YMMV / Ong Bak 3

• Ass Pull:
  • Bhuti's intrusion in Ong Bak 2 can be pardoned because back then he was just another Mook Lieutenant like the samurai with the wicker basket. However, even when he unveils a Story-Breaker Power Hindu magic and becomes the new Big Bad, it seems that the creators were either unable or unwilling to give him any more background. If the assumption that he must be some kind of mystic martial artist for hire is not enough for you, bad luck.
  • In general, the supernatural elements in the film. Up to that point, the franchise had featured no magic or divine stuff aside from your typical Asian spirituality, and his victory over Tien had not been framed on any preternatural advantage; Bhuti seemed to be mysterious enforcer with a lot of skill, who also had the chance to catch a worn-down Tien, and just that. Then, out of a sudden, it turns out Rajasena had a literal Kung-Fu Wizard in his payroll, who turns to be The Starscream and takes over the entire duology's plot, becoming the Big Bad despite not having any personal connection to Tien other than having defeated him in a scuffle (and ravaged his village).
• Base-Breaking Character: Mhen, the village madman, causes a lot of division between reviewers. While some see him as a much needed, scene-stealing comic relief in midst of the gravitas, others find him massively unfunny and complain that he receives so much screentime that he ends up overshadowing more important characters like Pim or Master Bua. It is frustrating also because he has a role in a couple scenes that are actually good (such as when he and Tien almost jump off the cliff), but it ends all buried by the rest of his gags.
• Critical Backlash: While not necessarily fans of the product as it is, a lot of people believe the film's bad reviews didn't make it justice, purporting that much the hate came straight from just not living up to the hype caused by Ong Bak 2's cliffhanger ending, as well as from being a spiritually ambitious film, slower and and less action-filled than the previous, that might not appeal to those uninterested in Buddhist philosophy.
• Narm:
  • Admit it, you laughed when Rajasena's severed head began to talk.
  • Pim's insistent and silly song, in the scene where she helps up unsuccessfully a crippled Tien, can make the whole scene a really failed attempt at drama. More than a review called the scene Pim doing police siren noises.
• Never Live It Down: The lenght of the scenes of Tien's crippling, coma and recovery were criticized, to the point that there are still people that think most of the film has Jaa out of commission.
• Older Than They Think: The whole duology takes an awful lot from, improbably enough, Stephen Chow's Kung Fu Hustle, only without most of the comedy. It goes down to the whole premise of a protagonist joining a bandit gang, getting physically wrecked as a result, having to be healed in a claw coccoon, unlocking powers with Buddist revelations and a white attire included, and going to defeat non-violenty a superhuman mercenary that has meanwhile taken over the bad guys who hired him, after which he re-connects with a girl from his childhood by finding his own softer side.
• Padding: Possibly because the film was an extension of a third act in the first place, a lot of fights not related to Tien feel like a way to fill up footage while he wakes up from his coma - which they most likely are. Some of them don't even feel in line with the plot itself, such as the assault to the village by the masked assassins, after which apparently Rajasena's inner circle completely forgets about Tien and the village (it's Bhuti who later orders the next attack) and don't even wonder why the assassins didn't return from killing the cripple.
• Sequelitis: The film received uniform criticism, especially against the unexpected inclusion of supernatural elements and the overtly mystic and sometimes bizarre plot developments. Bhuti himself falls on it, as his appearance at the end of the second film was considered a mysterious highlight that forewarned some great action in the next, only for him to turn out to be a boring, Inexplicably Awesome wizard who hijacked the whole film's plot.