Bangkok Dangerous

From the beginning we have the mysterious assassin who creates a certain set of rules. He then goes on to deliberately break all the rules that he sets for himself without a proper explanation. This domestic remake of the Pang brothers’ first hit movie in Thailand is the diary of a lonely mechanic on his last job. All he as to do is put one final bullet to bury a politician in Bangkok before he vanishes. The story, narrated in quick snippets by Cage, and illustrated by Asian extras who get their heads blown off, bears a slight resemblance to the cheap and grimy 1999 original in which the hero was a deaf mute. Hiring local henchman Kong to serve as a middleman, he successfully knocks off the first three targets in more or less professional fashion.

The movie’s slow pace had me yawning throughout the film. Action scenes were wrapped up pretty quickly and I can really only think of two main action scenes. There’s simply nothing new or fresh in this story. He rocks a Tom Hanks Da Vinci Code hairstyle and showcases his preferred acting style of “drowsy.” With these characteristics, Nicolas Cage doesn’t seem tough nor cool enough to be a shoe salesman much less a hitman. This American version of Bangkok Dangerous may feature the same characters as the original film, but their roles have been drastically changed. Generic story aside, it would have been all too easy to forget about the film’s shortcomings had the Pang Brothers injected a little life into the proceedings. Ultimately what the Pang Brothers give to us is a stone-cold killer who, for various reasons, begins to question the path he’s chosen for himself.

The surprise is that it’s really not that bad: it’s punchy and efficiently directed, and in those brief moments where Cage drops the grimace and stops shooting people he reminds us what a likeable actor he was before action heroism beckoned. Don’t get me wrong, this doesn’t compensate for what I’ve already said, but this movie wouldn’t have been reviewed if there wasn’t something from the film I didn’t like walking away from it. However, the danger advertised in the title, due to some structural problems and underwritten antagonists, doesn’t even really come into play until a good thirty or forty minutes into the movie. Because think about it: if your job was murder and you needed anonymity you wouldn’t be running around being chased on boats or having stuff explode around you constantly, correct?

In the end, Cage just doesn’t do it for us. He can’t carry a movie anymore. Put him on Alcatraz and give him Sean Connery as a foil and we’re totally there. But, Cage can still make entertaining movies, and Bangkok Dangerous was like visiting Bangkok’s infamous red light district. They paint an explosive picture of the Bangkok underworld, illuminated with neon and saturated in violence. There is a lot of violence in the movie, and blood, as well as some nudity, so I can’t endorse it as a family-friendly film. Human life is treated rather cheaply in this film; a suicide is in the film and the character takes another person’s life as he dies. So, my advice is to show up for the violence, but check yoru brain at the door.

Final Score: C-

For reviews like this and others:
http://japancinema.net

Judging from the trailers about this film, I was expecting a non stop action flick, similar to Shoot ‘Em Up. I was heavily disappointed to watch this and see that it was just short of being a drama with a few guns here and there.
Nicolas Cage’s portrayal of Joe the assassin, is cold and unfeeling. Fact of the matter is, I’m not sure if this was done on purpose. His character is not well developed in any way. The air of mystery that is about him, isn’t there on purpose, bu rather because nothing is really said about him, except for the few facts we get in the narration and what he tells his student, Kong. Cage is too talented an actor to have let this fly. I;m highly disappointed.
There was an interesting exchange in the film, though. Being set in Bangkok, of course there are going to be some language issues, but can you imagine having to deal with those language issues as well as sign language issues. That’s what Joe had to endure as he was dating the beautiful deaf pharmacist, played by Charlie Yeung. The scenes between the two bring some warmth and life to the film.
As with most action films, the final scenes are of a big gunfight with the hero all sweaty and jumping around all over the place. No surpirse there, althohough I wish there was.
This film was really a disappointment for me. Part of this was due to my expectations, the other was due to it not being that good of a picture. On top of this, I just fund out this is a remake. It’s no secret that I have a strong distaste for remakes, so that’s another knock against it. I really don’t know why this was even made, but as bad as it is, there are a billion films out there that are way worse.

http://thankyounetflix.wordpress.com