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."
Read more about this topic: Ong Bak 3
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