One of the most criminally underrated action stars out there today is Tony Jaa. Never heard of him? Well, that’s just a crying shame. Seriously, if you could point out a modern action star who can rival the likes of Jet Li or Jackie Chan in their prime, just look at Tony Jaa. Why isn’t his name as well-known as those other action stars? Well, for starters, he’s not exactly popular in American cinema. But if you’re a big action movie nut like myself, you’ll probably be familiar with a particular foreign movie called Ong-Bak: Muay Thai Warrior. Just call it Ong-Bak for short. Tony Jaa kicks some serious butt in this movie, quite literally.
The method is in the title. If you’re a fan of Muay Thai, you’ll get some flashy Muay Thai moves that you won’t see any professional mixed martial artist do in the UFC. In fact, it kind of blurs on the borderline of your typical Kung Fu movies. Tony Jaa is throwing all kinds of elbows, roundhouse kicks, and flashy flying knees that show you why Muay Thai is the real art of eight limbs. A little word to the wise, it’s rather painful and you’ll hear some bones crack. But that’s why we watch action movies and Tony Jaa is among the best of the action stars of the modern age.
Speaking of which, what’s a good way to make Tony Jaa a more popular name to American audiences? The answer is to put him in a big action movie with some of the biggest action stars known in America. Try a little franchise known as The Expendables. Yes, it’s a been a while since we’ve seen those guys in action. You know, back when Ronda Rousey was at the top of the UFC and Wesley Snipes was making a comeback.
While I personally dig the first two Expendables movies a lot, the third one fell quite short with the majority of audiences. That PG-13 rating certainly didn’t help, but as I mentioned once before, I do believe the franchise has more to offer. I mean, if Sylvester Stallone can still flex those ridiculously bulging biceps the way he does at his age, I see no reason for him to stop. The man is like a machine.
And when one Expendables movie ended, you just couldn’t help but wonder which popular action star would be flexing alongside Stallone in the next one. There were always plenty of names being thrown around and everyone knows there are many to choose from. And who is Stallone picking for the fourth Expendables movie? Is it Pierce Bronson? How about Steven Seagal? Or perhaps he would opt for an actor who is more in the younger generation of action stars like the last one? Well, Stallone has confirmed that he has chosen some new cast members for the next Expendables and it’s not who you would expect.
First of all, he chose Tony Jaa. That is an unexpected choice, considering how Tony Jaa doesn’t often appear in theatrically released movies, let alone American movies. Fun fact, he was actually one of the minor villains in Furious 7. He’s the one who kicked the daylights out of Brian and did some seriously sick parkour. That’s probably the biggest American movie he has been in and it’s kind of a shame his role was so small. But hey, at least he made a hard impact in it.
If Tony Jaa is in The Expendables 4, then I’m already interested. Additional member to the team or rival mercenary, he’s sure to make an epic appearance. Oh, and for the extra actors who are joining the movie, there’s Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson and the one and only Megan Fox. First of all, 50 Cent is no action star, but he can probably pass as a secondary villain. The man is big and has appeared in action movies before, but come on, he’s not Dwayne Johnson or Michael Jai White. I have a feeling he won’t have too big of a role in The Expendables 4, but I’m willing to wait and see.
Oh, and we have to mention Megan Fox. My first thought was, “Why?” and I have a feeling everyone else asked the same question. What exactly has Megan Fox done that qualifies her as an action star worthy of joining the Expendables? In fact, where has she been the last few years? A direct-to-video action movie where she kills lions in Africa? I can’t even remember the name. Before that, there was the Michael Bay-produced Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle movies, which weren’t that good, and she wasn’t exactly fighting like the turtles.
Oh, and who can forget her appearance as Shia LaBeouf’s love interest in the first two Transformers movies? She had her cool moments in them, but for the most part, she was hired to look sexy. Can we expect that from The Expendables 4? Most probably, but hopefully Stallone can give her more to work with. Keep in mind, this is still the beginning of the casting announcements.
Now back to Tony Jaa, he’s the one who really sparked my interest. As a martial arts nut, I’m super stoked that a Muay Thai practitioner is joining the cast. Make no mistake, Tony Jaa is the real deal. If his presence in the movie doesn’t get you hyped, you need to check out more of his movies. Just watch the first Ong-Bak as your official introduction to the Tony Jaa filmography.
What else does he have to offer? I’ll do you guys one better in his Hong Kong cinema debut, SLP 2: A Time for Consequence. Now that is some over-the-top Kung Fu-style action right there. He even takes on a dramatic role as the desperate father on top of it. He’s capable of being a serious actor and a very cool action star. That’s a rare package. In fact, Sylvester Stallone himself has that same talent. Maybe these two were meant to work together? Mr. Stallone, please give Tony Jaa some action roles that will knock our socks off.Jackie Chan
