name	Ong nur muhammad Bak 2: The Beginning
director	Tony JaaPanna Rittikrai
producer	Prachya PinkaewTony JaaPanna RittikraiAkarapol Techaratanaprasert
writer	Ek IemchuenNonthakorn ThaweesukTony JaaPanna Rittikrai
starring	Tony Jaa/nur
music	Terdsak Janpan
cinematography	Nattawut Kittikhun
editing	Nonthakorn ThaweesukSaravut Nakajud
distributor	Sahamongkol Film International
released
runtime	93 minutes
country	Thailand
language	Thai
budget	$US 15 Million(estimated)
gross	$8,868,786
preceded by	''Ong-Bak: Muay Thai Warrior''
followed by	''Ong Bak 3'' }}

''Ong Bak 2: The Beginning'' (องค์บาก 2) is a 2008 Thai martial arts film co-directed by and starring Tony Jaa. It is a follow-up to Jaa's 2003 breakout film ''Ong-Bak: Muay Thai Warrior''. Initially claimed to be a sequel to ''Ong-Bak: Muay Thai Warrior'', ''Ong Bak 2'' was then announced to be a prequel to its predecessor. Unlike its predecessor however, which had a contemporary and realistic setting, ''Ong Bak 2'' is actually set in 15th century Thailand and as such, could be described as a historical epic with elements of fantasy combined, and has nothing to do with the original ''Ong-Bak''. ''Ong Bak 2'' also has nothing to do with Jaa's 2005 film ''Tom-Yum-Goong'', which was sometimes incorrectly labelled ''Ong Bak 2'' in the West, as well as ''The Protector'' and ''The Warrior King''. ''Tom-Yum-Goong'' had a contemporary setting similar to ''Ong-Bak: Muay Thai Warrior'', although it too had different characters and plot. Jaa's films have yet to tie into each other, although Jaa has claimed they would do so with the release of ''Ong Bak 3'' in 2010, which they did. As well as the different historical setting to Jaa's previous films, ''Ong Bak 2'' has taken a notably grittier and bloodier direction.

The plot of ''Ong Bak 2'' revolves around Tien (Jaa), the son of Lord Sihadecho, a murdered nobleman in old Siam. As a spirited and unyielding youth, Tien resists savage slave traders and, moments from death, is rescued by a man known as Chernang. Chernang is a renowned warrior and leader of the Pha Beek Khrut, a group of bandits, and Chernang realizes unsurpassed physical potential in the young Tien and takes Tien under his wing. The Pha Beek Khrut are a group of expert martial artists specialising in combat styles from all over Asia, and Tien is trained to unify these different fighting systems, and grows into the most dangerous man alive. As Tien becomes a young man he goes on a lone mission of vengeance against the vicious slave traders who enslaved him as a youth, and also the treacherous warlord who murdered his father, Lord Rajasena, who has an entire army protecting him.

Plot

The film begins in the year 1974 of the Buddhist calendar (which corresponds to 1421 in the Gregorian calendar), in feudal Siam. It is a time of political upheaval, treachery and danger. The opening scene explains how during the reign of Boromarajatiraj II of the Ayutthaya Kingdom, the Ayutthaya royal court became more powerful than the Sukhothai kingdom and expanded to the east. The Ayutthaya army besieged the Kingdom of Gods for several months. The king sent his son, Prince Indraracha to rule the kingdom.

At the new kingdom, Lord Sihadecho is a provincial ruler, and a gallant and noble warrior of a formally great dynasty. His son, Tien, a spirited and unyielding youth, aspires to be just like his father, but is forced to undergo dance lessons instead much to his disdain. Meanwhile, the treacherous and power-craving Lord Rajasena, a former city administrator of the capital city, plots to seize total control of all Asia and has amassed the greatest army in Asia. Rajasena sends out vicious assassins to murder Lord Sihadecho's family and his loyal soldiers. The only survivor from this massacre is Tien, who manages to escape with deep vengeance in his heart.

Tien is captured by a group of savage slave traders, who throw him into a pit with a giant crocodile when he proves uncontrollable. Tien is saved by Chernang (Sorapong Chatree), leader of the renowned "Pha Beek Khrut" (Garuda Wing Cliff) guerilla group, who attack the slave traders. Chernang throws a knife to Tien, proclaiming "your life depends on you, young boy," with which Tien kills the crocodile. Intrigued by his physical prowess and attitude, Chernang takes Tien to a soothsayer, who says the boy has a great destiny, that "spirits will fear him" and that he will become the greatest warrior who will ever live, and as such Chernang takes in Tien as his adoptive son and raises him like himself as a guerilla and a bandit. Tien gets his wish to train as a warrior and more besides, growing up to excel in the arts of war, including man-to-man fighting, incantation, and subterfuge. Tien is instructed in a variety of traditional Asian fighting styles, including Thai muay boran and krabi krabong, Japanese kenjutsu and ninjutsu, Indonesian/Malaysian Silat, and various Chinese martial arts. He also learns the use of weapons such as the ninjatō, katana, jian, dao, talwar, nunchaku, rope dart, and three-section staff.

Now a young man and with all these martial arts heavily instilled, becoming the greatest warrior to ever live, Tien (Tony Jaa) is eager to quench the vengeance in his heart by killing the slave traders, which he does. He then goes on to kill Lord Rajasena by posing as a dancer during a celebration. Returning to the Pha Beek Khrut, Tien is mystified to find their village deserted. Suddenly, he finds himself confronted by wave after wave of masked assassins, the same ones hired by Lord Rajasena to destroy his original home. As the fight progresses Tien is too enraged to notice that the masked villains are none other than his Pha Beek Khrut comrades though their individual combat styles are glaringly recognizable. As Tien tries to defeat the masked assassins he climbs on an elephant but then Bhuti Sangkha a.k.a The Crow Ghost (Dan Chupong) appears and kicks Tien off of the elephant. Bhuti's nature is unknown and he has a small role in the film. Then he takes the elephant away. At last confronting their leader, Tien finds they have been surrounded by Rajasena's army, which is led by the tyrant, himself. Lord Rajasena reveals he had survived thanks to an armored tunic concealed beneath his state robes. Chernang unmasks and admits to his part in killing Lord Sihadecho, as he was in league with Rajasena. Chernang explains that he must carry out Rajasena's orders, or his family (the Pha Beek Khrut) will be killed. As Tien defeats Chernang, Chernang once again calls Tien his son and asks to him to avenge his father's death by finishing him off, which in anguish Tien does.

The film ends on a cliffhanger with Tien, after defeating dozens of Rajasena's warriors, being finally overwhelmed by hundreds more. Rajasena orders Tien to be taken away to be slowly tortured to death. It is unclear whether Tien survives, and if he does, how it is so. An extremely ambiguous and vague voice-over explains that Tien "may find a way to cheat death again", and shows him with a fully-grown beard (which he does not have in the film) standing in front of a scarred golden Buddha statue, perhaps indicating reincarnation.

Cast

Tony Jaa as Tien

Nirut Sirichanya as Master Bua (as Nirut Sirijanya)

Sorapong Chatree as Chernang

Sarunyoo Wongkrachang as Lord Jom Rajasena

Santisuk Promsiri as Nobleman Lord Sihadecho

Primorata Dejudom as Pim

Natdanai Kongthong as Young Tien

Prarinya Karmkeaw as Young Pim

Patthama Panthong as Lady Plai

Petchtai Wongkamlao as Mhen

Dan Chupong as Bhuti Sangkha / Crow Ghost (''uncredited'')

Supakorn Kitsuwon as Guard in Golden Armour (''uncredited'')

Tim Man as Black Ninja

Jaran Ngamdee

Somdet Kaew-ler

Kaecha Kampakdee (as Gaesha Kumpakdee)

Production

Shooting of the film began in October 2006. It was released in Thailand on December 5, 2008. In July 2008, rumor surfaced that Tony Jaa had disappeared from the production set. Prachya Pinkaew commented to the press that Tony Jaa had disappeared from the set for almost two months, leaving the film unfinished; and that the delay caused more than 250 million baht damage due to the breach of contract with the Weinstein Company who had also canceled the contract. Later in an interview with the press, Tony Jaa stated that the production was on hiatus because Sahamongkol Film could not release the obligated funding for the film. Sources within Ayara Film, the subsidiary of Sahamongkol Film that handled Ong Bak 2 production, stated that no more funding came from Sahamongkol after it took over the budget and management role from Tony Jaa from May 2008 to July 2008.

Tony Jaa and the owner of Sahamongkol Film later made a joint press conference stating that the production and funding would continue after several concessions were agreed upon between Tony Jaa and Sahamongkol. Famed Thai action choreographer and Jaa's mentor Panna Rittikrai was brought onto the project in the capacity of director to help complete the film. In addition, Rittikrai added martial artist Dan Chupong to the cast.

An international trailer for the movie was released during filming, showing the fictional setting in which Tony Jaa's character is being rescued in the jungle by a group of martial artists of various styles, and trained to unify these different systems. However, production still encountered financial problems as it came to a close. In order to complete the production on time, the filmmakers decided to end ''Ong Bak 2'' with a cliffhanger ending, and then continue the story in a sequel, ''Ong Bak 3'', which was announced to begin production for a 2009 release.

Distribution

Worldwide distribution and sales rights to ''Ong Bak 2'' were purchased by The Weinstein Company in March 2006. A little over a year later, Harvey Weinstein visited Bangkok and renegotiated a deal in which Sahamongkol Film International bought back most of the rights to the film, except for North America, which The Weinstein Company retains. At the 2007 Cannes Film Festival market, Sahamongkol sold some rights to Germany-based Splendid Films.

On 10 February 2009, it was announced that the Wagner/Cuban Companies’ Magnolia Pictures acquired the U.S. distribution rights for Ong-Bak 2 under their Magnet label. The deal was negotiated by Tom Quinn, Senior Vice President of Magnolia, with Gilbert Lim of Sahamongkol Film International.

Critical reception

The film currently holds a 47% 'Rotten' rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 64 reviews.

Thailand reception

Despite political turmoil in the film's native Thailand, in its opening weekend (8 December 2008) ''Ong Bak 2'' grossed about 58 million baht ($2.06 million), according to Variety Asia Online, and was number one at the Thai box office. ''Ong Bak 2'' did better at the Thai box office than Tony Jaa's previous film, ''Tom-Yum-Goong''.

Home video

There have been numerous DVD releases of ''Ong Bak 2''. Various versions with regional subtitles and dubbings were released throughout Asia, South America, Australia and New Zealand in the months shortly after the film's premiere in its native Thailand. The film was released for the European Film Market on 6 February 2009. The United States version was released on February 2, 2010, although it is already available in English language version. A bootleg all-region-compatible version with English subtitles of ''Ong-Bak 2'' was internationally released April 2, 2009 on DVD, although this version is not as yet widely available. There are no significant reviews, such as on Rotten Tomatoes, as of yet.

Sequel

With the box office success of ''Ong Bak 2'', Sahamongkol Film International was quick to announce their intention to film its sequel. Filming of new footage for the follow-up was to begin before the end of the year and was to incorporate unused footage from ''Ong Bak 2''. Kongdej Jaturanrasamee, screenwriter of the Thai fantasy film ''Queens of Langkasuka'', was signed to write the script. In addition, the expensive set for the Khmer Palace was completed and seen by the press. The studio hoped to have the film in theaters in late 2009.

Sia Jieang, an Executive of Sahamongkol, stated the film would feature more fights between Tony Jaa and Dan Chupong (the uncredited actor behind the mysterious, enigmatic and deadly "crow ghost" in ''Ong Bak 2'', the only enemy who really gets the drop on Tien in the film).

References

External links

Official site

http://www.ongbaktwo.com

Category:2008 films Category:Thai films Category:Thai-language films Category:Martial arts films Category:Prequel films Category:Muay Thai films

bg:Онг Бак 2 de:Ong-bak 2 es:Ong-Bak 2 fr:Ong-Bak 2 : La Naissance du dragon ko:옹박: 더 레전드 id:Ong Bak 2 it:Ong-Bak 2 - La nascita del dragone ms:Ong Bak 2 ja:マッハ!弐 pl:Ong bak 2 pt:Ong Bak 2 ru:Онг Бак 2: Непревзойдённый th:องค์บาก 2

name	Tony Jaa
birth date	February 05, 1976
birth place	Surin province, Isaan, Thailand
height
birth name	Jaa Panom Yeerum }}

Tatchakorn Yeerum (), formerly Panom Yeerum ( ; born February 5, 1976 in Surin province, Isaan, Thailand), better known in the West as Tony Jaa, in Thailand as Jaa Panom, is a Thai martial artist, actor, choreographer, stuntman, director, and monk. His films include ''Ong-Bak: Muay Thai Warrior'', ''Tom-Yum-Goong'' (also called ''Warrior King'' or ''The Protector'') ''Ong-Bak 2: The Beginning'', and ''Ong Bak 3''.

Early life

Tony Jaa was raised in a rural area, and as he grew up he watched films by Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Vince Lam and Jet Li at temple fairs, which was his inspiration to learn martial arts. He was so inspired by them that while he was doing chores or playing with friends, he would imitate the martial arts moves that he had seen, practicing in his father's rice paddy. When he was 10 years old, he threatened to his father that he would kill himself if he wasn't taught Muay Thai.

"What they did was so beautiful, so heroic that I wanted to do it too," Jaa told ''Time'' in a 2004 interview. "I practiced until I could do the move exactly as I had seen the masters do it."

At age 15 he requested to become a protege of stuntman and action-film director Panna Rittikrai. Panna had instructed Jaa to attend Maha Sarakham College of Physical Education in Maha Sarakham Province. He has trained for an unspecified time in Taekwondo although there are no details regarding if this was in ITF or WTF style and if he has received formal Taekwondo training or as part of his stunt team member apprenticeship. Likewise, he is highly skilled in Muay Thai but there is no evidence at present to suggest a formal training history or competitive career.

Career

Stunt work

Tony initially worked as a stuntman on Panna's team, Muay Thai Stunt, appearing in many of Panna's films. He doubled for Sammo Hung when the martial-arts actor made a commercial for an energy drink that required him to grasp an elephant's tusks and somersault onto the elephant's back. He was also a stunt double in the Thai television series ''Insee Daeng'' (''Red Eagle'').

Acting

Together, Panna and Jaa developed an interest in Muay Boran, an ancient style of Muay Thai and worked and trained for one year at the art with the intention of developing a film around it. Eventually they were able to put together a short film showing what Jaa could do with the help of instructor Grandmaster Mark Harris. One of the people they showed it to was producer-director Prachya Pinkaew, who was duly impressed.

This led to ''Ong-Bak: Muay Thai Warrior'' in 2003, Jaa's break-out role as a leading man. Jaa did all the stunts without mechanical assistance and computer-generated effects and it showcased his style of extreme acrobatics and speedy, dance-like moves. Injuries suffered in the filming included a ligament injury and a sprained ankle. One scene in the film involved fighting with another actor while his own trousers were on fire. "I actually got burned," he said in a 2005 interview. "I really had to concentrate because once my pants were on fire the flames spread upwards very fast and burnt my eyebrows, my eyelashes and my nose. Then we had to do a couple more takes to get it right.".

His second major movie was ''Tom-Yum-Goong'' ("The Protector" in the US), named after a type of Thai soup and including a style of Muay Thai that imitates elephants.

In August 2006, he was in New York to promote the US release of ''The Protector'', including an appearance at the Museum of the Moving Image.

Next projects

Sahamongkol Film International advertised that Tony Jaa's third film would be called ''Sword'' or ''Dab Atamas'', about the art of Thai two-sword fighting, with a script by Prapas Chonsalanont. But due to a falling out between Prachya and Jaa, which neither have publicly commented on, ''Sword'' has been cancelled.

On March 2006 it was reported that there would be a sequel to ''Ong-Bak'', ''Ong-Bak 2''. With Jaa both directing and starring, it started pre-production in fall 2006 and was released in December 2008.

While Jaa was working on ''Ong-Bak 2'', director Prachya Pinkaew and action choreographer Panna Rittikrai were working on ''Chocolate'', starring a female martial artist, Nicharee Vismistananda, and released February 6, 2008. Jaa had been cast in a small role in a third installment of the ''King Naresuan'' film series directed by Chatrichalerm Yukol, although the film was ultimately cancelled. "Ong Bak 3, The Battle to end all Battles" was released in 2010 and provides an explosive conclusion to this Thai trilogy.

Other developments

His films captured the attention of his hero, Jackie Chan, who asked director Brett Ratner to cast Jaa in ''Rush Hour 3''. "I gave the director videos of Tony Jaa because I think Tony Jaa is the most well-rounded of all action stars," Chan told the Associated Press. "The director liked him a lot," Chan said. However, Jaa said he'd be unable to participate because of scheduling conflicts with the shooting of ''Ong Bak 2''.

Additionally, veteran Hong Kong martial arts coordinator Lau Kar-leung has mentioned Jaa as someone he'd like to work with.

Tony Jaa also released ''Ong Bak 3'', as a sequel to the prequel ''Ong Bak 2''.

Monasticism

On May 28, 2010, Jaa became a Buddhist monk at a Buddhist temple in Surin, Thailand.

Return to acting

After leaving the monastery, it came as a surprise to all that Jaa accepted a deal with Sahamongkol film company. He is set to film ''Tom-Yum-Goong 2'' in the near future, with ''Chocolate'' star Jija Yanin in a major role too, the first time Jaa has shared the big screen with another international martial arts star. Director Prachya Pinkaew and choreographer Panna Rittikrai are set to return for this film.

Filmography

''Mission Hunter 2'' (aka Battle Warrior (US))

''Spirited Killer''

''Hard Gun''

''Ong-Bak: Muay Thai Warrior'' (2003)

''The Bodyguard'' (2004) (as Panom Yeerum) (Cameo)

''Tom-Yum-Goong'' (aka ''Honor of the Beast'' or ''Warrior King'' (UK) or ''The Protector'' (US)) (2005)

''The Bodyguard 2'' (2007) (Cameo)

''Ong Bak 2'' (2008)

''Ong Bak 3'' (2010)

''Tom Yum Goong 2'' (2012)

Stunts

''Mortal Kombat: Annihilation'' (1996) (double for Robin Shou)

''Ong Bak 2'' (2008) (stunt coordinator)

See also

Panna Rittikrai

Muay Thai Stunt

References

External links

Interviews

Suicide Girls Interview

retroCrush interview

Kicking Butt with Tony Jaa FilmJerk.com

Category:1976 births Category:Thai actors Category:Stunt actors Category:Thai stunt performers Category:Thai martial artists Category:Isan Category:Living people Category:Thai Buddhists Category:Thai Muay Thai practitioners

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