In this prequel to the sensational 2004 Muay Thai martial arts romp Ong-Bak, Tony Jaa is Tien, the son of the murdered Lord Sihadecho (Santisuk Promsiri). With his mother, Lady Plai (Patthama Panthong) also among the dead, young Tien now finds a mentor in Chernang (Sorapong Chatree), who trains him into a warrior. When he is fully grown, Tien must now avenge his parents' murders and save his village from hordes of invading neighbours.
That really is all the plot you'll find here, which is the main reason why Ong-Bak 2 isn't half as good as the first. Jaa's athleticism remains breathtaking and the fight scenes are very well-choreographed, but there's just no thematic heft or originality here. The original was such rollicking fun because it had a real narrative urgency powering the action; the bulk of this one is just fighting and with a barrage of martial arts movie cliches.
The original's director Prachya Pinkaew had a very public falling out with Jaa, leaving him to direct this one with Panna Rittikrai, and that might explain the decreased quality. But as well as that and the narrative shortcomings, I think too many stunts have been digitally stylised (and yes, Jaa at one point does a flip-kick in slow motion); there's just something so much more authentic when you can see exactly as it was filmed, like in the original. However, the final fight with Tien and the Crow Ghost (Dan Chupong) is awesome overall. Just not awesome enough to compensate for the preceding 80 minutes.
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