#129 Ong Bak

Muay Thai fighter Tony Jaa (aka Panom Yeerum) makes his film debut in Ong Bak, a thrilling actioner that injects the martial arts genre with a much needed elbow to the head. The story is a simple one. Jaa stars as a country boy, who must travel to Bangkok to recover the head of Ong Bak, the Buddhist statue that looks over his village. The plot is nothing new. But the movie's back-to-basics approach, eschewing wire work and digital effects for real-time bone crunching, brings a long-overdue visceral punch back to cinemas.

The cut currently playing in the U.S. underwent fine tuning from French director Luc Besson (who is rapidly becoming patron saint of the martial arts movie). Much controversy has spawned over the edits and musical changes that were made, but the debate is moot since the original cut is readily available on an all region DVD from many sources.

Not surprisingly, Tony Jaa has already been tapped to star in an American movie, the upcoming Die Hard 4. I pray that Jaa stays in Thailand to make at least a couple more home-grown films before succumbing to the same dull American impulses that nearly tamed Jackie Chan and Jet Li.