The beauty of dance; the hard-hitting blows of boxing

MANILA, Philippines - Can one combine the beauty of dance with the hard-hitting blows of Thai boxing? See the movie that shows the new style of martial arts in Ong Bak 2. It opens on Aug. 19 at major cinemas nationwide.

In the movie, a young man named Tien grows up among villagers who preserve the legacy of the traditional Khon masked dance. He becomes an outcast when he finds that his firm limbs are not made to pursue the skill of his ancestors. But with the guidance of a mysterious guru, he develops a new fighting style which mixes the strength of martial arts with the regal elegance of Khon dance. Now, he must use his skill and ingenuity to exact revenge on his parents’ killers.

Ong Bak 2 is a Thai martial arts film co-directed by and starring Tony Jaa and a follow-up to Jaa’s 2003 breakout film Ong Bak: Muay Thai Warrior. Set in the regal times of King Naresuan, Jaa plays Tien, a man born into nobility but had it stripped from him after his parents were brutally murdered. During his childhood Tien learned Khon, a form of dance usually reserved for royalty.

The key idea that led to Ong Bak 2 originated from Tony Jaa’s effort to find new approaches for his next film while traveling all over the world to promote his first two films.

The action dream team of co-director Panna Rittikrai, Jaa and Prachya Pinkaew has used the experience from Ong Bak and another action flick Tom Yum Goong to make an even better screenplay for Ong Bak 2, based on three key concepts — the fusion of martial arts from all over the world, the introduction of the newly-invented Natayuth (martial arts style) and the origin of the scar-faced Buddha, an important link between the first Ong Bak and Ong Bak 2. The blending of these three premises helps balance the development of characters and makes a perfect screenplay for an action movie

Ong Bak 2 is released by Viva International Pictures.