Tom Yum Goong aka The Protector

[GreenCloudCLF]

Tom Yum Goong Official Site (http://www.tomyumgoongmovie.com/index_e.asp)

This has been up for awhile, but I wasn't sure if y'all had seen it yet.

(OK, I know i technicially isn't a Kung-Fu flick....but come on, Ong Bak rocked)

[GreenCloudCLF]

Tony Jaa's third film will include sword play: Check it out here:

Tony Jaa 3 (http://www.kungfucinema.com/news/2005/061601.htm)

[GeneChing]

...but isn't Tom Yum Goong a dish with basil and hot pepper? :p

[gwa sow]

i did like ong bak but there was something about the movie that really didn't amaze me. once was enought. but i can watch the old classics over and over. -----snake in the eagles shadow, shaolin excecutioners, north shaolin vs south shoulin and any of the five venoms are just a few.

[kejia nu ren]

it's the name of the restaurant that serves as a cover for the illegal operations in the movie.. details are at the movie's website http://www.tomyumgoongmovie.com

the plot seems a little cliche, but i'm sure the action will be bad ass (who watches these movies for good dialogue and character development anyways?) :cool:

[gwa sow]

read the plot for the movie. seems like ong bak but with elephants instead of a statue

[Shaolinlueb]

read the plot for the movie. seems like ong bak but with elephants instead of a statue

and two handed sword dueling instead of um... knees and fists!!!

[GreenCloudCLF]

Tom Yum Goong Review (http://www.aintitcool.com/display.cgi?id=20980)

Here is a review of the new Tony Jaa movie...SPOILERS

[zuiquan1]

ok tom yum goon is out
im expecting illegal downloads

now

[TangLangCh'uan]

yeah....this looks like it's gonna be friggin hot.....that kick to the street lamp in the trailer sold it for me....i mean, the elephant plot sounds like it could be interesting, but what i really want is to see Tony Jaa beat mofo's down.

[RAYNYSC]

If any of you liked the fight scene's in ( Ong - Bak ) I'm sure you're going to like the one's in ( Tom - Yum - Goong ) Jaa take's Muay Thai to next level in my opinion. This one's a must have in my book....

[Chang Style Novice]

All my thai comes from restaraunt menus, so is this movie really about noodle soup?

[gwa sow]

i enjoy tony jaa's movies but there is something about them that doesn't sit right with me. he is very talented but i can only watch his movies once or twice while as i can watch other kung fu movies over and over. good movie though

[SanSoo Student]

It was okay. I thought Ong-Bak was better. I think people were trying to get this out just to commericalize his success, come on...it's about losing a freaking pet Elephant. The way he somehow ended up in fights was rediculous, had no connection sometiems at all.

[gwa sow]

thats one thing i noticed about these movies. some of the parts of the movie are hard for western people to relate to. example elephant. in ong bak i didn't like the motorized tricycle race with the big explosion at the end of it.

[GeneChing]

Tony Jaa's post Ong Bak work was disappointing. There are some great fights, for sure, including one extraordinary single shot (around 5 minutes, no cuts) where he takes out dozens of guys, plus a fine capoeira vs. muay thai fight. And who can fault fights with big time wrestlers and a domintrix with a whip? :rolleyes: Sadly, this film is painfully encumbered by too much plot that makes no sense. It's very uneven, not at all up to par with Jaa's last film. But definitely check it out for the fights - just speed to the fights and skip the rest.

The next Tony Jaa release that I've heard on the horizon is Spirited Killer, allegedly going to be released for the US market in the next month or two. Jaa was part of a stunt team under Panna Rittikrai, and they made several films which are only available on Thai VCD at this point. The US Spirited Killer is supposed to have all sorts of bonus tracks featuring a lot of old interviews and footage.

[Judge Pen]

Tony Jaa's post Ong Bak work was disappointing. It's very uneven, not at all up to par with Jaa's last film. But definitely check it out for the fights - just speed to the fights and skip the rest.

Funny, that's how I watched Ong Bak the other day when I was showing it to a friend.

[GeneChing]

How can you say
not at all up to par with Jaa's last film for Ong Bak? Did you see Jaa's previous film? He has several, but they're only available on Thai DVD. I'm looking for recommendations on those.

I liked Ong Bak a lot, not just for the fights, but for it's take on Thailand. It remined me of when I was in Bangkok getting my arse kicked for a week trying muay thai. I liked Petchtai Wongkamlao's character, which made his character in Tom Yum Goong rather redundant. I also liked Pumwaree Yodkamol's performance.

BTW, I heard that Jaa really was raised in the country with elephants, which explains a lot of what he was trying to do with Tom Yum Goong to me. They say he developed his jumping skill jumping over elephants.

Anyway, a good fight scene is a good fight scene, and I'll keep watching Jaa, if only for the fights. Hell, I remember staying up 'til 2am, slogging through the stupidest chop sockies on kung fu theater, just to watch those fights. Thank the lord for fast forward!

Does anyone have any recommendations on his old stuff - or even better Panna Rittikrai recommendations?

[fa_jing]

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8514518157668120764

[PangQuan]

when watching this in the movie a couple months ago, i was wondering.

on the capoeria fighter, is that scar that spells PRAY real or fake you think?

[GeneChing]

...so it's all fake...:rolleyes:

Good fight tho. Tony Jaa turns in some great stuff. Check out thread on this film on the media forum (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=39718).

[green_willow]

Looks fairly real to me.

[diego]

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8514518157668120764
that was dope:)

[herb ox]

Isn't that Capoerista the dude from the Zero Gravity "****" series?

Lateef Crowder - anybody recognize him?

ox

[IronFist]

From the movie Tom Yum Goong (http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8514518157668120764&q=muay+thai).

edit - that doesn't look like muay Thai, but they say it is.

[Ford Prefect]

It's stuff from traditional Muay Thai arts that doesn't translate well to the ring sport and is taught only sparingly. Flare was obviously added for the movies too.

[GunnedDownAtrocity]

decent vid .. i was entertained by the capoera dude, but the mui thai has had better representation in van **** movies.

[Phil Redmond]

decent vid .. i was entertained by the capoera dude, but the mui thai has had better representation in van **** movies.
The star of that movie is Tony Jaa. He also did Ong Bak. Once you see either of those movies you will change your opinion. Jaa does his own stunts with no wires, trampolines, or CGI. He is amazing.
Phil

[GunnedDownAtrocity]

meh ... i've seen ong and i though it was the same dude .... its not a judgement on him, but on that fight scene. that scene wasn't all that hot, but i know hes capable of much more. just like jet li half the time.

[@PLUGO]

Isn't this like the 3rd thread started on this video?

[CFREW]

YES ITS LIKE THE 3rd THREAD WE HAD ON THIS ALREADY


Capeoira vs. Muay Thai vid (choreographed)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From the movie Tom Yum Goong.

edit - that doesn't look like muay Thai, but they say it is.


YES OF COURSE THIS IS CHOROGRAPHED

TELL ME OF ONE MOVIE THAT DOES NOT CHOREOGRAPH THERE FIGHT SCENES,

AN YES THAT IS ( traditional muay thai ) HE DOES HIS OWN STUNTS AN EVERY THING

CHECK THIS OUT IF YOU DONT LIKE HIM

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1322056332484362769&q=TONY+JAA

[Mizri]

pretty cool stuff

[puma]

Haven't seen Ong Bak yet..maybe i'll check it out
Other than that...the stuff i've seen on him thus
far is preety good
What martial art is he really suppose to be an
expert in because the stuff he was doing in that
tribute link did not look like muay thai

[Li Kao]

Puma,

The style Tony Jaa learned as he was growing up was indeed Muay Thai. He came from a family of rice farmers in North East Thailand. He was also a huge fan of Bruce Lee and especially Jackie Chan. Of course, his movements are exaggerated in the movies as is usually the case, but he does make good use of elbows, knees, and Muay Thai footwork. His movies so far have had some really absurd plots, but the action is incredible and it's a bit of a breath of fresh air amidst the wuxia craze of late (which I love as well, don't get me wrong) and the mandatory wire-fu that has invaded so many Hollywood action movies as of late.

Here is a link to a neat American fansite: http://www.tonyjaa.org/index.shtml

[Phil Redmond]

Haven't seen Ong Bak yet..maybe i'll check it out
Other than that...the stuff i've seen on him thus
far is preety good
What martial art is he really suppose to be an
expert in because the stuff he was doing in that
tribute link did not look like muay thai
Most people have never seen real Muay Thai or even know that MT has empty hand and weapons forms. Only the sport version of it is well known.
PR

[jethro]

Sorry about the mispelling, I am guessing it is wrong.

I saw a release date of Aug. 15 which means I may be able to watch it soon! I will let you all know if it is the sh!t when I see it:D

[jethro]

is this even comign to my city. On Kung fu cinema they didn't say anything about it being a nation wide release. :(

[The Willow Sword]

LOL. Tom yum Goong is a clear/sour Thai Soup with shrimp. I love that stuff, cures colds and bacteria in your tum tum:D

Peace,TWS

[GeneChing]

...but the film *is* about soup, sort of, TWS. I merged this into an earlier thread that explains somewhat, but warning *spoilers above*.

I just met Tony Jaa a few minutes ago. Nice guy. He did a little demo and signed autographs. I was impressed by his down-to-earth character, and of course, his speed and accuracy. He was on a lemongrassroots tour promoting The Protector and appeared at Sam Kru's school (http://www.worldteamusa.com/news.htm) in SF.

Sorry to disappoint you again, jethro, but the release of The Protector is being delayed until Sept. 8th. The good news is that it's going to have a much larger release than was originally slated for the Aug. 15th date.

[The Willow Sword]

LOL:eek: :D all this time i am not eating shrimp in that soup? my god.

Yeah i like the thai way of doing things. worked in a thai kitchen for a while and i know some really good people in the Thai community here in Austin. Used to help out at the Thai Buddhist temple here and in return got to be part of a blessing ceremony and some thai massage therapy(hurt like hell, the thai massage) its kinda like shaitsu and rolfing rolled in to one. the blessing ceremony was very beautitul. i was draped in a white sheet and flowers spread over me. 5 monks did their chants for about 45 minutes and sprinkled their version of holy water on me. They also set free 8 birds(little finches) as part of the ceremony(to carry the prayers i imagine).

One of the monks had been having some stomach problems and intestinal ones as well. i made him a tea whose ingredients was passed down to me by my father who got it from a cherokee medicine man in north kakalaka. anyway it cured his symptoms for a good while and he did the MT on me.
i miss the ajan because he found out that his ills were related to cancer and as a result of the tea i gave him he had enough strength and stamina and was able to go back to thailand and die peacefully there.

anywhoo, rambling. cheers,TWS

[GeneChing]

...nor do I know about "their version of holy water". But I'm excited about the wider release of Tom Yum Goong even though I wasn't a huge fan of the film. The Protector is a funny American title because it was also the title of Jackie's 2nd worst film ever, his 1985 American follow-up to the Cannonball Run series. (IMHO, Jackie's worst was his 2003 U.S. film, Medallion (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/ezine/article.php?article=391)).

BTW, here's some more Thai teasers: Spirited Killer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v97a18vI1T8) is coming to U.S. DVD. It's an early Jaa film, focusing more on his teacher/svengali Panna Rittikrai. If you've seen Born to Fight, you know Rittikrai is the source. ony's manager, Gilbert Lim, said Tony was just about to return to Thailand to work on Ong Bak 2. He also said that Rittikrai was involved in a new project, soon to premeire called Chocolate, featuring a female Thai Boxer heroine. Chocolate Thai? Hmm, that used to mean something quite different in my recollection.

[jethro]

I can wait, fearless is never coming right, what's another month for this? I will certainly be there opening night and I need to plan my schedule around it so keep me updated.

ps-I did hear about a certain scene in that movie in a restaurant :D

[Su Lin]

I can wait, fearless is never coming right, what's another month for this? I will certainly be there opening night and I need to plan my schedule around it so keep me updated.

ps-I did hear about a certain scene in that movie in a restaurant :D

Ha ha ! Beat you to it! Fearless is a good film, need to watch it again though as I have forgotten it, I have a big problem with remembering films, even my favourites. It's good though in that I always have a surprise at the end!:p

[GeneChing]

We already discussed the postponement of the U.S. premiere of Fearless on the Fearless thread (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showpost.php?p=687905&postcount=70).

The Protector got pushed back from Aug 15th to Sep. 8th. DOA: Dead or Alive got pushed back too. It was originally scheduled for Aug. 25th, but now it's Oct. 20th. That's why there's an article on it now in IKF. They were working on the original date. When you follow movie openings, you see that the dates change frequently, especially with 'B' movies, which unfortunately, all martial arts movies are classified as. It's just one of those facts of Hollywood. You get used to it after a while. As a publisher, it's very troublesome though.

[GeneChing]

There's a few interviews with the RZA floating around about this now. Here's one. (http://www.7mpictures.com/inside/rza_feature.htm)

7M: WHAT BROUGHT YOU TO THIS FILM?
I was actually supposed to have been in this film, but I couldn’t make it this time because of my schedule. So when the Weinstein Company acquired the film, they asked me to add some music to it. It was my pleasure because I always wanted to be involved in this film from its inception. Being that I missed my first opportunity to actually be a member of the cast in this film, I get to come in and help out this film in another way.

7M: DO YOU SEEK OUT MARTIAL ARTS THEMED MOVIES, OR DO THEY FIND YOU?
Both. Being a guy whose had a lot of time to view a lot of these films – and a movie geek as well, I love movies, the martial arts stuff is my favorite brand of movies. But being a guy whose been in that movie world for years, and a constant watcher of it, I think that maybe that translates a lot of things and taps into my source of values.

7M: HOW DO YOU APPROACH SOUNDTRACK DIFFERENTLY FROM AN ALBUM?
The first difference you gotta notice is that when you’re making an album, you’re actually the team. You can make the situation of what you want your album to be about. But with a film, that’s the director’s thing. Now you have to accompany and accommodate that world. I have to now watch the film and deal with what the film is trying to impress to the heart. It’s a different translation.

7M: HOW DO YOU KEEP THINGS INTERESTING IN THIS MOVIE?
In the Protector, for instance, there’s a lot of scenes that start with the Steadicam. There’s a lot of four-minute scenes. One song cannot cover the scene. There’s two or three major cues to cover this one scene, this one location, this one atmosphere. How do you carry on this music for four minutes without boring the audience with the scene, the music and the atmosphere. So the music had to keep changing. So you’re in the same location, but when the music changed, you get a different adrenaline push, a different adrenaline boost. We had to do that at least two or three times in this movie.

7M: WHAT ARE SOME OF THE STYLES YOU USE IN "THE PROTECTOR"?
Two things are different. The first thing is that I was able to go into a genre of music in this particular film. So we went from your basic Hollywood score to hip-hop, blues, house, techno, hip-hop vibe. We’ve got some rock-and-roll vibe in it. So I think I just went into a couple of chambers that I normally am not able to incorporate all in one thing. You’ll notice that the music sounds like more than ten people worked on it.

7M: DID YOU GO BACK TO THE ORIGINAL SOUNTRACK?
I actually completely started new, but there were some cues from the Thai soundtrack that I suggested that they keep. But actually the movie company didn’t want to keep any of it because they didn’t feel the vibe of it that maybe it was a little too strong from the American audience.

7M: WHAT CAN WE EXPECT FROM THE PROTECTOR AS A FILM?
This is an action-packed film. This is an ass-kickin’, bone-kickin’ film. I’m sure that some of the things you’ll see on the screen, you’ve never seen before. And some of the things you may hear, I don’t think you’ve never heard before. So I think this is going to be a unique experience for the buying audience.

[GeneChing]

Tony Jaa - Dancing with Elephants in THE PROTECTOR (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/ezine/article.php?article=678) by Dr. Craig Reid

[The Xia]

http://www.theprotectormovie.com/contest/

[Su Lin]

Yep!I could take him on and whoop his sorry little ass!:eek:

[THREE EYED LAU]

anyone seen the new tony jaa movie the warrior king?. gotta be some of the best fight scenes ive ever seen and the most extreme violence how can u lose?

[SimonM]

I'm not a fan of Tony Jaa.

[gwa sow]

warrior king, hmmmm gonna have to search for it

[gwa sow]

how many names is this movie gonna have. tom yum gong, the protector, warrior king. anyways, i saw it a few months ago. ok movie, its ong bak but with elephants instead of a statue.

[Su Lin]

I did really like the really long fight scene up the staris etc. Not sure it was as good as Ong Bak ,but still worth seeing.

[SimonM]

Oh... Tom Yum Goon...

Been there, watched that, wouldn't bother with the t-shirt.

[splinter]

Isn't "Tom Yum Goon" a thai lemongrass chicken / mushroom soup?

[Nick Forrer]

yes...the film is (partly) about a resteraunt

[PunkRockMantis]

say what you want about Tony JAA, just dont take his Elephants...:rolleyes:

[Jimbo]

I saw The Protector today and enjoyed it. My favorite fights were the joint snapping scene near the end (Prior to him fighting Nathan Jones and the lady crime boss) and the one long, continuous shot of Jaa going from floor to floor up the restaurant. Just think if there'd been one mess-up, they'd have to reshoot the whole thing! Maybe they did(?).

Of course, there wasn't much of a plot, but not many will watch it for that. I personally like good plots and good stories, as it makes the fights more powerful, but whatever. However, truth be told, I felt more anger at the elephants being killed in the story than I would have felt for a lot of human characters in similar movies. I'm not a militant animal rights activist, but although it seems funny for a lot of people to laugh about someone loving and caring for an animal, it's really not. But maybe I'm getting too off-topic here.

At least for now, in a physical sense, Tony Jaa is the only martial arts star doing movies with long, unedited and complex fight sequences using unique styles (I haven't seen Fearless yet). He's definitely a throwback to the '70s/'80s type of films. Hopefully there will be better stories to support the fighting, but IMO if he's made into an "American" star it will probably ruin his movies. Jackie Chan and Jet Li had to return to Asia just to make good films again (though Jet's European-filmed movies are far better than the U.S. ones).

[jethro]

I didn't time this movie, but it had to come in at like 70-80 minutes. Along with the fact that the story made absolutely no sense, I am sure I saw the cut version. like when Jaa gets handled by the big guy and then the next scene he is saved by a woman. Then by the time the end of the movie comes around, they didn't even speak a word to eachother! Also the directorial job left a lot to be desired, I don't know wtf happened at the end.

Now the action was probably top ten I have ever seen. I have to agree with Jimbo that the bone cracking scene was my favorite, though there were too many awesome fights to go over. The stunts on the staircase were unbelievable. There was one where the guy got thrown down so hard when he flies like 15 feet down and crashes into this big white table thing, he instantly vanishes. The film set the tone right away when he comes in with that double knee. This could have been the greatest movie ever.

[jethro]

I can't believe this. I just found out I saw a cut version of the Protector. Cut by 29 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!


F you tarantino!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[SimonM]

Yes. Tarantino should leave the martial arts genre alone. It was bad enough at it's full running length. Cut down the plot and it's probably even worse.

[jethro]

Yes. Tarantino should leave the martial arts genre alone. It was bad enough at it's full running length. Cut down the plot and it's probably even worse.

Sorry Simon but I have to waive my finger at you. This is a realy good mvie. A movie doesn't have to have a great story(though I wish it made sense) to be a good movie. Next thing you are gonna tell me that Ong Bak, Shaolin Temple Strieks back, or Jackie Chan's Young Master are not worth a watch.

[SimonM]

Didn't like Ong Bakh (what it comes down to is I don't like Jaa and I don't like Thai cinematography)

Liked Jacky Chan's young master

Haven't seen Shaolin Temple Strikes Back

[jethro]

My point is that thoise are alll movies that really have trouble telling a story. I would rate Young Master the best fo the bunch becasue of the comedy but I rate the Protector ahead of them all. There is nothing like going to the movie theater and yelling and screaming becasue what is playing on the screen is so amazing.

[SimonM]

As much as anything else it's the cinematography and coreography. I could put up with the hokey "trying to save the elephants" network of holes called a plot if they filmed the movie better and I don't particularly like Jaa's style.

[jethro]

What don't you like about Jaa? He can't act but can kick some serious ass! After watching District B-13 and then watching Jaa in action, B-13 looks like they are playing patticakes when fighting. Jaa should be arrested if he didn't show off all those moves and stunts on the movie screen.

[Jimbo]

For what it's worth, Tony Jaa has the type of (movie stunt) style that most likely won't last too many years. It requires extreme athleticism that depends on youth and having all your parts working perfectly. I myself will watch however many films he'll be able to do for the (probably few) years he has to raise the bar on a physical level.

Unfortunately, as mentioned, he's not really a good actor when he isn't fighting. Sort of like Tan Tao-Liang seems almost uncomfortable and unnatural when he isn't lifting his left leg and kicking with it. ;)

[Li Kao]

Bumping this to remind everyone that the movie is now available (well, in the States anyhow) for rental/purchase -- I saw that there is a version available the soundtrack and there is also a version out with an additional 27 minutes of footage and deleted scenes...

[jethro]

I have way too much to say about this movie and the new DVD release so here a link to my review. http://www.amazon.com/Protector-Tony-Jaa/dp/B000I0RNWU/ref=cm_cr-mr-title/104-0170985-7435957

BTW-click on 'see all customer reviews' and look for Morgoth. This just came out today and there will probably be many reviews ahead of mine. I could just post in on here post if you want but it is like 2 pages long.

[lonewolf]

on disc 2 of the americain release of the protector there are 3 bonus movies that were from a contest. these were the top picks and made it to the dvd. my personal fave was the second one with the two swordsmen. prison fight and the movie on the subway car i didn't care for. i'd like to know other peoples thoughts on these amatuer flicks.

[jethro]

I liked the prison one the best but the sword fight was cool. It was like a mini anime type movie. The fight on the train has to be pointed out just for the fact that it would be hard as hell to do a fight scene on a moving subway train. Also illegal.

Overall I have to say it is the best special edition DVD I have ever seen. And I am a huge Lord of the Rings fan!


My favorite special feature has to be the one where they show all 5 takes of the stariwell scene. Before and after each 4 minute take the director talks about how everything was planned and how it turned out. Pure martial arts movie fan heaven. I think I have watched this like 30 times.

[lonewolf]

when i watched the special feature on the 4 minute fight scene in my opinion they should have kept the fourth take. many of the fights had a faster real feel to it and the reasoning for using the fifth take didn't make any sense to me. who cares if the jar didn't break like they wanted it to. the shot with the guy tripping over the seat was great, the dresser broke when tony threw the guy into it, and the final guys face going into the vase looked more brutal. that guy had his head up his @$$ when he picked that take. :cool:

[jethro]

Like I said, best special feature OF ALL TIME. There are hundreds of things I loved about it. I think the part I like to watch the closest is where he throws that guy from the second floor down into that little house thing. The part we see in the movie he lands right in the middle of it. In the first take he lands a few feet to the right and crashed into the side of the house. One more foot and he would have landed right on the ground and probably died! Another take he lands a little to the right and the support beams don't break! I can't even imagine the pain that would be. I think it was the same stunt guy who did all 5 takes. No way he went on to be a stuntman after this!

Now I have to go watch this again. I don't think I will ever get tired of it:D

[Jimbo]

Since I got the DVD, I have only watched the Tom Yum Goong version, as it makes more sense to it. I could be wrong, but it seems to me that even in the bone-breaking sequence, there are a couple guys he takes out in TYG that have been cut out from The Protector version. Oh, and I love the special features.

I wonder why the American version made the trannie out to be a woman? It was already known that Jin Xing is a transsexual dancer from China, and the character Madame Rose is very obviously a transsexual as well. They said so in Mandarin, but in The Protector, at the dinner poisoning scene, the old guy says, "You're only a woman." In reality, he'd said, "You're neither a man nor a woman." When I saw The Protector in the theater, I was wondering what else might have been purposely mistranslated in Thai, which I do not understand at all.