Bangkok Dangerous

Here we go again. make a good Asian film and soon Hollywood will come around and ruin it for you. Those who have followed my criticisms of remakes know how I feel. For others, The Departed was a shallow remake of Infernal Affairs.

Now, I see that Nickolas Cage is in a remake of this film. Despite the fact that the Pang brothers are directing and writing, it cannot hope to capture what was here.

This is not just an action flick. It is so much more. It is the story of a child with hearing and speech impairment that was cruelly taunted by other children. He grew up into a meaningless life and meaningless jobs until someone noticed he has an ability that could be honed to perfection. Sure, he became a hit-man, but someone cared enough to teach and guide him to his potential.

Now, with just two friends, Kong (Pawalit Mongkolpisit) was happy. He lived with his teacher (Pisek Intrakanchit), and got assignments from Aom (Patharawarin Timkul). Life was good, but about to get better.

He meets Fon (Premsinee Ratanasopha) and love enters his life. He is supremely happy. Unfortunately, she learns the truth about his occupation, and he has to do some real soul searching.

The streets of Bangkok are a perfect backdrop used to maximum effect by the Pang brothers, and the cast is a group that you can really get close to. This is a story that can never be duplicated by someone from Hollywood, and I am disappointed that they would even try.

I Really enjoyed this one. The imagery is beautiful and imaginative, excellent editing and vibrant colors.

The cast was good, especially the guy playing Kong, the deaf assassin, he did a fantastic job, showing a full range of emotion without uttering a word. I really felt for the guy. In fact, I completely fail to see how the characters are flat and undeveloped like someone said. True, we don't get their life story, but i found my self really caring for them, they felt sort of real even though you didn't get to know that much about them.

That, and the girl playing Kong's love interest is so cute it'll make your eyes hurt...

About the action. Some people complain about this not being up to par with John Woo's action choreography, but who said an action flick, just because it's from Asia should have to be about making every shoot-out look like the Swan Lake? This is grittier, more unrehearsed, it's not about looking good firing that gun (even though I'm a big fan of that too).I thought that there was some really smart stuff, where brains won over brawn, watch out for the scene with laser sights at the end. I went "ahhh - Clever!"

This is not a perfect movie, it has flaws. I felt the ending to be a bit formulaic, and the whole "violence begets more violence" concept surely is nothing new plotwise, but still, it's not dumb and full of holes like so many other action movies. And it's sooo pretty to watch...

"Bangkok Dangerous" reworks many familiar themes - doublecrossed hit-man in love - in a mishmash of imitation John Woo and Takashi Miike, this time in Thailand. All that's missing are the white birds flapping around. Woo and Miike need not worry. The film school cinematography is highly irritating and the first half is slow and filled with labored flashbacks. The second half, however, succeeds in building suspense and interest, thanks to the affecting performance of the guy who plays the deaf and dumb hit-man. There is a scene towards the end that is remarkably original and powerful - you'll know it when you see it. Uneven but worth seeing, if only for the novelty factor - how many Thai films have you seen?

This movie is like "Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai", in that they are both films where the anti-heroes are vicious professional killers, molded by the circumstances of their youth, both awakened to the possibility of love. But I liked Bangkok Dangerous much more, in that the grit seemed less contrived.

The reference to Charlie Chaplin is significant. In Thailand, Chaplin is revered even more than the French worship Jerry Lewis. To the Thai people, "The Little Tramp's" struggle against the domineering authority figures of his world is something that the average Thai relates to deeply. In Bangkok Dangerous, Kong, the killer, is a little guy buffetted by forces he doesn't fully understand -- but ultimately ones he fights back against.

Don't be too critical when watching this. Just settle back and enjoy it; and you will indeed.

I picked up this DVD because I've been to Bangkok couple of times, and wanted to see how the filmmakers Oxide and Danny Pang manage to capture the more sleazy side of the city, and combine it with gangster noir to come up with Bangkok Dangerous. I've heard about the movie, and was surprised that our National Library actually had this DVD in its collection.

Bangkok Dangerous tells the story of a deaf mute assassin Kong (Pawalit Mongkolpisit). His is a life of mission after mission, a cold and professional, though small time, killer. Growing up being bullied because of his disability, he finds work at a gun range as a cleaner, until he chances upon Joe (Pisek Intrakanchit) and his girlfriend Aom (Patharawarin Timkul). Kong learns his skills from Joe (in an excellent montage), and together, form a tag-team partnership.

During the course of work, Kong chances upon the beautiful Fon (Premsinee Ratanasopha) who works at a drugstore, and in between missions, he romances Fon, who doesn't shun him in spite of being a deaf mute. The killer has finally known what it is to develop feelings and to love.

However, if you live by the gun, chances are there will be those who are after you. Things change for the worse when Aom offends one of the gang's ranked member, and gets raped. Joe goes for revenge, but ultimately gets literally betrayed by the hand that feeds. Kong has to decide - to finish what had started and avenge his friends, or to try and begin life anew with the woman he loves, even after she has started to avoid him, knowing what he does for a living.

In a cosmopolitan city like Bangkok, this film manages to capture a kaleidoscope of colours, mood, and use various camera angles to its advantage. It contrasts the shady underworld and strip bars, and its pulsating music, with the silent, kind world of love that Kong for the first time experiences when he's with Fon.

It's a story of finding one's own morality when living in the midst of violence and sleaze, and the seeking of redemption from a life of sin.

Code 3 DVD extras: Filmography of filmmakers and inspiration for the film.