Tom Yum Goong Game is a 2003 Thai action film. It was directed by Prachya Pinkaew, featured stunt choreography by Panna Rittikrai and starred Tony Jaa. Ong-Bak proved to be Jaa's breakout film, with the actor hailed internationally as the next major martial-arts star. Jaa went on to star in Tom-Yum-Goong (called The Protector in the US and Warrior King in the UK) and directed 2 sequels to Ong-Bak: Ong-Bak 2 and Ong-Bak 3.The film begins in Ban Nong Pradu, a rural village in northeastern Thailand whose most prized possession is an ancient Buddha image, named Ong-Bak. Ting, the village's best athlete, wins a tree climbing race and demonstrates extreme skill in muay Thai but vows never to use it for personal gain. During the night, visitors from Bangkok attack Ting's uncle and steal the statue's head which Ting promises to recover.
In the city, Ting meets with his cousin Humlae who has dyed his hair blond and begun calling himself George. He and his friend, Muay Lek, are street-bike racing hustlers who have fallen in with a bad crowd of yaba dealers. They find that they speak the same Isaan dialect.
Humlae is at first reluctant to help Ting, but when he sees the small fortune in coins that Ting has collected from his village, Humlae takes an immediate interest. When Ting is in the bathroom, Humlae grabs the sack and heads for a bar on Khaosan Road where an illegal boxing match is going on. Ting tracks Humlae down, but instead of getting his money back, he ends up fighting and being named TING PADIU PIU.Ting's unexpected skill takes the gambling crowd by surprise and this makes Ting an enemy of Komtuan, a gray-haired, wheelchair-bound crimelord who needs an electrolarynx to speak. It is discovered that Ong-Bak was actually stolen by one of his henchmen, Don.
George and Muay Lek begin working a scam at a baccarat game in an illegal casino. When the scam is discovered, a drug dealer punishes George with a beating. Ting ignores George's cries for help, but intervenes when the drug dealer attacks Muay Lek. When additional henchmen arrive, a footchase through the alleys ensues. Ting helps George escape in exchange for his assistance in helping to find Don.
That night, Ting's skills are showcased once again when a fight breaks out at the bar. After many opponents are wounded, Komtuan tries to have Ting killed. Muay Lek, meanwhile, has been struggling to keep her older sister Ngek from using drugs. Ngek has fallen in with Don. On the bed, Ngek, following her sister's advice, says she wants to quit. Don, in his anger, violently suffocates her by stuffing drugs in her mouth. Muay Lek shows up at Don's apartment with George and Ting to find her sister near death. George and Ting take off and chase Don in tuk-tuks, with several of Don's men joining in. After dispatching many of the drivers, Ting ends up at a port in the Chao Phraya River, where he discovers a cache of stolen Buddha images. This leads back to the gangster Komtuan, who promises to deliver Ong-Bak's head if Ting throws a fight with one of his bodyguards - a Burmese boxer and has been treating himself with drugs to increase his strength and endurance. Ting loses the fight but is betrayed by Komtuan who kidnaps Ting, George and Muay Lek and orders his henchmen to kill them.
Ting and George subdue the would-be assassins and follow the gangsters into a cave in a mountain, where the head of a giant Buddha image is being chiseled away. There is a final showdown, with Ting fighting off all of Komtuan's henchmen and George trying his best to help. Komtuan's bodyguard launches into a second drug-crazed fight with Ting but is defeated. Komtuan then shoots Ting and attempts to crush Ong-Bak's head with a sledgehammer. George covers the head with his body, taking the beatings himself. At that moment, the giant Buddha head falls onto them. Komtuan is killed instantly but George is left with enough strength to utter a dying wish - for Muay Lek to graduate school and for Ting to look after her.
The head of the Ong-Bak Buddha statue is restored in the temple of Ting's village. Ting, now ordained as a monk with shaven head and white robes, arrives into the village in a procession on an elephant's back while the villagers and Muay Lek celebrate his ordination.
The film introduced international audiences to a traditional form of muay Thai (or Muay Boran, an ancient muay Thai style), a kickboxing style that is known for violent strikes with fist, feet, shins, elbows and knees. The fights were choreographed by Panna Rittikrai, who is also Tony Jaa's mentor and a veteran director of B-movie action films. Jaa, trained in Muay Thai since childhood, wanted to bring Muay Thai to mainstream so he decided to make this movie. Jaa and Panna struggled to raise money to produce a demo reel to drum up interest for the making of the film. Their first reel was made on expired film stock, so they had to raise more money and start over.
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