Thai cinema breaks into the martial-arts market with Jaa's astonishing debut, a near-perfect mix of Jackie Chan (though perhaps not as creatively acrobatic) and Bruce Lee (though maybe not as visually edgy).

The plot is simple enough, a barely-there skeleton upon which to hang the myriad fights and chases. Jaa is Ting, a religiously devout martial-arts expert in a small village. When some Bangkok thugs steal the head of the village's Buddha, Ting travels to the big city to retrieve it from criminal kingpin and artifact smuggler Komtuan (Pongwilai) with the help of Hum Lae, a fellow villager who has been corrupted by the modern world. This means a riveting footrace through Bangkok's alleys, underground to-the-death fighting and tuk-tuk chases—all done without wires or CGI.

The conflict between rural and urban life, and between true faith and blasphemy runs throughout the movie, lifting it from the sea of kung-fuey schlock to a higher plane.