Muay Thai is an incredibly violent looking style of fighting. I was floored by the intensity of Tony Jaa's attacks in Ong-bak, and Tom-yum-goong is no different. Like Ong Bak, the action is incredible. The main difference is that Tom-yum-goong has a (slightly) better story, as well as being even more action-packed. By ‘action-packed', I simply mean the sheer number of enemies who face the Muay Thai wrath of Tony Jaa.

It's nice to see a high-quality production come out of Thailand, as the majority of their output is quite poor. They produce a number of films, primarily within the genres of action and horror. With the exception of the Pang Brothers' The Eye, their horror output has been among the worst of all foreign imports. Their action productions have proven to be no better; however, 2003's Ong-bak has been one of the recent highlights of action cinema, worldwide.

When contrasted with Hong Kong action films, in which fight sequences are structured in a fashion that appears completely fluid, the action on display throughout Ong-bak seemed much less like a choreographed work, replacing that fluidity with sheer brutality. Tom-yum-goong achieves a stronger balance between action sequences which develop in a remarkably fluid manner, and the sheer ferocity of Muay Thai, as an art. It is a near-perfect amalgamation, which works strongly toward the films benefit, making the action sequences even more enjoyable than those in Ong-bak.

Another aspect in which the film excels, is the sheer amount of villains which our hero must face. I don't think I'd be too far off, if I were to guess that Tony Jaa faces close to 100 enemies. Maybe more. These are by no means epic battles, and the majority of these baddies appear in two sequences in the movie. The first sequence, in which Tony Jaa ascends a spiral staircase in the villain's hideout, is quite simpy… Amazing. Breathtaking. There are any number of adjectives that could be used to describe a four-plus minute steadicam tracking shot, which follows Jaa as he fights his way through hordes of bad guys toward a room which lies at the top of said staircase.

The second sequence involves a countless amount of evil-doers (can you tell I'm running out of synonyms for ‘Bad Guys'?), attacking one by one, as Tony Jaa systematically destroys each one, breaking any number of bones in the process. It's incredible fun to watch. Between all of this however, there are a number of other fight sequences, involving any number of bad guys, from a group of rollerbladers/BMXers, to a massive mound of man who seems unbeatable, and everything in between.

For pure action, you can't do much better than Tom-yum-goong, which will soon see an American release under the title, The Protector. I'm not certain where they drew the title from, as it has nothing to do with the film, but I guess that's Hollywood for you. Upon it's theatrical release, I suggest everyone interested in a quality action film, see it as quickly as possible, as it will have a very short theatrical run. Both Ong-bak and the recent French film B-13 came and went, relatively unnoticed throughout their theatrical release. All three deserve to seen, yet the sheer quality of the action sequences in Tom-yum-goong surpass both of the other previously mentioned films. Highly Recommended.