Move Over Chan & Li, Jaa has Arrived

Critics love to announce the arrival of the prototypical, “Next Big Thing.” At times, it almost seems that’s all we live for. More times than not, our pronouncements are more than a little over-heated or, worse, tend to fall flat on their face. No matter, we keep doing it anyhow, scouring the surfaces of each film looking for something astounding to shout out to the world about.

So, with all that in mind… Thai actor Tony Jaa is definitely the next big thing in martial arts movies. Take that to the bank, for it’s as definitive a statement as you are likely to ever get out of me in regards to an actor.

There is a moment in the new Thai film Ong-bak: The Thai Warrior that simply defies all practical explanation. A delirious foot chase through the streets of Bangkok, Jaa unleashes a cavalcade martial art pyrotechnics and jovial acrobatics rivaling both Jackie Chan and Jet Li. This nearly six-minute sequence is one of the most joyously rapturous of the new year, the actor sliding under vehicles, walking pixie-like across a minefield of heads and leaping over knives, fences and even cars with unmitigated glee. In fact, when it’s all finished and Jaa and his cohorts finally make their escape, I almost stood up and cheered, rarely a sequence this delightful tickled my fancy so thoroughly.

The movie itself is the usual Asian martial arts threadbare hodgepodge. An ancient artifact which brings prosperity to a small Thai village is stolen and a young, fearless Jaa is dispatched to bring it back before everyone in the community falls to ruination. Along the way he learns to trust in his skills as both a man and a warrior, forging friendships and making sacrifices with every step. It’s silly, even more so than some of Chan’s more bizarrely asinine Hong Kong adventures (think The Heroic Trio or Armour of God), but also like them it’s so chop full of astounding stunts and lightning quick martial arts it’s practically impossible to take your eyes off of it.

Not that the directing helps. Chan, especially when directing himself, used to show an exquisite knack for both pace and timing, knowing exactly just how much of any particular stunt – and how many times to show it – to bring the audience to its feet. The same cannot be said for director Prachya Pinkaew. Ong-bak hasn’t the first clue how to pace itself, moving from fight to fight and stunt to stunt like one of this lumbering psychedelic elephants in Oliver Stone’s Alexander. Worse, while it’s nice to see some of Jaa’s spectacular feats from different angles, Pinkaew is so concerned about making sure the audience realizes everything the actor is doing is for real he simply can’t stop showing them all again and again and again. In fact, about the sixth time I had to watch Jaa exploding across a room unleashing a cavalcade of kicks and punches I’d just about had my fill.

But only just about, for Jaa truly is the real thing. Granted, he doesn’t have either Chan’s easy-going charisma or Li steely-eyed determination, but he definitely has both their gifts for movement. More so, like Bruce Lee reborn Jaa not only knows how to deliver a punch, he can also take a fall, crashing through tables, chairs and floors like a ping-pong smacking the backside of a paddle. Also like Lee, Jaa knows when to turn up the heat, Ong-bak starting like a silly, laugh-laden serial adventure before slowly starting to build into a dramatically brutal tale of redemption and retribution. By the time I walked out of the theater I felt every bit as bruised and battered as the main character, each and every punch and kick smacking me almost as hard as Jaa’s opponents.

In the end, it’s easy to see why everyone from Quentin Tarantino to Luc Besson to the RZA to even Jackie Chan himself is suddenly looking at Jaa in unabashed awe. Not only could he be a genre-busting superstar, with the right direction this seemingly unassuming actor could easily suddenly find himself an icon sitting beside his own self-described idols Chan, Li and Lee as a martial arts legend. For that reason alone Ong-bak is worth watching, and even if the movie itself is less than inspiring, the actor at its center certainly is.

Film Rating: êê1/2  (out of 4)