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OB2 has all the hallmarks of the historical martial arts revenge epic—in spades. Young Tien is indeed noble-born, the spirited son of the wise Lord Sihadecho. Of course, his idyllic childhood will not last long. When the treacherous Lord Rajasena kills Tien’s parents, the young boy swears vengeance on the evil despot. Eventually adopted by Cher Nung, the leader of a band of brigands, Tien learns multiple styles of martial arts to put a serious hurting on his opponents.
Though Tien is happy with Cher Nung and his cutthroats, vengeance still burns in his heart. After completing a dark ritual of spiritual discovery, much like Luke Skywalker’s on the swamp planet Dagobah, the newly empowered Tien sets out to make things right. Despite the radically different settings, there are often odd structural parallels between OB2 and Star Wars, which both feature young powerful protagonists with father issues plagued by black-masked antagonists.
You have to love a martial arts film with elephants. In fact, Jaa inventively integrates the stately pachyderm
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It is possible that OB2’s prequel structure will limit its breakout appeal. The abrupt cliff-hanger ending probably will not go over well with many audiences and its connections to OB1 remain obscure. However, there is no denying Jaa’s talent to kick butt and defy gravity. He’s clearly the real deal. While it will probably be necessary to see OB2 in the context of the entire projected trilogy to fully appreciate Jaa’s vision, it is still an enjoyable showcase for Jaa. It opens tomorrow (10/23) at the Village East.