The title does not refer to the protagonist, or to an item from a Chinese take-out menu. Rather its a place whose proprietors and their hired gumbas come under a lot of grief for stealing a baby elephant.

Tony Jaa and his director Prachya Pinkaew, return after their first picnic together that was the international smash hit actioner ONG BAK: The Thai Warrior. Tony who? For those of you who are hearing this name for the first time - he is the upcoming Asian action star on the rise, garnering attention for his gravity defying super leaps, and bone-crunching martial arts expertise that is all done the old fashioned way - namely, no CGI, no stunt-doubles and no wires. He is neither from Honk Kong nor of Chinese descent - he is Thai (will make little difference to the lot of you)…. and he’s terrific!

Plot for the sake of one is as follows - Kham (Jaa) is a carpenter’s son who dances with the elephants - a mama ellie, a papa ellie and a baby ellie. One fine day their happiness is shattered when poachers come a knocking. Mama ellie bites dust, and much sobbing follows. Long story short - the same poachers later on kidnap the baby and the father elephant, shoot Kham’s pop in the guts, and make off to Down Under. And in Sydney lies Tom Yum Goong. A revenge and rescue mission is undertaken by the indomitable Tony Jaa much to the displeasure and discomfort of all involved (a big and powerful mafia and several corrupt OZ cops bear the brunt of Jaa’s anger). But he does make friends with an honest cop and a whore with a heart of gold (- sigh -).

Although far from the refreshing piece of action history that was Ong Bak, Tom Yum Goong has enough leaps, stunts & bewildering piece of action sets to sate even the hardcore action junkies. But it all takes a bit of time to get there - for a while you have to make do with a silly plot and dead-serious moments that may evoke uncontrollable titters. Not kidding - if they dub this film in Hindi, it will be a box office smash in India, owing to its sappy and melodramatic storyline.

But I do admit to the following: I wouldn’t want to be in a Tony Jaa film as an extra, unless I was on his side. The pint sized fighter means serious business with his kicks and raw knuckle punches. Film is packed with sequences that may induce numbness after a while, but still manages to make you go WOW! at the critical points. The climax seems to go on for ever - with one sub-climax that has Tony do a kill bill with multitudes of extras, and going about it in a how-to-break-bones-in-101-ways. Another sub-climax has him go one-on-one with men from different schools of martial arts (an Indian martial artist was sorely missing - maybe next time). That is only two of several action set pieces.

Word of advice - DO NOT TAKE, I REPEAT, DO NOT TAKE any of your dates or member of the opposite sex unless you want to turn them off you altogether. Otherswise, get ready for a major fix of adrenaline with your buddies.

MPAA RATING:R for pervasive strong violence and some sexual content.
RUNTIME: 110 mins.
CAST:Tony Jaa, Phettkai Wongkamlao,Nathan Jones
DIRECTOR: Prachya Pinkaew