THE PROTECTOR 2 is now available

Magnet Releasing

a division of

Magnolia Home Entertainment

presents

The Protector 2 / Tom Yum Goong 2

(a.k.a.  Warrior King 2 in the United Kingdom)
Directed by Prachya Pinkaew

Starring Tony Jaa, RZA,  Phetthai Vongkumlao,
Marrese Crump, and Ratha Phongam

Thailand, 2013, 104 minutes

The Protector 2 is Prachya Pinkaew's sequel to his 2005 film The Protector. (Pinkaew also directed the original Ong Bak film.) Starting today, Tuesday, July 29th, it's available in North America as either a 3D Blu-ray + Blu-ray combo pack ($39.98), a Blu-ray ($29.98), or a DVD ($26.98). I watched the regular Blu-ray version for this review.

Once again Tony Jaa stars as Kham and again he loses his elephant and must rescue it. And again he is assisted by Mark (Phetthai Vongkumlao), an Australian policeman. This time his main adversary is LC (the RZA), an arms dealer with a yen for brutal martial arts contests.

The 3D roots of the film are evident even in the 2D Blu-ray version. For example, at one point Jaa, who has been on top of a vehicle, is hurled off of it when it crashes into the side of a bridge, and his body comes flying straight at the camera.

The following shots make use of safety wires, as is made explicit in an extra feature and which no doubt will turn off some Jaa fans. I had no problem with the occasional use of wires and some CGI. I mean, no one in their right mind is going to send Jaa off of the tallest bridge in Souteast Asia without using a safety harness and wires.

A bit less easy to understand or excuse is the recycling of certain stunts from the original Ong Bak film. Here I'm thinking of two scenes in particular. One has Jaa running, then sliding under a table on the fronts of his lower legs with his body leaning backwards, almost horizontal to the ground. Another is a fight scene in which his feet and lower legs are on fire, although The Protector 2 does up the ante here in that the lower extremities of his multiple opponents are also on fire as is the room in which they're fighting. This scene, in which the room essentially is a furnace, uses both practical and CGI fire, again a point made explicit in an extra.

For me the film's biggest fault is a matter of casting. I think that RZA is sincere in his love for and appreciation of Asian martial arts movies. I also think he's talented. Unfortunately, his talents don't include an ability to convincingly act nor to engage in serious martial arts combat, most particularly him going one-on-one against Jaa. Their climactic fight is perhaps as well choreographed as it could be, given RZA's limitations, but it's pretty much hollow and unconvincing.

Disc Special Features:
- Behind the Scenes Featurettes:
  - Cast & Characters
  - Speaking with the Director
  - Action & Stunts, Working in 3D
- AXS TV: A Look at The Protector 2
- Trailers

AsianCineFest Rating: 2.5 out of 4 stars. A fairly good film. Definitely of some interest, but with some serious flaws. Maybe not well-worth-watching, but definitely worth-watching. Give it an extra 1/2 star if you don't mind RZA's performance.

If you're going to buy The Protector 2 and have a 3D television, I think that the 3D Blu-ray + Blu-ray combo pack is probably the way to go. No 3D TV? Then go for the Blu-ray for just $3 more than the DVD, at least in terms of the SRPs.

For more info:

Official Site: www.protector2.com

Official Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Protector2TonyJaa

The ONG BAK TRILOGY available tomorrow in Blu-ray and DVD box sets

Magnolia Home Entertainment

and Magnet Releasing

Presents

Ong Bak: The Thai Warrior 

Ong Bak 2: The Beginning 

Ong Bal 3: The Final Battle

The ONG BAK TRILOGY will be available as either a 3-disc Blu-ray box set ($29.98) or a 5-disc DVD box set ((26.98) tomorrow, Tuesday, July 29th from Magnet Releasing, a division of Magnolia Home Entertainment. Both sets include all three movies and loads of great extra features. While I've seen all three films previously on DVD, I watched the Blu-ray versions for this review. (For a look at the DVD versions, see Neil Koch's article at hkfilm.net.)

The original Ong Bak brought worldwide recognition to the Thai action film industry and made a star of Tony Jaa. The following films in the trilogy form a two-part prequel of sorts to the original. All three films are available with either the original Thai or with English-dubbed soundtracks Each film also offers optional English or Spanish subtitles.

This release is especially timely in that Panna Rittikrai, who worked in the Thai film industry for three-and-a-half decades as actor, stuntman, action choreographer and director. He gained international recognition as Tony Jaa's mentor. He was stunt coordinator for Ong Bak, and co-rwrote and co-directed Ong Bak 2 and Ong Bak 3 with Jaa. Seeing him on the extras is heart-wrenching given his recent and untimely death at age 53.

Before providing brief synopsis and ratings for each of the film. let me first be clear that the whole package is greater than the sum of its parts. That is, my rating for the trilogy box set is slightly higher than the average of my ratings for the three individual films.

AsianCineFest Rating for the ONG BAK TRILOGY box set: 3.5 out of 4 stars; very highly recommended.

I also want to suggest that for those who already own some, or even all three, of the films on DVD, the pricing and quality of the Blu-ray package makes it worth considering an upgrade. For those who do not yet own any of these films, or only one of them, the Blu-ray set is a must have, unless you're still hung up on DVDs, in which case go with the DVD set. Give your duplicate discs to a needy friend.

Now, a few words about the individual films.

Ong Bak: The Thai Warrior 

Directed by Prachya Pinkaew

Thailand, 2003, 105 minutes

This is the film that started it all off. The title is somewhat misleading in that Ong Bak is not a Thai warrior at all. It is the name of the sacred Buddhist statue in the Thai village where Ting (Tony Jaa) lives. When the head of the statue is cut off and taken to Bangkok to be sold as a relic, Tien is selected to retrieve it. There he meets up with Humlae (Petchtai Wongkamiao) a fellow villager. Humlae is an incorrigible gambler who only answers to the name of George in his new life in the big city. The film is filled with incredible stunts and Muay Thai martial arts moves.

AsianCineFest Rating: 4 out of 4 stars; an absolute must-have.

Ong Bak 2: The Beginning

Directed by Tony Jaa and Panna Rittikrai

Thailand, 2008, 98 minutes

As I indicated earlier, this is the first of two films that provide a prequel to Ong Bak: The Thai Warrior. It is set nearly 600 years ago and tells the tale of how the Ong Bak statue came to be cast.

Tien (Natdanai Kongthong) is the young son of a military commander in what is now eastern Thailand or western Cambodia. He ends up living with a group of bandits led by Chernung (Sorapong Chatree) and is trained in a variety of martial arts, both unarmed and weapons-based. When he demonstrates mastery of all he has learned, Tien (now played by Jaa) becomes a leader of the bands raids. But trouble awaits him when he goes up against the man who killed his parents.

There are some incredible stunts involving elephants and, as one might expect given the preceding description, a great variety in the martial arts action scenes.

An alternate cut of Ong Bak 2 is also included, as well as the usually plethora of fine extras.

AsianCineFest Rating: 3.5 out of 4 stars; highly recommended.

Ong Bak 3: The Final Battle

Directed by Tony Jaa and Panna Rittikrai

Thailand, 2010, 99 minutes

The final film in the trilogy picks right up from the end of Ong Bak 2, with Tien captured by his adversary and facing torture and death. But through a convenient intervention, he escapes this fate. However he is in bad shape and only slowly manages to regain his health.

Therein lies the main problem with the film. The middle section is devoted to a lengthy training session. Actually, two training sessions. The first involves Tien retraining his broken body to function once again. The second involves him delving deeply into Khon, traditional Thai dance. He will incorporate these dance moves into a new martial art for the film's final ultimate showdown.

AsianCineFest Rating 2.5 out of 4 stars; fairly good. Certainly of interest, but somewhat flawed in terms of pacing. While it does have some fine stunts and combat scenes, it's still  bit of a letdown in terms of the amount of action one would expect.

THE PROTECTOR 2 is now available in 3D Blu-ray, standard Blu-ray, and DVD versions

The Protector 2 / Tom Yum Goong 2

(a.k.a.  Warrior King 2 in the United Kingdom)
Directed by Prachya Pinkaew

Starring Tony Jaa, RZA,  Phetthai Vongkumlao,
Marrese Crump, and Ratha Phongam

Thailand, 2013, 104 minutes

The Protector 2 is Prachya Pinkaew's sequel to his 2005 film The Protector. (Pinkaew also directed the original Ong Bak film.) It will be available in North America from Magnet Releasing, a division of Magnolia Home Entertainment as either a 3D Blu-ray and regular 2D Blu-ray combo pack, a 2D Blu-ray, or a 2D DVD next Tuesday, July 29th.

Once again Tony Jaa stars as Kham and again he loses his elephant and must rescue it. And again he is assisted by Mark (Phetthai Vongkumlao), an Australian policeman. This time his main adversary is LC (the RZA), an arms dealer with a yen for brutal martial arts contests.

Synopsis: When Boss Suchart is murdered in his own home – the killer delivered three fatal blows on his body – all evidence points to Kham (Tony Jaa), who was present at the crime scene and was seen with the victim the moment before he died. Kham is forced to run as the police launch a pursuit. Meanwhile, the twin nieces of Boss Suchart (Jija Yanin Wismitanan and Teerada Kittisiriprasert) are out for revenge. But luck is on Kham’s side when he again runs into his friend Sergeant Mark.

As Kham is hunted by several parties, he’s also desperately searching for Khon, his elephant, whose disappearance is involved with Boss Suchart’s death. In another twist, Kham is drawn into an underground fighting ring run by LC (RZA), a crime lord who’s obsessed with collecting top-class martial artists from around the world. LC’s fighters are branded only by numbers, such as the lethal, beautiful Twenty (Ratha Phongam) and the diabolical No.2 (Marrese Crump). These fighters are ordered to defeat and capture Kham for a special mission that LC has in mind.

Look for a review here at AsianCineFest on or close to the July 29th release date.

For more info:

Official Site: www.protector2.com

Official Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Protector2TonyJaa

ONG BAK TRILOGY coming July 29th

Magnolia Home Entertainment

and Magnet Releasing

Presents

The ONG BAK TRILOGY will be available on Blu-ray and DVD next Tuesday, July 29th. Both 3-disc box sets contain Ong Bak: The Thai Warrior, Ong Bak 2: The Beginning, and Ong Bal 3: The Final Battle. Each disc is loaded with great extra features.

This release is especially timely in that Panna Rittikrai, who worked in the Thai film industry for three-and-a-half decades as actor, stuntman, action choreographer and director. He gained international recognition as Tony Jaa's mentor. He was stunt coordinator for Ong Bak, and co-rwrote and co-directed Ong Bak 2 and Ong Bak 3 with Jaa. Rittikrai. Seeing him on the extras is heartwrenching given his untimely death at 53 a few days ago.

The original Ong Bak brought the Thai action film industry worldwide recognition and made a star of Tony Jaa.

Look for a review here at AsianCineFest on or just before the July 29th release date.

ACF 1214: International Premiere of Thailand’s BOXING BOYS!

World’s first non-verbal Thai kickboxing performance

blends martial arts with street dance

The world’s first non-verbal Thai kickboxing performance, blending martial arts with street dance, physical comedy and romance, recently opened at Singapore’s 1942-seat Esplanade Theatre. The Singapore season marks the show’s first bow after its critically acclaimed world premiere in Thailand earlier this year.

Conceptualized, directed and co-choreographed by Ekachai Uekrongtham, celebrated Thai director of the award-winning film Beautiful Boxer and the hit musical Chang & Eng, Boxing Boys! is an inventive live theatre performance that does not rely on words but uses visual, physical and musical elements of the production to tell a story of how two young men – a robust professional kickboxer and a mischievous street dancer – fight to win over the younger sister of a Muay Thai Master.

The 17-strong cast of Boxing Boys! comprises real-life Thai kickboxing champions, award-winning street dancers, sports champs and martial arts experts culled from extensive nation-wide auditions. These include Pongsiri Bunluewong, winner of three Equestrian Gold Medals from the SEA Games and Asian Games; Samran Malaithaisong, Thai kickboxing champion who’s recently been named “Star Kickboxer” by Muay Siam Magazine; Asanee Suwan, kickboxing champ and Thai ‘Oscar’ winner for Best Actor from Beautiful Boxer; Pakasit Luxsiri, 6-time winner of National Thai Sword Fighting Competitions; Assanai Yungyuen, a Taekwondo instructor who holds a Black Belt and has won numerous National Taekwondo Contests; and Thiniwat Tonglue, winner of the recent Singha Battle of the Year Thailand and the 11^th Phrasumain Anniversary Krumping Battle.

The choreography for Boxing Boys!, co-created by one of Thailand’s leading choreographers Kanyarat Napasab and Uekrongtham, confronts as well as blends Thai martial arts and traditional Thai dance with street dance like B-Boying, Krumping, Popping and Locking as well as contemporary dance and body percussion. The extensive fight choreography in the show is crafted by Master Sane Tubthimtong, one of the world’s most revered Muay Thai Masters. Emphasizing on real and raw body attacks and contacts, the fight sequences are explosive yet artful - featuring ancient Muay Thai moves rarely seen these days. In addition to kickboxing sequences, the show also incorporates a war scene showcasing sword-fighting sequences between Thai and Burmese warriors – leading up to the very moment when Muay Thai was born.

Boxing Boys' vast musical landscape features original compositions penned by Papassilp Kitawongwat, Thai ‘Oscar’ winner for Best Original Score from Yamada; and Pacharapong Chantapoon, one of most sought after composers and arrangers for musical theatre. The inspired gamut of musical styles in the show range from traditional Thai music to Hip Hop, Pop, Rock, Electro, Percussion-based, New Age, Classical, Opera and World Music. Sound design is specially created for the show by Nakorn Kositpaisarn, winner of Asian Film Award for Best Sound Design for Warlords starring Jet Li.

Boxing Boys! was critically acclaimed when it had its world premiere in Bangkok earlier this year. Bangkok Post says “Juxtaposition is the charm of the show” and describes Boxing Boys! as “a non-stop joy ride of fun”. It also says the show’s use of music “creates multiple layers of profound meanings”. Season Magazine says Boxing Boys! “harmonizes combat art with dance moves impeccably” and praises the show for its “breathtaking fight sequences which are a thrill to watch.” The Hindu says the live performance is “studded with music, dance and pulsating action” while Prestige Magazine describes it as “a rich cultural potpourri… a show that sizzles with six-pack bodies and high voltage energy.” Kom Chad Luek Newspaper says “this non-verbal performance communicates through the elegance and universality of body language.” It also applauds the show for “revealing the aesthetics and exquisite beauty of Thai kickboxing.”

Boxing Boys! is a Scenario Thailand production executive produced by Takonkiet Viravan whose Broadway credits as Producer include How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying starring Daniel Radcliffe and Promises, Promises starring Sean Hayes. The International Premiere of Boxing Boys! in Singapore at the Esplanade Theatre is presented by MediaCorp VizPro International. Negotiations are now underway for the show to tour internationally commencing in 2012.