Bangkok Dangerous

I thought it was actually a pretty superior 'hitman' film.

If you want full-on action in a style of early John Woo, then no, it is probably not perfect for you, but the directing is excellent, the character development is good, and the idea as original as any other.

I liked it, and liked the style particularly. It does borrow a lot from early Woo i guess, but it is borrowing and not stealing. There is enough originality of idea and of direction. The acting is pretty uniformly good as well. The critics in Toronto liked it too. (see awards and nominations)

Bangkok Dangerous I felt was a very stylish, well acted film with themes and, to an extent, a plot that ran along the same lines as alternative assassin flick Leon. Bangkok dangerous forms its protagionist with character interactions but mostly by delving into how he became the cold killer he is through a series of flashbacks which are not integral to the plot or even shown fluently but integral to our understanding of this troubled soul. The camera work in this film is its pro and con, at certain points style, fluidity and technique are all concentrated together to make some memorable scenes whereas occasionally certain shots has failed to impress and look slightly amateurish. The relationships in this film could also have had more focus on them because instead what we have is a series of different characters stories when we should have one large companionship struck by fate, betrayal and love. Warning for anybody watching this soon, the music ranges from OK to terrible and frequently fails to match the action.

In conclusion: Pretty good, if actions you're thing then this is you're thing but you'll probably cry you're guts out anyway. Its still quite moving. Plot - 5 Plot Development - 7 Acting - 8 Style - 7 Music - 3 Action - 10 Average - 6.66 Stars

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...

From the first shot, I could tell that I have something in common with the directors. We're all very big Wong Kar Wai fans. Don't get me wrong, it's not just a big Wong Kar Wai imitation. There's some John Woo and Ringo Lam mixed in there too. The main problem is that the story and the characters aren't strong enough to carry the slow-moving method that they borrowed from Wong Kar Wai. Still, the intense violence works surprisingly well with that familiar quirky visual style, and some moments are really quite impressive. The Pangs should try this combination on a more fast-paced script, it might amount to a decent action movie.

Bangkok Dangerous is the story of a lonely mute who becomes a hit-man, partly to avenge himself upon the world that has alienated him. Only when he finds happiness does he realize the full horror of his life.

The film boasts some great performances, particularly by Pawalit Mongkolpisit as Kong, the main protagonist. His face is beautiful yet impassive, and his large eyes convey all the strangled emotions of a person unable to communicate with those around him.

There are many excellent moments to savour in this film, but the contrived way in which Kong's partner is forced out of retirement is ridiculous. However, despite the generic plot - which at times has a square-peg-round-hole forced feel to it - and the thoroughly predictable narrative progression, the film is actually pretty rewarding. It has a tender humanism at the centre, which gives the film real depth, and there are many moments worth savouring.

Score 7/10 (6 is too low, but 7's maybe a little too high)