Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior is an action movie in its purest form. It is a story about a small village in Thailand that has the head of its sacred Buddha statue stolen. Ting volunteers to travel to Bangkok (and beyond) to get the statue back. What follows are some of the most impressive stunt sequences I have seen in awhile.

Tony Jaa, who is touted in the trailer as being the successor to Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, and Jet Li, performs all his own stunts and displays feats of athleticism that will have you scanning the screen for signs of ropes or CGI. Don’t bother, he is the real deal.

One of my favorite sequences is the cliche car chase. However, to put a uniquely Thai spin on it, they used a couple dozen Tuk-Tuks which speed down the streets of Bangkok, fly through the air, and explode into flames. Thoroughly enjoyable, to say the least.

Unfortunately, there is much to be disappointed with in this movie. I suppose avid martial arts fans will enjoy seeing Muay Thai featured. But, as an only occasional viewer of martial arts films, I found myself comparing it to the fight choreography in movies such as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Once Upon a Time in China. In my opinion, Kung Fu is much more enjoyable to watch on film, with its elegant movements and varied styles (including the use of much weaponry).

The story was severely lacking and the translated subtitles were sub-par (I have seen worse, but I have seen much better as well). There have been times when I was able to watch a movie and not be bothered by those shortcomings, but this was not one of those times. I think Tony Jaa has the potential to become a major, international martial-arts movie star, but it is much too early to make such claims. He really needs to get a few quality movies under his belt.

I don’t give stars, or stick thumbs up or down. What I will do is let you know if I think it is worth $10 to see it in the theater, or if it should be relegated to sitting in my Netflix queue.

Verdict: Netflix movie