Y’all know me. I don’t do poster articles. I think they’re pointless and not really news. However, I am a huge fan of Tony Jaa and his ongoing Ong Bak series. The last one, Ong Bak 2 (review) is a bit of a clusterfuck. In a nation whose cinematic output is defined by a signature lack of plot and a ball-crushing gauntlet of fight scenes, Ong Bak 2 stood out as particularly extreme in both arenas. Tony Jaa’s on-set meltdown wasn’t really news here in the United States because apart from half the people who visit this site daily, nobody knows who he is or what Ong Bak is but at home, Jaa’s disastrous turn as the on-set everyman for Ong Bak 2 led to some fucked up headlines alledging that he was out in the jungle practicing black magic in caves in order to curse the executives of Sahamongkol with plagues and death. Of course, this is not true, but the drama was very real and Ong Bak 2 barely survived because of it, ending on a weird cliffhanger and insisting that there will be more to come. Apparently, this is happening sooner than you think and this poster, spotted at AFM, confirms that Jaa is in the director’s chair again. AFM also brings us some plot details:
The legend of Ong Bak 3 begins after Tien (Tony Jaa) has lost his fighting skills and his beloved step-father at the Garuda’s Wing cliff from the raid led by Jom Rachan (Saranyu Wonggrajang). Tien is brought back to life with the help from Pim (Primrata Dechudom) as well as Mhen (Petchai Wongkamlao) and the Kana Khone villagers. Deep into the meditation taught by Phra Bua (Nirutti Sirijanya), Tien finally is able to achieve ‘Nathayut’. His talents are put to the test again when his rivals including the Golden-Armored King’s Guard (Supakorn ‘Tok’ Kijusuwan), the mysterious killers in black, and Bhuti Sangkha (Dan Chupong) return for the final massive showdown.
That said, would you look at that fucking poster? Those designers in Thailand kick out some high concept design work! This stuff is on par with any album cover released in the late 90’s on Cash Money or No Limit Records. It’s no surprise that Petchtai Wongkamlao will be back as he is in all of these Tony Jaa movies (as comic relief) but this mention of Dan Chupong is exhilerating. Chupong was the guy in the bird suit on the final on top of the elephant. He’s a great fighter and wit the bar already set so high thanks to the conclusion of Ong Bak 2, you can expect this third concluding fight scene to be the cinematic equivalent of a Michael Jordan slam dunk circa 1988. Boo. Ya.
November 9, 2009 12:39 am
I hope this one can keep things going. I was fortunate enough to see a very limited run at a theater near me when the first one came out. While the version I saw seemed severly butchered, scenes would abruptly start and end making you feel like your missing out on alot. The exact same thing happened when the same theater also showed the movie from Jaa, The Protector as well but I still enjoyed myself and found myself saying outloud “God damn!” or “Ohhhh shit thats gotta hurt” a couple times.
Looks like I need to play catchup and see part 2 very soon so I can move onto 3.