What, the Australian actors didn’t speak English well enough? What’s more, there are Australian characters who spoke English to begin with who were STILL dubbed with new voices. Some of the Thai characters have inexplicably had their dialogue dubbed into English even while other people in the same scene continue to speak in subtitled Thai. There are numerous scenes that end abruptly and others that start with the action already begun. The original Thai version is available on DVD (you can buy it from Amazon here), and I’m curious to watch it and see what was cut out of the American release. Hurray for the Weinsteins and their devotion to world cinema! In fact, the Weinsteins loved “The Protector” so much that they chopped 25 minutes out of it, randomly chose scenes and dialogue to dub with atrocious English, and rendered the whole thing nearly incomprehensible. rights for its follow-up, “The Protector,” again starring Jaa and again directed by Prachya Pinkaew.
On the strength of that film, The Weinstein Company snagged U.S. He also worked without stunt doubles, wires or computer trickery, making his on-screen feats even more extraordinary. “Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior” was hugely popular in certain circles because of star Tony Jaa’s stunning talent for martial arts, gymnastics and acrobatics.
