Release Date: 1/6/2009 Original Release: 2008 Format: DVD Length: 100 minutes Rating:R (MPAA) Rating Reason: for violence, language and some sexuality UPC: 031398104469 Studio: Lions Gate Home Entertainment
Action/Adventure, Action, Romance, Thriller, Killer, Murder, Theatrical Release, Remake, Gangsters, Hit Men
Description
The second film from Hong Kong-born twin directors Danny and Oxide Pang to earn a U.S. remake (after 2002's THE EYE), BANGKOK DANGEROUS differs in that, this time around, the brothers are doing the remaking themselves. Swapping Pawalit Mongkolpisit's mute Thai hitman from the original 1999 film for Nicolas Cage's brooding (but talking) American assassin, this version is less moody and stylized. Still, fans of Cage, and action aficionados who favor exotic locales, should find much to chew on in this unique thriller. Following an assignment in Prague, lonely hitman Joe (Cage) arrives in Bangkok under contract to a mobsters who have hired him to kill four people, including a trafficker of young girls and a politician. After seeing young street criminal Kong (Shahkrit Yamnarm) in action, Joe hires him to be his liaison to his employers. During a trip to a pharmacy to get disinfectant for a wound gotten during a motorcycle chase, Joe meets pretty mute pharmacist Fon (Charlie Young). The two begin to date, and though she is oblivious to his profession, she provides some sweetness in his dangerous, lonely life. Joe also becomes a mentor to young Kong, but these meaningful distractions in his life could prove dangerous to his job.
BANGKOK DANGEROUS has an unglamorous slickness that makes it seem as if it could've been made in the late 1980s or early '90s. Cage is appropriately stoic as Joe, and sports a bizarre mane of jet-black hair. The Bangkok locations are effective and the crowded nighttime streets make for exciting chase sequences. The onscreen violence is not exceptionally graphic with the exception of a realistic arm severing, and one sequence of bullets puncturing a boat as seen from underwater is beautifully shot. Most surprising, though, is the film's final sequence, which is uncharacteristic of most American-made action yarns.
DVD Features
Keep Case Full Frame - 1.33 Widescreen - 1.85 Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1 - English Subtitles - Spanish Additional Release Material: Trailers: Original Theatrical Trailer
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I could some this film up in a few words.... "Why was this film made?" How many times will we see this familiar plot surface? The loner assassin who takes someone under their wing. The Professional... Read the whole review at MatchFlick
Posted on September 9, 2008
Reviewed by: Jarrod
'Bangkok Dangerous' is an American remake by the Pang brothers of a film they made back in 1999. To call this a lackluster action thriller is a severe understatement. It is laughably absurd, could... Read the whole review at MatchFlick
Posted on March 19, 2009
