Poster For Ong Bak 3

Here’s the new trailer for Tony Jaa’s latest, Ong Bak 3, which debuts in Thailand May 5, 2010:

No word yet on a U.S. release date.

You can check out the teaser trailer here along with some of my thoughts on Ong Bak 2 and other two-part sequels.

Despite being somewhat disappointed by 2008′s Ong Bak 2, I’m still looking forward to seeing this year’s followup; after all, Tony Jaa’s always a lot of fun to watch, even if we have seen his signature “elbow(s) to the top of the head” and “super high jumping double knee to the chest” moves a bajillion times.

Story-wise, it’ll be nice to see Tony Jaa’s Tien go toe-to-toe again with the “Crow Ghost” character (played by Dan Chupong) from the previous installment.

You know, I didn’t really care for Ong Bak 2 all that much, but, having watched the action heavy trailer for the follow-up, I’m a bit more optimistic about the sequel.

I’m guessing you really need to watch both movies, Ong Bak 2: The Empire Strikes Ong Bak and Ong Bak 3: The Return Of The Jaa, back-to-back to be able to appreciate them fully.

The pacing problems of 2 aren’t really pacing problems at all if you watch the sequels as the filmmakers intended you to see them: as one, bone-crunching, 4-hour-long, Thai martial arts epic that’s completely unrelated to the first (Ong Bak Begins).

Ong Bak 2 Part One: Ong Bak Reloaded, isn’t really all that bad pacing-wise, as long as you realize the story won’t be completely wrapped up until you’ve sat down and watched Ong Bak 2 Part Two: Ong Back Revolutions as well.

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Here’s the thing:

I can sit down and watch The Empire Strikes Back in its entirety and come away from the experience feeling utterly satisfied, as though I’ve watched something whole and complete, even though there are clearly overarching story elements left unresolved at the film’s conclusion.  I don’t need to pop in Return Of The Jedi immediately after watching Episode V.  I’m good.

Now, maybe it’s because I grew up watching Empire and Return Of The Jedi, but I find that I can’t say the same of many of today’s trilogies, say, the Matrix sequels or the last two Pirates Of The Caribbean films.

It’s hard for me to put my finger on exactly why I feel this way, but I think more than anything else it has to do with the fact that the first film in each of these trilogies was intended, first and foremost, to stand alone.

Although Pirates introduced a few minor story elements that would be elaborated upon in the sequels (Jack Sparrow’s compass, for instance), the movie was written to have a definite end.   If the movie did well, there was room for a sequel or two (or three, in the case of Pirates) and plenty of backstory to draw from in case a follow-up was needed. If not, well, that would have been perfectly fine as well; Will Turner’s story could have ended right then and there.

The same is true, perhaps even more so, of The Matrix. I don’t know about the rest of you, but when Neo tells the Machines, it’s over, I’m the Chosen One, you’re going down, at the end of the first film, I believe him. The man can fly, for crying out loud! Of course, the Machines are going down. The End. I don’t need to see him dismantling the Machines one by one to know that humanity’s going to pull through in the end.

(To be honest, I wish the Matrix sequels had never been made. If, one day, my kids ever ask me if there were sequels to The Matrix , I’m pretty sure I’m going to lie and say, “No, that’s all there is.”

You know, so they never have to experience the same disappointment I felt watching Reloaded and Revolutions.)

So here’s the problem, in a nutshell:

The Matrix came out, was a huge, huge hit, and spawned a sequel, The Matrix 2, a five-hour-long epic told in two parts: The Matrix 2: Part One and The Matrix 2: Part Two.

Pirates Of The Caribbean came out, was also a huge hit, and so, naturally, a sequel was filmed, again in two parts: Pirates Of The Caribbean 2, Parts One and Two.

The Matrix trilogy isn’t really a trilogy.  It’s one movie, with a really, really long sequel.

Ditto for Ong Bak.