Bangkok Dangerous

Bangkok Dangerous, a remake with alterations of the first Pang Bros' flick, makes adequate use of the exoticism of the city, while the line of action is not in disagreement with the mainstream tendency characteristic of this kind of action film. I must concede that Nicholas Cage' performance cannot measure up to the caliber of the hard-boiled, stone-faced, cold-blooded assassin he desperately tries to depict. It was reminiscent of two extraordinary characterizations of the type, one by Alain Delon in Melville's masterpiece Le samourai (1967, and Edward Fox in the original version of The Day of the Jackal (1973). Nevertheless, to dismiss the movie as poor entertaining or highly confusing is more a matter of expectations than of analysis.

It wasn't bad. Nicholas Cage looked really fat and tired, not his usually fit and tired self, and he played the cold assassin part with ease. But when it went into the 'shy in love assassination teacher that cares about his student and doesn't kill the good guys' part, it kind of felt rushed. I am sure you can see the problem here.

Basically it is a film about a man that rediscovers his soul... then dies from it. Not a fresh thing in Asian movies, but something that the (re)makers of this film bet the Americans will find cool. I, myself, understood the idea, but saw no reason in remaking the Thai movie that had the same idea and add almost nothing to it other than production costs.

Bottom line: sad-good-assassin story, with no twist. If you like stuff like that, watch it. Better than Hell Rider, anyway.

Bangkok Dangerous comes to viewers who approach it on DVD with a stigma. Matter of fact, it just kind of came and went when it played in theaters for a few weeks in September of 2008, around that time (i.e. Labor Day weekend) when few movies really do well with audiences or critics. It looks like it will be garbage just from the video cover: a half interested Nicolas Cage in damn-ridiculous hair (basically a Muppet called and wants its body back), and with a premise that sounds just like it is, a remake of an action movie from years back. But going into the movie my expectations were altered within some minutes. The initial thought was 'well, this will just be another hackneyed, predictable action movie in the Asian setting of Bangkok and stuck with what I call 'genericitis, which means a movie suffers from its perpetual sense of the usual... and in ways the movie is that.

It also surprised me with a few things, and it actually made me take the movie seriously as an actual piece of work as opposed to something to deride with teeth gnashed like Ghost Rider. Nicolas Cage is trying for something a little different here. At first, yes, it may look like he's bored, or wooden, or both in the character of "Joe" the hit-man who has his four rules and, naturally, breaks at least a few of them during the run time of the movie in Bangkok (i.e. be anonymous, don't make connections with people you don't know, and know when to quit), but this gives way to something else. He's trying for nuance and observation, of being subtle in a role that should call for it (albeit Joe isn't a terribly interesting person save for his detachment). While he's definitely no Alain Delon when it comes to playing cold killer who may have a couple of portions of humanity in him, I actually did find myself being drawn into the character just based on Cage's projection of this detachment as a means to hide himself away from people. And for good reason, since he's not a "people person" really.

That is until Joe meets 'Kong', who is a guy he hires for work but then takes on as his pupil (as the narration dutifully and unnecessarily tells us, because he sees something in Kong), and then also a romantic interest in a deaf-mute girl who works at a pharmacy. The latter scenes especially were touching because of it becoming a kind of silent movie, perhaps by default, when the two of them were together, and there's a rather sad, painful scene later on in the film between the two that is shockingly good and believable. I even liked the actors who played Kong and the girl, and how their characters unfolded in the story, limited as they might be... and yet, that old bastard cliché and convention kept coming back, more-so into the action scenes and set-pieces; whenever a chase happens in the film (save for one moment involving an arm dismemberment) you can zone out and not miss much. The editing is that kind of fast- kinetic style where you can barely take in a shot before it goes whizzing by. There's also some scenes that are ludicrous that are taken dead-serious, such as when Cage's Joe practically has gills and drowns a man underwater without any trouble.

It's really a matter of the plot just not giving anything much for the characters or actors to do. And yet there is a misconception that becomes apparent; this is much more about the characters than the plot, at least for a while, and when it sticks to that the Pang brothers sense of cinematic style, of the love of dirty Bangkok and elephants, works and is enjoyable. When the story comes back though, particularly in the last twenty minutes when Joe makes a fatal choice, it turns into something else - something frustratingly forgettable. For a short while there is hope, which is nice, until it reverts to what the expectation foretold. It's truly a mixed-bag, but far from the failure that was projected by the reviews and audience reaction... Oh, and of course, try not to look at Cage's hair. The bad jokes would never end. 5.5/10

The hit man Joe (Nicolas Cage) is a professional killer with a peculiar code of honor and modus-operandi. He travels to Bangkok to kill four persons and he hires the smalltime hoodlum Kong (Shahkrit Yamnarm) to help him in his job.

When he meets the deaf and dumb Fon (Charlie Young) in a pharmacy, he falls in love with her and breaks his code. Further, he teaches Kong how to become a hit man. But when Kong is abducted by Surat (Nirattisai Kaljaruek), who had hired Joe for the assignment in Bangkok, he is forced to betray Joe. But the hit man decides to rescue Kong in his last job.

"Bangkok Dangerous" is an action movie by Oxide Pang Chun and Danny Pang with the nihilist story of a professional killer. I bought this DVD a couple of years ago and only yesterday I decided to watch it.

The cinematography and the camera work in the chaotic and exotic Bangkok is a chance for those like me that have not had the chance to visit Thailand yet to see the beauties of this city. Charlie Young is perfect in the role of a sweet woman capable to bring love to the heart of a cold blood killer. However, the conclusion is disappointing and inconsistent with the behavior of Joe. Nevertheless I recommend this movie to viewers that wish to see an average story in an environment unusual for Westerns. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Perigo em Bangkok" ("Danger in Bangkok")

"Bangkok Dangerous" isn't a bad film – or at least not as bad as most of the reviews around here claim – but it is an astonishingly ordinary film that features literally every cliché of "hired assassin" concept you can possibly think of. There's the lonely and super-skilled hit man who intents to pull of one last job before quitting the business for good, he teaches his errand boy to become his successor, finds love and happiness with a girl for the first time and – last but not least – refuses to make the final hit because his target is a noble individual. We know this is the prototypic pitch of every thriller in its type, yet we still pay the full price of a cinema ticket because the film stars Nicolas Cage and we'll probably see a lot of spectacular action and virulent gunfire. "Bangkok Dangerous" is a big-budgeted remake of a Thai thriller released in 1999, which was also directed by the Pang brothers. In the original, the hit man was a deaf-mute but since Nicolas Cage is far too expensive to have him shut up the whole time, they made his love interest a deaf-mute instead. Unfortunately, this takes away the one truly ingenious aspect about the original. What remains is a painfully predictable and bland thriller that can't even be saved by the handful of impressively staged action sequences. Still I wouldn't call "Bangkok Dangerous" a complete waste of time, though, as there are a couple of stylish and worthwhile – albeit less obvious – elements working in its favor. Nic Cage gives a good performance as the unworldly killer and particularly the Pang Bros' depiction of the city of Bangkok is deeply enchanting. Especially at night it looks like a melancholic and depressing place infested with prostitution, petty crimes and perverted tourists. The moody soundtrack emphasizes the atmosphere of melancholy even more. This is definitely not a film that'll increase the tourist business there. Otherwise there's very little to say about "Bangkok Dangerous". If you're a fan of Nicolas Cage and rough action, you won't regret giving this one a look. Just realize you'll have completely forgotten about it the next day.