Bangkok Breaking: Tra inferno e paradiso

Oh where to begin.

The movie in short is the idiotic hero who got fired as a paramedic gets caught up in a kidnapping situation and how he manages to extract himself out.

There are waaay too many sub plots, characters who come and go and the plot loses itself after half hour. Honestly the kidnapper did a good job in acting than the protagonist. I was half hoping a bullet to hero's head would end his and the audience's misery.

The hero literally does not do anything meaningful throughout the movie. Nothing resourceful or smart to show he has brains if not brawn. He basically is a movie set property coming up in 90% of the scenes. In the 2.5 hr runtime I cant think of a single thing he did that stood out.

Oh and dont get me started on the sub plots. There is this kidnapping of a rich guy's daughter which is the main storyline. Mid way we are introduced to drug trafficking, organ trading, guns for hire, rich person plotting land grab, police vs public violence.

All in all I was exhausted by the 2 hr mark and was pleading with the movie to roll credits.

We've got a disgraced paramedic who feels guilty over his friend's life-changing injury during a housing project riot. But that's after he witnesses a murder at the hands of a gang there. Later, he encounters two gangsters (unrelated to the project gang) kidnapping the daughter of a wealthy businessman and accidentally becomes their getaway driver. They end up in the same housing project where the paramedic encountered the gang. Then the mercenaries working for the kidnapped girl's father show up to find the girl and now the paramedic and the kidnappers/gangsters are running from the mercenaries who are now being helped by the head of the gang. By the time that happens we are 1 hour and 40 minutes into this film, and we are STILL being introduced to new characters, albeit minor ones.

This is essentially an intriguing story about a kidnapping taking place within the epic battle between protesters and police with the added layers of drug smuggling, blackmarket organ trading, corporate corruption, police brutality and a pig on fire. Yes, there's a pig on fire. The subjects I mentioned are nothing to scoff at. They deserve to be considered and depicted for the grim realities that they are. But in this movie, they are just distracting us from the heart of the story.

Bangkok Breaking is yet another one in a long line of foreign films I've seen on the platform that are thrilling, even moving and yet pretentiously long and bloated. Others being Hell Dogs (2022) from Japan and Furioza (2021) from Poland. It leaves you wondering if we have Scorsese AND Michael Bay to thank for the directors having ambitions that far exceed those of anything we would expect of them. Scorsese and Bay are stylistically unrelated and never mentioned in the same sentence. Nevertheless, there is possibly a generation of foreign directors who show incredible promise but can't resist including 50+ speaking parts (Scorsese) and snappy editing with slow motion explosions (Bay).

Having said this, they can still be credited with offering a window into uniquely foreign subcultures. Bangkok Breaking offers up thrills, tears, laughs and a pig on fire, but the running time and epic scope are exhausting.

There were too many plots, too many characters arcs and stories without end or focus.

Should have first focused on the film genre; is this a comedy, serious drama, action, crime noir, science fiction, dystopia?

Who is this for... is it a political commentary for the poor, against corruption, in favour of EMT's?

Who are the good guys, who are the bad guys?

...There's double cross, triple cross, back stabbings, front stabbings & a moral moron as the main protagonist.

He is an idiot!

The "Hero" cannot seem to get out of his own way!

He basically has the morality of a child - I cannot lie because lying is bad but seems to lack the understanding that you should not put a little girl in harm's way.

This film is all over the place. Do not recommend.

An excellent film. Reminiscent of late 80's-90's Hong Kong crime cinema, a well written piece that follows rules of logic and consequence, rather than deus ex machina or actions for the sake of the plot. Every character is well-written, although by comparison to the leads some minor characters' acting suffered noticeably. Must watch if you like gripping thrillers in a modern setting with a sort of fever dream bent.

Relentless in its pace. A long movie, but it maintains the development well, keeping us glued to our seats. Possibly influenced by John Woo / Chao Yun Fat as well as "Mad Max", or even Billy Tang, a very Thai take on the one night in Hell crime cinema. Hearts of gold combine with blood-soaked violence to make an enjoyable evening.

Kudos to the film team! All effects were bang on, there was nothing wrong with it.

Bangkok Breaking: Heaven and Hell delivers a relentless thrill ride packed with explosive action, unexpected twists, and a barrage of set pieces. It attempts to cram an overwhelming amount of content into its runtime, resulting in a chaotic blend of influences that ultimately detracts from the experience. The film struggles to find its identity, leading to a convoluted interpretation of a straightforward narrative-a remarkable "achievement" by director Kome Kongkiat Komesiri, if I may say so with a hint of sarcasm.

The plot revolves around Wanchai, a former paramedic burdened by guilt who now works as a courier. After a traumatic incident leaves his colleague Pond severely injured, Wanchai is consumed by remorse and expelled from his team. Despite this, he continues to assist others, only to witness a series of tragic events unfold around him.

While the cinematography is commendable, the film introduces an overwhelming number of characters and subplots, leaving me indifferent to the fates of those involved. Only a handful of storylines receive any resolution, such as Bank finding closure with his father, Sin seeking redemption for his past, and Meiji discovering humility. Ultimately, Wanchai confronts his own history amidst nearly two and a half hours of relentless violence.

Bangkok Breaking: Heaven and Hell, a sequel to the original film, delivers a relentless thrill ride packed with explosive action, unexpected twists, and a barrage of set pieces. It attempts to cram an overwhelming amount of content into its runtime, resulting in a chaotic blend of influences that ultimately detracts from the experience. The film struggles to find its identity, leading to a convoluted interpretation of a straightforward narrative-a remarkable "achievement" by director Kome Kongkiat Komesiri, if I may say so with a hint of sarcasm.

The plot revolves around Wanchai, a former paramedic burdened by guilt who now works as a courier. After a traumatic incident leaves his colleague Pond severely injured, Wanchai is consumed by remorse and expelled from his team. Despite this, he continues to assist others, only to witness a series of tragic events unfold around him.

While the cinematography is commendable, the film introduces an overwhelming number of characters and subplots, leaving me indifferent to the fates of those involved. Only a handful of storylines receive any resolution, such as Bank finding closure with his father, Sin seeking redemption for his past, and Meiji discovering humility. Ultimately, Wanchai confronts his own history amidst nearly two and a half hours of relentless violence.

I was hoping for a deeper narrative, but instead, I found a shallow spectacle filled with action, contrived drama, and simplistic character development., but instead, I found a shallow spectacle filled with action, contrived drama, and simplistic character development.