Ong-Bak 3 is a 2010 Thai martial arts film directed, produced and written by Tony Jaa and Panna Rittikrai. The film is a sequel to Ong Bak 2 and follows the story of the warrior Tien, who had been captured by the ruthless warlord Lord Rajasena. Tien escapes from Rajasena's clutches, recovers from his crippling injuries with the help of Master Bua, and returns to confront Bhuti Sangkha, who has replaced Rajasena as the primary villain.
Plot
In the year 1431 in Thailand, Tien is held captive being beaten with wooden staves. On the orders of Lord Rajasena, his elbows and knees are snapped. As Lord Rajasena sleeps, Tien's guerilla fighters attempt to free Tien, but Bhuti Sangkha appears and kills them. Lord Rajasena offers to hire Bhuti, but he refuses and gives the offer to remove the curse which has been placed on Rajasena before leaving. Rajasena orders his men to kill Tien, but before this can be carried out, a man arrives with a pardon from the king, indicating that he will take Tien, much to Rajasena's ire. The messenger returns Tien to the Kana Khone villagers. After fending off the village from invaders who are after Tien, Master Bua feels guilty over Tien's imprisonment and becomes a Buddhist monk. Pim heals Tien to life, but finds that Tien is still crippled from his beatings. Tien then embarks on a rehabilitation regimen with the help of Master Bua. Rajasena visits Bhuti at his temple to remove his curse, but Bhuti reveals his true motive of usurping Rajasena and becoming the new king. After a battle, Bhuti decapitates Rajasena, but his severed head curses Bhuti. After meditating, Tien returns to his village to find it in ruins, and the surviving villagers kidnapped and enslaved by Bhuti. Bhuti uses his magic to summon an eclipse. When Pim reveals herself as Tien's companion, she is taken to Bhuti's palace, where she is killed. Tien witnesses this killing from a statue and fights his way through the guards before confronting Bhuti, who launches a spear at Tien's chest. As he falls to his knees, defeated, he remembers Bua's words, and finds himself again atop the statue. Overcoming Bhuti's illusion, lightning strikes and Bhuti's eclipse magic is dispelled. Bhuti attempts to escape but is confronted by Tien. Bhuti attempts again to throw a spear at Tien, who catches and throws it aside. On the royal ledge above the arena, Tien's upright finger tips hold Bhuti aloft by his chin. Suddenly an elephant's trunk butts the doors below the ledge, causing Bhuti to fall from Tien's grasp. Bhuti falls, over the elephant's tusks. The camera pans as we watch Bhuti dying on the ground, pierced by the elephant's broken tusk. As he breaths his last breath, the elephant, now resembling the one tusk Ganesha, raises his head in a victorious trumpet. Beginning life anew, with good having triumphed over evil, the final scene opens as Tien, Pim and the remaining villagers, pray before the statue of Ong Bak.
After the first two weeks of Ong Bak 2theatrical release, the president of Sahamongkol Film announced their intention of a 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.
Release
Ong Bak 3 was released in Thailand on May 5, 2010. On its first week it played in 135 theaters in Thailand and was the second highest grossing film in the Thai box office, earning $555,823. Ong Bak 3 earned $1,335,646 during its theatrical run in Thailand and grossed a total of $2,325,473 with foreign markets. This was less successful than Ong Bak 2, which had made $8,936,663 in total. Ong Bak 3 had its North American premiere at Fantastic Fest on September 23, 2010. The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray in Australia on November 8, 2010, and in the United States on February 8, 2011.
Reception
The film has received generally negative reviews. Both Empire and Film Business Asia praised the action scenes but pointed out the weak story. Film Business Asia gave the film a five out of ten rating praising the action sequences but finding that it made Ong Bak 2 "look like a masterpiece of character development." Variety and Total Film found the film spent too much focus on Buddhist philosophy that left not enough time for the action scenes. Total Film awarded the film two stars out of five, stating that "a greater focus on Buddhist philosophy...leaves little room for the sort of bone-crunching, no-frills set-pieces that first brought Jaa to our attention." Slant Magazine gave the film three stars out of four praising it as "easily the most brutal of all the contemporary Thai martial arts films that have come to the U.S. thus far. But that's what characterizes the Thai style of fighting films: inspired excess and decadence."
Video game
Ong Bak Tri is being developed by Studio Hive and will be published worldwide by Immanitas Entertainment for PC, smartphones, PlayStation Network, and Xbox Live Marketplace. It will be a 2.5D side-scrolling brawler with "intense fighting action, impressive free-running sequences, and highly cinematic quick-time action events," according to the press release. The game, like the second and third films, is set in ancient Thailand. No official release date has been announced.
