First off, the main reason (only reason?) a lot of people are going to see the movie is for the martial arts. Due to the quality and inventiveness in Ong Bak, I went into the movie with incredibly high expectations. That being said, I was still blown away by the scenes in Tom Yum Goong. There is an initial melee that was par for the course, but after that they kept building and building. I don't want to have any fight spoilers, but a few highlights:
1) Tony's fight with the Capoeira fighter Lateef Crowder: When I've played Tekken, I always thought that Eddy Gordo was kind of a cheap player and his moves were very unrealistic. Watching Lateef Crowder fight is like watching a true life version of Eddy. His ability to string together sweeps and kicks while in contorted, inverted stances makes you get good use from your slo-mo button. The speed, flexibility and power of both fighters is fascinating to watch.
2) The now famous 4 minute, 1 take shot with Tony wreaking havoc in a four story brothel. He works his way up the winding staircase systematically destroying everyone in his path. The camerawork is great in this scene and the preparation to pull it off without a cut must have been overwhelming.
3) One of the final scenes when Tony takes on what seems to be an endless supply of dressed-in-all-black baddies. He incorporates a supposed ancient form of Muay Thai that was used during wars with neighboring countries. When the king of Thailand would ride into battle on his elephant, four special soldiers were designated to protect the legs of the elephant (one for each leg). This form of Muay Thai (called Muay Kotchasan) uses lots of manipulation of the opponent's limbs and subsequent breaks. This awe-inducing scene is one of the most brutal and wince-inducing parts of a movie I have ever seen. I really hope the stuntmen used have been paid the lion's share of the profit.
I haven't even mentioned Tony's insane fights with the mammoth Nathan Jones - another highlight!
As for the bad parts of the film, they are the ones to be expected. The story doesn't make much sense and honestly it doesn't have to. It would have been nice to have a coherent plot to follow, but as in Ong Bak, after the first fight scene you are simply looking forward to the next rumble. There were also gratuitous product placements in the film that were very distracting. I watched the movie with my girlfriend (who is Thai) and she explained that a bunch of Thai companies had helped produce the movie and therefore had their product displayed. Although this could have been accomplished subtely, it is instead very confusing (watch for the blatant use of a Thai energy drink).
The acting is not a strong point either, but Tony Jaa does seem to be improving a bit. He can actually show a bit of emotion other than extreme rage. Petchthai Wongkamlao is limited in his role and his thick accent garbles a lot of his English lines (he plays an Australian cop) which hinders his comedic aspect. My girlfriend was dying of laughter when he spoke Thai, so I must have missed something.
Defintely a movie to see if you are fan of martial arts, and also to see the maturation of Tony Jaa, who could be a major, major action star if he handles his career well. He now has two very good, introductory films under his belt, so the next one will the real indicator of his future.
