If you have a soft spot for stuntmen, steer clear of Ong Bak 3. The final act in Tony Jaa’s trilogy features the same high-flying, bone-breaking action sequences we’ve come to expect from the martial arts master. Unfortunately, Ong Bak 3 seems to have forgotten that Tony Jaa’s fight scenes are what people pay to see. The first ten minutes of the movie drops a chain-bound and shackled Tien (Tony Jaa) right in the middle of dozens of staff-wielding soldiers. After that, the movie painfully drags along as Tien is near death or in various stages of recovery up until the final scenes. Tony Jaa’s acting is no substitute for his fighting prowess and the film suffers mightily when he’s not cracking skulls.

Hit the jump for the full review.

The teaser for Tony Jaa’s newest action movie, Ong Bak 3 is online and in high-def [via 24 Frames].  And it’s awesome.  Fans of the series should know that the first and second movie have very little in common story-wise and it looks as if the third may follow that pattern as well so you probably don’t need much familiarity with the other two to enjoy this movie.  No experience is required to like the teaser, though being able to read Thai wouldn’t hurt.  Judging by the teaser, Ong Bak 3 is going to have all the elements that make Tony Jaa movies so awesome.  There’s intricately choreographed fights, improvised weapons, and mass amounts of ass-beating, which at points are elephant-assisted.  Plus, there appears to be a scene where Jaa fights himself, presumably because he’s killed everyone else.

Ong Bak 3 is slated for a May release.

Hit the jump to see the trailer and check out the official synopsis.

Ong Bak is basically the story of one man’s quest to find (find here meaning that he kicks copious amounts of villainous ass) and reclaim the stolen head of his small village’s local Buddha statue.  But where Ong Bak separates itself from similar kung fu fare is in its ardent disregard for wire trickery and CG-assisted stunts.  Instead of relying on those old industry standards, the responsibility of carrying the action sequences is placed squarely on the shoulders of Ong Bak‘s star, Tony Jaa.  Jaa then takes that responsibility, does a triple flip onto its head and delivers a skull-shattering elbow drop.  My review after the jump: