Ong-Bak lands punch in Korea

For the past several years Korean films and television shows have been a big import in Thailand -- a welcome alternative to the Hollywood fare that fills the multiplex screens. It's payback time, as one of Thailand's hardest-hitting films, Ong-Bak, has opened in Seoul cinemas.

Star Tony Jaa and director Prachya Pinkaew were there to talk about the film.

In an interview with the Korea Times, Ong-Bak star, Muay Thai master Tony Jaa said he does not think he can be a real match for Mike Tyson.

"I think I would be scared before him because he's too big for me," Jaa said.

In Korea, the film's poster boasts "100-percent real action."

"No stuntmen, no wire action, no computer graphics," it says.

Still, many will wonder whether the ad copy is really true while the hero performs his repertoire of incredible acrobatic actions, from jumping through a coil of barbed wire and sliding under a moving truck while doing the splits to somersaulting over a vat of boiling oil and bouncing over automobiles.

Yet Jaa's stunts were so convincing and powerful that the audience ooh-ed and ahh-ed throughout the VIP screening at Megabox Cineplex in Seoul.

"I always fancied making a distinctly Thai flavored action film without any aids from wire, stuntmen and computer graphics," director Prachya said. "And then I met Tony Jaa, who was perfect for my idea."

In a meeting with reporters after the screening, Jaa put on a special demonstration, showing off his Muay Thai fighting skills with the help of several assistants. He also re-enacted one of the most amazing scenes from the film, in which he jumps and makes his way through a crowd of standing people by quickly and lightly stepping on their shoulders, all without touching the floor.

Inspired as a child by Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and Jet Li, Jaa had already spent 13 years training to learn Muay Thai before he met the director. But he had to spend another five years learning various other martial arts for the character in the movie, including taking acrobat lessons. When asked to compare himself with the three established actors, he described the action style of Bruce Lee as "speedy," Jackie Chan "original" and Jet Li "artistic."

Like his character in the film, Jaa and his staff are devout Buddhists. Upon arriving in Seoul, they paid a visit to Pongun-sa Temple before heading to the film's preview screening.

The paper also had a review of the film, headlined "Stunts Save Superficial Plot." The reviewer took issue with the poster's "100 Percent Real Action" claim.

In truth, the movie does use a smidgeon of computer graphics and editing during its 99 minutes. But for a solid 99.8 percent or so, the film makes good on its promise with a sensory overload of non-stop fights, leaps, somersaults and chases, keeping moviegoers in mouth-gaping disbelief throughout.

In his first leading role, stuntman-turned-actor Tony Jaa makes a definite impression with his astonishing athleticism. Playing Ting, a devout disciple of Buddhism and Muay Thai kickboxing who lives in a rural village, Jaa is like a young Jet Li circa Once Upon a Time in China and Jackie Chan rolled into one, keeping his fists and elbows of fury in check unless absolutely called upon.

With a host of mean-looking martial arts dudes with WWF-names like Mad Dog, Pearl Harbor and Big Bear, the fight scenes are well-shot but somewhat derivative of countless other films about illegal underground martial arts competitions. The two saving graces are Jaa himself, whose kickboxing acrobatics just have to be seen to be believed, and the relative short length of these fights.

Befitting the Buddhist nature of his character, Jaa's physical talents are even better highlighted when he is doing his utmost to avoid a fight. One spectacular chase scene through Bangkok alleys has Jaa somersaulting and flipping through the narrowest nooks, easily jumping over cars and doing a 'walking on water' trick on human shoulders. The action scenes are so nice you have to see it twice, and the director obliges, repeatedly showing every spectacular stunt from different angles and speeds.

Like most action-oriented films, the story is filled with xenophobia and a slew of stereotypes, as well as an overly sentimental portrayal of rural life. But every time Ong-Bak gets too cardboard and falls in danger of completely losing the audience, there's Jaa again casually doing a flip over a boiling vat of oil -- '100 percent real' -- to get everyone back on the edge of their seats.