Summary

• Tony Jaa is a skilled martial artist with a filmography that showcases his impressive action scenes and dedication to Muay Thai.
• "Monster Hunter" is a departure from Jaa's usual fare, but still demonstrates his ability to hold his own in fantastical worlds.
• "Ong Bak 2: The Beginning" couldn't quite capture the magic of the original, but still offers breathtaking fight choreography that will dazzle fans.

Tony Jaa has been one of the best martial arts movie stars to emerge from the early 2000s, and his action-packed filmography reflects his dizzying skill as a performer and fighter. A native of Thailand, Tony Jaa, also known by his birthname, Tatchakorn Yeerum, became a capable stunt double and Muay Thai expert at an early age, appearing in the films of his mentor, famed choreographer Panna Rittikrai. Since then, Jaa has become a breakout star, working his way up from Thailand and onto the sets of Hong Kong martial arts movies and Hollywood itself.

As a performer, Tony Jaa's mastery of martial arts is easy to grasp upon seeing his action scenes, demonstrating some clear dedication to Muay Thai and its successor sport, Muay Boran. Jaa even got to emulate his hero, Bruce Lee, inventing an entirely new fighting style with Rittikrai known as Muay Kotchasaan. In the films he leads, Tony Jaa blitzes his opponents with grace, speed, and ferocious power. Even in Hollywood movies that typically underuse martial artists, Tony Jaa manages to stand out as a force to be reckoned with.

10 Monster Hunter

2020

Based on the video game series of the same name, Monster Hunter represented a radical fantasy departure for Tony Jaa's usual fare. Hefting a massive sword, Jaa contended with lovingly-rendered beasts of the Monster Hunter world alongside Meagan Good and Milla Jovovich's time-displaced commandos. While the plot is merely a thin vehicle to further a string of impressive CGI setpieces, the film is a fun enough romp and solid enough showing of Jaa's ability to hold his own in fantastical worlds to lead to Monster Hunter becoming a delayed hit on Netflix.

9 Ong Bak 2: The Beginning

2008

Following up the smash hit that was Ong-Bak: Muay Thai Warrior was a daunting task, and unfortunately, the sequel to Tony Jaa's breakout role couldn't quite recapture the same magic. Tony Jaa and Panna Rittikrai clearly stumbled a bit in taking over the duties of director, wrestling with some ham-fisted drama more emulative of Bruce Lee's best films. A confusing prequel set centuries earlier, yet still quizzically starring Jaa as a different leading role, Ong Bak 2: The Beginning still has enough breathtaking fight choreography to dazzle returning fans.

8 Detective Chinatown 3

2021

The third entry in the Chinese tentpole buddy-action comedy series, Detective Chinatown 3 is a colorful, endlessly entertaining blockbuster that can contend with the previous two installments while providing its own unique value. Setting the sights of the unlikely detective uncle-nephew duo, Tang Ren and Qi Feng, Detective Chinatown 3 moves the action to Japan, introducing Tony Jaa as the hilariously-named Thai detective, Jack Jaa. For being Jaa's first true action comedy, his hilarious performance meshes remarkably well with the absurd world of the franchise. A standout absurd scene in which Jaa steals a young child's bike is particularly hysterical.

7 Ong Bak 3

2010

After taking a bigger role behind the camera for the sequel, Tony Jaa managed to find his directorial footing with Ong Bak 3. A far more thoughtful film than the bone-splitting action the series had gained popularity for would imply, Ong Bak 3 continued the second film's story of Tien, introducing supernatural elements with a renewed focus on Buddhist philosophy and esotericism. A film that reads as being somewhat personal to Jaa, his efforts to inject a grander story into his usual whirlwind of hand-to-hand combat certainly make for a more interesting, if unexpected, narrative.

6 Triple Threat

2019

Essentially a Tony Jaa-led version of the Expendables franchise long before the Thai actor would make his way into its cast, Triple Threat's all-star ensemble boasted big names like Iko Uwais of The Raid fame and long-time martial arts star Michael Jai White. Featuring Jaa as Payu, an ex-special forces operative dragged out of retirement for one last job, the movie presents a spiraling series of missions rife with revenge, shootouts, and blisteringly brutal martial arts battles. While the plot is meandering and could've made better use of its stellar cast, Triple Threat is an endlessly entertaining action thriller.

5 The Protector

2005

One of Jaa's more well-known expeditions as a leading man, The Protector is the American name for the martial arts epic originally called Tom-Yum-Goong. The simple, yet emotionally weighty plot follows Jaa as the eponymous protector of Thailand's royal elephants, on a one-man crusade to rescue the beloved animals from the clutches of a callous Vietnamese gangster. Jaa's clear admiration for the animals is channeled ferociously as he tears through legions of goons, helped by a generous dose of over-the-top foley work with each punch that lands.

4 Master Z: Ip Man Legacy

2018

While Tony Jaa may not have the starring role in the beloved Ip Man series' fourth outing, the quality of the film is impossible to deny amid Jaa's already impressive catalog. Playing a bad guy this time around, Jaa contends with the likes of Max Zhang and Michelle Yeoh as a deadly assassin, even getting the honor of killing Dave Bautista's character in one of the WWE superstar's few on-screen deaths. Even without the power of series staple Donnie Yen, Jaa managed to contribute to one of the IP's better films.

3 Furious 7

2015

Currently the 11th highest-grossing film of all time, Tony Jaa's first true foray into Hollywood had one of the best outcomes any martial arts alum could ask for. Admittedly, Jaa's role as Kiet, one of the Furious crews' martial arts expert, is somewhat lost amid the star-studded lineup of Furious 7. That being said, he holds his own against Paul Walker, coming out on top in one of the franchise's most memorable fight scenes. Jaa's physicality and clear fighting prowess added some much-needed expertise to the film's already bonkers action setpieces.

2 Ong-Bak: Muay Thai Warrior

2003

Ong-Bak: Muay Thai Warrior was the film that put Tony Jaa on the map, and for good reason. Introducing not only Jaa, but Muay Thai as a whole to international audiences, the dense emotional stakes of a simple story of a skilled villager seeking to reclaim his hometown's stolen Buddha statue provides an excellent vehicle for the jaw-dropping martial arts spectacle. With Rittikrai's expertly-choreographed fight scenes, elaborate chase sequences, and lack of obscuring wires or distracting CGI, Ong-Bak: Muay Thai Warrior is an utter martial arts movie masterpiece that commits to both simplicity and raw danger in its stunts and story.

1 Kill Zone 2

2015

Known in China as SPL II: A Time for Consequences, the name only sequel is an original tale of an undercover cop who becomes embroiled in a twisted organ harvesting ring that blew away critics with its dark story, moody atmosphere, and unbelievable fight scenes. Acting as a prison guard who lends his Muay Thai expertise to uncovering the foul plot of the Thai prison hosting the smuggling ring, Jaa enjoys a leading role, getting his hands dirtier than ever before. Kill Zone 2 effortlessly blends drastically different martial arts styles together in cohesive and tense battles.