
Director Tony Jaa ,
Phanna Rithikrai
script Ek Iemchuen ,
Nonthakorn Thaweesuk
production Prachya Pinkaew ,
Akarapol Techaratanaprasert ,
Phanna Rithikrai,
Tony Jaa
music Terdsak Janpan
camera Nattawut Kittikhun
cut Nonthakorn Thaweesuk,
Saravut Nakajud
occupation

Ong-bak 2 ( Thai : องค์ บาก 2 ) is a Thai martial arts film from 2008. The most expensive Thai film to date is based on an idea by Tony Jaa and Phanna Rithikrai , who also co-direct. The film is the first directorial work by lead actor Jaa.

In terms of content, the production does not tie in with its predecessor Ong-Bak from 2003, but tells its own story against the historical context of the decline of the Sukhothai Kingdom . In 2010 the third part of the series appeared with Ong-Bak 3 , which follows on from the second part.

action

Thailand in the 15th century. During the reign of King Borommaracha II , the Ayutthaya Kingdom occupied the neighboring Sukhothai Kingdom . It is a time of political turmoil, betrayal, and ubiquitous danger.

During this time, Prince Sihadecho, a good-natured provincial ruler and commander of Sukhothai, had his only offspring study dance, although the spirited Tien would prefer to learn the martial art. Meanwhile, Prince Rajasena, a treacherous Sukhothai commander in chief, is pursuing his own plans and dispatching murderers to wipe out the family of his rival, Prince Sihadecho. Bloody excesses of violence follow. Little Tien is the only one who survives the series of attacks. Neglected, he later ends up in the hands of unscrupulous slave traders , who have him compete against a full-grown crocodile for entertainment. The uneven battle from which Tien eventually emerges victorious catches the attention of the seedy Chernang, the leader of a notorious gang of bandits. The robber recognizes the extraordinary abilities of the young orphan, frees him from the hands of the slave traders and takes him in as his adopted son. In the years that followed, Tien received the longed-for combat training from masters of various martial arts.

One day, the now adult martial arts expert Tien is supposed to take over from his aging foster father Chernang as leader of a raid. The young man passed the final test with flying colors and turned out to be the prophesied “greatest warrior of all time”. The self-confident Tien then leaves the remote mountain settlement to atone for the death of his parents. He confronts Prince Rajasena and gives him a fatal blow - not realizing that the regent will survive the attack and so become his bitter opponent. On his return to the robbery settlement he is hostile received by Prince Rajasena's captors. In exhausting disputes, he single-handedly fights an overwhelming power of opposing warriors - including his foster father, who now reveals himself to him as the murderer of Prince Sihadechos.

The film ends with Tiens being overpowered and Prince Rajasena's command to torture the prisoner to death as slowly as possible. Whether this will ultimately survive remains unclear. An off-voice merely explains that Tien could find a way to outsmart Death.

Reviews

“Whether Tony Jaa can underline his cult status with the sequel, which is designed as a prequel, is questionable: Apart from two spectacularly staged fights on wild elephants, which are also documented in the TV special of Extras, the actioner offers in the long run quite tiring beatings. In addition, the leisurely narrative style regularly slows the film down. [...] Conclusion: Dirty martial arts flick, which however does not reach the kamikaze quality of the predecessor. "

- Cinema

“Conclusion:“ Ong Bak 2 ”cannot keep up with the quality of the first two Tony Jaa films. Certainly there will be acrobatic thug action at its finest in the finale, but until then the road for Tiang and the audience is long and rocky. It is doubtful whether this is really due to the problematic history of its origins. It rather seems as if the higher budget has increased the visual display values, but has also paralyzed the creativity of those involved. "

- Filmstarts.de

production

During the filming of Ong-bak 2 in July 2008 rumors emerged that Tony Jaa was unable to cope with the double burden of leading actor and director and was staying away from the set without authorization. He is said to have retired to a temple near his hometown Surin in Isaan. Film producer Prachya Pinkaew later confirmed the two-month delay to the press and put the resulting contractual penalties at more than 250 million baht against the Weinstein Company , which withdrew from the production and stopped financing the film. In contrast, Jaa stated in a newspaper interview that the cause of the involuntary break in filming was due to the Thai film production company Sahamongkol Film , as it was unable to provide sufficient financial resources.

In a joint press conference, there was finally a media-effective reconciliation between Jaa and the shareholders of Sahamongkol Film. They agreed on contentious issues of production and financing and formulated concessions. For example, an agreement stipulated that Jaa's long-term mentor, the action film choreographer and director Phanna Rithikrai, would be involved in the project. He was supposed to support the newcomer in the role of co-director for the rest of the shooting. In addition, martial arts actor Dan Chupong was hired for a small supporting role as a crow-like fighter.

The finished film ran on December 4, 2008 in Thailand, climbed to the top of the domestic cinema charts on the opening weekend and achieved revenues of 28 million baht. In the first 13 days he made over 100 million baht.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Cinema.de: film review
  2. ^ Filmstarts.de: film review
  3. ↑ cf. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0785035/releaseinfo accessed August 8, 2009