Ong Bak 3: The Final Battle Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		1.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		1.5

Ong Bak 3: The Final Battle Blu-ray Movie Review

The Passion of the Jaa

Reviewed by Casey Broadwater February 10, 2011

Can anyone remember what happened in Ong Bak 2? Before watching this third and—hopefully—final installment, I tried to jog my mind, but the only images I could conjure were of a dude dressed up like a crow, another dude with a wicker basket on top of his head, and Muay Thai action star Tony Jaa doing a backflip off of an elephant’s trunk, landing in a foot blow to some nameless thug’s skull. Clearly, the film didn’t stick with me, and I find that’s true of most of Jaa’s movies. Aside from a few wacky characters and a cool, brutal stunt or two, they fade from memory quicker than a particularly dull episode of Law & Order. (By which I also mean that if you’ve seen one Jaa film, you’ve essentially seen them all.) Still, they’re fun while they last, filled with non-stop acrobatic violence. Or, at least, they used to be. Ong Bak 3 is the first Jaa production I’m intentionally hoping to forget. It’s an excruciatingly dull, utterly convoluted movie that’s about 10% action and 89% drawn-out pseudo-spiritual nonsense. The missing 1%, in case you’re wondering, is the practically non-existent story.

Picking up where its predecessor left off—in a fantasy-prone vision of 15th century Thailand—Tony Jaa’s character Tien has been captured by the malevolent Lord Rajasena (Sarunyu Wongkrajang). Knowing that we probably can’t recall anything that happened previously, the filmmakers have included a title sequence that flashes back through the events of Ong Bak 2, although this clarifies absolutely nothing. It really doesn’t matter. Suffice it to say, Lord Rajasena killed Tien’s parents and Tien wants revenge. Unfortunately, he’s in stocks and chains when the film opens, as Rajesena declares “the rebel shall receive the thirteen punishments until he can no longer breathe!” The thirteen punishments, naturally, amount to footsoldiers with kendo sticks pummeling Tien like a piñata, followed by much Passion of the Christ-style flaying and anguish in some subterranean dungeon. Deus ex machina usually occurs at the end of a story, but here, Tien is conveniently saved by a kingly decree just seconds before his beheading—Rajesena, P.O.’d, is all like, “Say whaaaat?”—and his ravaged, near-dead body is delivered back to his village, where it’s wrapped in clay and various aromatic unguents. Ah, the healing spa treatment! Meanwhile, the evil Rajasena—who’s apparently cursed— has to contend with the even eviler Bhuti (Dan Chupong), the “Crow Ghost,” who’s intent on usurping the throne. Or something. For much of the first act, I had no clue what was going on.

But at least something was going on. Once Tien wakes up from his comatose state—which takes forever—there’s a thirty minute stretch in the film where next to nothing happens. (Yes, the italics are necessary.) Under the tutelage of Master Bua (Nirutti Sirijanya), a droopy-earlobbed Buddhist priest, Tien embarks on what has to be the longest, slowest training montage in cinema history. No, he’s not training to become an even more badass fighter. There are no sparring matches, practice bouts, or crazy feats of agility. Rather, Tien—get ready for it— is practicing to become a pacifist. He spends the entire second act of the film meditating, growing a scraggly Jesus beard, and freeing his heart from anger. Or something. Once again, it’s hard to tell. All I know is that it’s boring. Tony Jaa is supposed to be busting heads and snapping bones, not sitting beneath a waterfall in the lotus position for much of the film. At first, I thought that perhaps he was pulling some sort of Michael Haneke- style meta-movie stunt—a la Funny Games—an attempt to subversively point out how much audiences love gratuitous violence, but then the obvious dawned: all this prolonged praying is just filler, padding. Sure, Jaa may be trying to deliver some sort of message—if so, I have no idea what it is—but the result is film that seems comprised entirely of by-product. Where’s the beef?

What makes it even more ridiculous is that after all this lengthy training in non-violence, Tien totally flips out—for reasons I’d love to spoil, though I won’t—and starts brutally dispatching Bhuti’s minions, inflamed with rage. He doesn’t even stick with his newfound convictions. What was the point of making us sit through a half-hour of meditation, then, you ask? I have no clue. The film doesn’t make any sense. If you can make it to the finale —good luck—you’ll be rewarded with a beat-em-up sequence that’s absolutely…well, adequate. The showdown between Bhuti and Tien has all the hallmarks of a Jaa fight scene—ample use of elephants, fancy flips, intricate choreography—but it’s all so inconsequential and underwhelming, especially considering how long we have to wait for the action to finally ramp up. It should come as no surprise that the productions of Ong Bak 2 and 3—which were originally planned as one film—were beset with behind-the-scenes squabbling over budgetary constraints, contracts, and creative control. Jaa even reportedly disappeared for several months during the shoot. (The latest report is that he has—for the time being, at least—left show biz and joined a Buddhist monastery.) This messy moviemaking drama unfortunately shows up on the screen: Ong Bak 3, in all respects, is a slapdash failure. This is normally the kind of situation where I’d dole out a conciliatory remark like “it’s worth it for the fights,” but in this case, it’s simply not.

Ong Bak 3: The Final Battle Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

No surprise here—Ong Bak 3 arrives on Blu-ray with a 1080p/AVC encoded transfer that's nearly identical in style and quality to the one that graced Ong Bak 2. And that's mostly a good thing. Like its predecessor, Ong Bak 3 features extremely stylized visuals, with heavily pushed contrast, selectively saturated and desaturated colors, and an intentionally oversharpened quality, all which come together for an image that's highly artificial-looking, but also occasionally very striking. Textures, for instance, are often insanely refined, rendering elephant hide, jungle foliage, the actors' weather-beaten faces, and their intricate period costumes in what seems to be almost palpable bas-relief. Likewise, the film's color palette is dense and vibrant. While black levels sometimes skewer towards a deep bluish hue, they're inky enough and give a basis for the picture's satisfying contrast and presence. As with the previous film, there are a few small issues from the source that, while noticeable, never rise to the level of distraction, including some moiré-like shimmer on fine patterns in gold armor and negligible banding during certain CGI-heavy sequences.

Ong Bak 3: The Final Battle Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Similarly, the film's Thai DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track offers the same kind of aural experience as its predecessor—one dominated by fight scene sound effects and a cheese-tastic score. There's plenty of rear channel engagement throughout, from clanging swords and whipping chains to ambient noises like chirping crickets and falling rain. That said, some of the scenes in Tien's village seem to have a slightly hollow quality—we hear certain sounds, but the mix is not nearly as lively as it could be. All the effects are crisp and clean—sometimes too much so, as it's obvious they've been foleyed in after the fact—and the music, while grating at times, at least has a broad dynamic range. Dialogue, for what its worth—not much— floats easily on top of the mix. On the likely occasion that you find yourself completely bored with the proceedings, turn on the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 English dub, which is good for a few fleeting laughs. English, English SDH, and Spanish subtitles are available in easy-to-read white lettering.

Ong Bak 3: The Final Battle Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Ong Bak 3: The Making of a Legend (SD, 15:09): What's most interesting to note about this making-of featurette is that none of the interviewees mention any of the behind-the-scenes troubles that so clearly botched the production. Everyone puts on bright PR smiles for the camera.
• Behind the Scenes: Uncovering the Action (SD, 5:58): Narration-free footage of the filming of a few action sequences.
• Interviews with Cast and Crew (SD, 31:47): Includes interviews with Tony Jaa, co-director Panna Rittikrai, Dan Chupong, Phetthai Wongkhamlao, Nirut Sirichanya, and Primrata Det-Udom.
• HDNet: A Look at Ong Bak 3 (1080i, 3:08): Your average HDNet promo piece, with a plot summary—ha!—and a few sound bytes.
• Theatrical Trailer (1080p, 1:25)

Ong Bak 3: The Final Battle Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Ong Bak 3 is an unmitigated disaster. There's no nicer way to put it. I gave its predecessor a pass because I was hoping the third film might resolve the story in some way, but it's clear that splitting the project into two films was just a way for the production company to recoup—or at least try to recoup—some of their losses. Part Three appears to have been assembled largely from leftovers and it shows; the film makes little to no sense. It's a cinematic test of endurance, so unless you're some sort of Tony Jaa completist/fanatic, don't waste your time.