  |
|
|
|
American Movies Need Tony JaaOng Bak and The Protector Star, Muay Thai Fighter, Deserves US FilmMartial arts enthusiasts already know Tony Jaa's name and American crossover films by heart, Jaa is a special talent who almost certainly will make the jump to the US.
Tony Jaa Films Released in USATony Jaa has had two films theatrically released in the United States. Those are Ong Bak and The Protector. Both feature simplistic revenge plots and extraordinary martial arts action. Ong Bak was heavily marketed as having no CGI or wires, and given the footwork of Jaa (including running ten yards on the shoulders of a line of opponents in Ong Bak) the claim is extraordinary. The Protector has some of the most incredible martial arts sequences of any action film in the last ten years, including one incredible long take where the camera doesn’t cut away as Jaa fights his way through an entire building. Tony Jaa Part Jackie Chan, Part Jet LiJaa is an interesting action star, intense at moments but never to the dark level Jet Li reaches, genial and innocent looking but without the Chaplin-like comedy of Jackie Chan. He seems very much at ease playing the village bumpkin whose naïve to the corruption of the city, as he has in both Ong Bak and The Protector. Jaa’s charms will not be what catapults him to stardom, it will be his prodigious athletic skill set. In one scene from The Protector he stands in front of an opponent, and instead of fighting him, leaps up in a backflip and kicks out a streetlight easily six or seven feet above his head. The opponent runs away in fear, awed by the kick. It’s abilities like that, combined with a fairly unique to-the-West fighting style in Muay Thai, that set Jaa apart. Ong BakThere’s a chase through the streets in Ong Bak that showcases Jaa performing some of the most incredible acrobatic tricks in recent martial arts film memory. He does a flying split over a rack of blades. He coils up his body and jumps through a circle of barbed-wire, no more than two feet wide. He performs a backward sliding split under a passing SUV. Jaa can do all this without wires or CGI, he’s an incredible gifted athlete, and these stunts are more gripping than any CGI-induced leap or flip in a big budget Hollywood movie. The ProtectorThe long take in The Protector features Jaa fighting through multiple floors of a restaurant, performing a variety of complicated moves, all captured in one uninterrupted take. It’s an amazing showcase reel that should alone be enough to get Jaa an American film. The film was distributed in the US, like Ong Bak, with relatively minor returns. Hollywood Calling For Tony JaaIn Ong Bak spray painted on a wall behind Jaa during one scene is, “Hi Spielberg, let[‘s] do it together,” and Jaa has made no secret of his admiration for the director. Jaa also apparently had discussed with director Brett Ratner appearing in Rush Hour 3, but had to turn it down due to scheduling conflicts (all this from a Tony Jaa interview with rottentomatoes.com). The Associated Press quoted Jackie Chan as saying, "I gave the director (Brett Ratner) videos of Tony Jaa because I think Tony Jaa is the most well-rounded of all action stars" Jaa has clearly demonstrated he needs no special effects or set of props to be effective, he can perform dazzling martial art in the most basic of settings. His fighting style is unique, his skills are world-class, and he’s ready to work. Hollywood just has to pick up the phone.
The copyright of the article American Movies Need Tony Jaa in Martial Arts Films is owned by Dan Benamor. Permission to republish American Movies Need Tony Jaa in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
|
|
|
|
