Ong-Bak was one of the great action movies of this decade. As a devout follower of Asian Cinema, Tony Jaa managed to reach and even possibly surpass the heights of martial arts action set by Jackie Chan / Sammo Hung / Yuen Biao in the 80's. Both the original Ong-Bak and Warrior King are excellent films which put Tony Jaa at the top of the martial arts movie star ladder.
I saw the second Ong-Bak (The beginning) in mid-2009 and was reasonably entertained but it was still a let down from the original. I approached the third entry in the trilogy and it is a real stinker. I hate to say this, but I hoped for so much more. The action is slow and sporadic and the storyline is so dull that I was continually straining for the FFW button on my remote. I know Tony Jaa had plenty of problems filming the 2nd and 3rd films (triad involvment, near nervous breakdown), but this film really shows he should remain at the front of the camera. As a director he loses perspective and momentum in the film. There is also a tiresome 'tai-chi' vibe going through the movie which has been done a hundred times before (see Tai-Chi Master for a much better example). The end fight is a complete let down, which was the one thing I thought I could bank on as being excellent!
Gutted, and disappointed are the only words I can use for a trilogy which fizzled out rather than climaxed!!!
Please improve your next work Tony!!!