10 One Man Army Movies Not To Be Slept On

You know that episode of The Simpsons where Bart steals the head of the Jebediah Springfield statue? This is that, but with way more punching. 

After the head of a sacred idol goes missing from his village, martial artist Ting (Tony Jaa) resolves to get it back in Ong-Bak: Muay Thai Warrior, a Thai film from director Prachya Pinkaew. 

At a time when wire-fu was still commonplace in martial arts cinema, Ong-Bak opted for a more realistic approach to its action scenes, as Jaa performed most of the fighting himself at breakneck pace. The star was hailed by many critics as the next big name in action cinema, being heralded as a successor to Bruce Lee or Jackie Chan. 

Audiences loved watching Ting cut down enemies like they were nothing, so much that the movie got two follow-ups. Jaa and Pinkaew would also work together on another big beat ‘em up, Tom-Yum-Goong.

If you’re looking for particularly strong characters or an innovative story, you won’t find it here, but Ong-Bak is absolutely perfect for those who like their fists flying, their battles epic, and their heroes highly believable.