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Bangkok Dangerous (2008) More at IMDbPro »

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80 comments in total

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68 out of 121 people found the following comment useful :-
Lame, boring and obvious, 9 September 2008

Author: azgalarneau from United States

I don't care how interesting the scenery is if you know the entire story arc in the first 45 seconds - and you haven't even watched the trailer. Nic Cage looks like a corpse and his acting isn't much better. The relationship that the film puts forward is as believable as a love affair between a squirrel and a stuffed alligator. Plus of course the story has Cage break every rule he says is important - but never offer a plausible motivation. Maybe the original was really something, but this version is dead on arrival and should be saved for the second DVD in a video night, when you want everyone to leave your house and let you get some sleep.

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85 out of 167 people found the following comment useful :-
Sub-zero, 16 September 2008

Author: Mihnea the Pitbull from Romania

Let's take it in order:

THE SCRIPT: - Illogical, incoherent, confusing and confused. - Unprofessionally conceived and constructed. - Apocalypically retarded

THE DIRECTION: - Slow, messy, chaotic, disordered. - Amateurish, didactic, explicit. - Doomsdayishly moronic.

THE ACTING: - There was none. The performers were simply reciting their lines.

THE WHOLE: - Permanently oscillating between lethally boring and killingly grotesque. - When Nick Cage comes for that tragic good-bye to his deaf-and-dumb Asian ad-hoc sweetheart, literally all the theater was guffawing in laughter.

THE SOLUTION: - Bring together all your noisiest and rudest buddies, buy many six-packs of beer, fill up the last row in the cinema, and make it rock!

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8 out of 14 people found the following comment useful :-
Frustrating and disappointing., 21 December 2008

Author: SusurrusKarma from United Kingdom

Bangkok Dangerous is an oft frustrating and disappointing experience, not because it is inherently bad per se, but rather because it shows promise yet consistently squanders it. At its core, the movie exists as a compelling and –at times- engaging feature that caters to high octane thrills and adequate drama. Yet burdened with an overwhelming sense of kitschy design put in place to satisfy those looking for no-fuss action, the feature inevitably comes to a close in a manner that reflects the experience as a whole. This unconvincing back-and-forth structure inevitably hinders the movie's ability to fully envelop in the manner that it hopes to; the action can be potent, but all too contrived; characterisation welcome but treated as plot devices; drama which is emotive and interesting but underplayed all the same. A jarring, neurotic affair with underdeveloped promise and too many flaws to capitalise on such greater features, Bangkok Dangerous is a two headed monster, one of which is far easier on the eyes than the other.

Following impeccable and high-end contract hit-man Joe (Nicolas Cage), the focus of Bangkok Dangerous is simple; a man who lives by 4 rules which dictate how to do his job with precision and success, Joe is also one ridden with loneliness, unable to create relationships with anyone for fear of breaching his security. At its heart, this is the story that Jason Richman wants to bring out, and for the most part, it's what gives the feature its most engaging form of narrative. Going from here it's only natural that Joe should find a woman within his new location of Bangkok, who comes in the form of a deaf pharmaceutist. This subplot plays out well in the context of Joe's story; through her we see his softer, more human side, and Cage does well in getting across such sides of his character naturally. The romance isn't as potent as one might hope, but given that Bangkok Dangerous isn't exactly a movie likely to pander to the whims of romantics, such casual development is forgivable.

What isn't quite as forgivable however lies in two other subplots which too often distract and take up too much time from the two characters in the story that we care for. The first of these unwanted aspects comes in the form of Kong (Shahkrit Yamnarm) who essentially plays the part of Joe's apprentice of sorts, because, well, Joe sees a little of himself in Kong. Granted there are some strong moments that play out in this dynamic, but again hindered by a sense of trying too much in too little time, such moments are lost within a cloud of underdeveloped ideas. Branching off of this subplot is another which goes even further and tries to develop some sort of romance between Kong and a distant associate that supplies Joe with his contracts. Not only is it a superfluous and unnecessary inclusion, but it doesn't even provide any substance when it does show up. Every time I had to sit through such moments I couldn't help but think of what could have be shown on screen between Joe and his love interest, instead of the perplexing and inane "romance" that was in front of me.

Reinforcing the central motif of the film's sporadic and mixed bag nature though is its aesthetic design which often complements the movie's biggest and most poignant moments- action and character orientated. Perhaps the most significant and consistent of these elements is the enveloping score penned by Brain Tyler who has made a habit out of writing for creatively jarring movies such as this. Remaining as the only real constant of the film outside of Cage's natural performance, Tyler reinforces the moods of the film throughout, echoing themes of loneliness, confliction and unbendable duty through his similarly structured compositions. Although not quite as complementary or remarkable as the score, the photography by Decha Srimantra has some interesting moments in itself which help to draw the attention past the numerous instances of dry, uninspired action.

In the end however, Bangkok Dangerous essentially comes down to a battle between opposite forces, literally speaking. Like their central character, directors Oxide Pang Chun and Danny Pang are too often found conflicted by a willingness to stick to the genre's action-orientated blueprints and a more natural but fleeting sense of romantic characterisation. It's a statement in itself that Bangkok Dangerous, a film that will most likely attract those looking for explosions and gun fights, will no doubt leave such audiences underwhelmed by the mediocre action, and unfulfilled by a distinct lack of focus on such. Indeed, it's an interesting and ironic twist that the real substance and entertainment value to be had here lies in the character of Joe himself, and his conflicting state of mind rather than his weapons. That's not to say that Bangkok Dangerous is neutered, because it certainly has its thrilling moments, but such instances are best when left to pander to character rather than run off on their own. So while the movie certainly doesn't ever take off, it at least stays close to the ground with a fine and fitting performance from Cage, and tells a decent character story all the same; a throwaway action movie for those only interested in seeing action as consequence of drama and character.

- A review by Jamie Robert Ward (http://www.invocus.net)

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9 out of 16 people found the following comment useful :-
Is it predictable ? - YES. But it is also very entertaining., 27 October 2008

Author: fczenit from UK

So what if I can predict what is going to happens, I can do it with most films nowadays - its not about that. Its about making a movie that entertains, and IMHO they have achieved that.

OK, some of the shooting sequences were a bit dodgy and the narration descended into the cliché on occasions but overall I rate this film better then most action films I have seen in recent months.

Cage is solid in his role and so is his side kick. The elephant did a good job too but his role was only in 2 scenes :) So all in all 7 is my vote and it could have been better if not for a few lines of monologue and a couple of silly shootouts across water canisters.

Watch it and make your own mind.

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41 out of 80 people found the following comment useful :-
Predictable, 7 September 2008

Author: mattwaterhouse from United Kingdom

This is about an assassin called Joe who decides to end his career after his next trip abroad. The next trip is to (you'll never guess) Bangkok, where he has 4 people to kill, and he hires a young crook to work for him. However, Joe begins to break his own rules as he begins to see something of himself in the crook and falls in love with a deaf chemist.

I feel sorry for Nicolas Cage. He is possibly the biggest victim of typecasting in Hollywood, and he does his best with the roles he is given but the odd film slips through the net, and sadly Bangkok Dangerous is one of them. Nic is distinctly average in this and the performances of the supporting cast aren't much better with the notable exception of Charlie Yeung, who delivers a fine performance as the love interest.

This film isn't awful, it just suffers from an average and completely unoriginal script. This is Action Movie 101, and unlike some movies it doesn't get away with it by glossing over the cracks with special effects, like Wanted. Like Wanted, I successfully predicted the entire plot straight after Nic's opening monologue. Some scenes were very good, some very bad, the scale is balanced. The movie is like Marmite, you'll either love it or hate it.

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2 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
Under-rated!, 4 January 2009

Author: Abhilash Sabat from India

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

A professional hit man (Nicolas Cage), who picks someone of the street to do his errands, and after he is finished kills that person. His next assignment takes him to Bangkok, and as usual, he finds a street kid named Kong (Shahkrit Yamnarm) to help him. After Kong has a close call and learns who he is, asks him to train him and he does. He also meets a local girl (Panward Hemmanee) who is deaf and spends time with her. However, has a hard keeping his other life from her, and it also appears, the person who hired him, breaks his rule of complete anonymity and tries to find him. We did see Nicolas Cage's much anticipated yet low ratings after released, Ghost Rider. But it did not had anything bad as the movie was rated everywhere. Bangkok Dangerous follows the same trend & suffers with low ratings everywhere. But actually, it does not deserves such low ratings. It's been heavily under-rated. Nicolas Cage does a fine job, the usual way he does. And as usual, in every Nicolas Cage movie, there's a blend of everything, BD also does has it all. There's action, there's romance, there are thrilling moments & all the entertaining stuffs. The Pang brothers did a remake of their own directorial movie, with the same name. Their direction is fine & they do take you to the ride of the dark side of Bangkok. The action scenes are okay. The one in the middle of the movie, the chasing sequence in boat, is quite exciting & the only sequence which keeps you on the edge. The rest are ordinary. It should have been better. The background music is good & does makes the movie exciting. The rest of the performances are fine in the movie. Worth watching once.

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73 out of 145 people found the following comment useful :-
Shockingly bad stuff!, 8 September 2008

Author: peter_okelly from United Kingdom

i went to watch this movie last night because I had a bad hangover and just needed to sit in front of stupidity on a screen. Usually, Nic Cage action flicks are cheesy but have some sort of entertainment value as he can act it up when he chooses to. I couldn't believe my eyes and ears in almost every scene. Even some local chavs behind me were laughing in disbelief. The montage scenes where he is taking the deaf and dumb girl out to dinner and stroking elephants were among the worst I've ever seen. Also, his smile is disturbing. Nic, what the hell's going on brother? Also, the Pang brothers were an edgy asset to film-making. I'm surprised that between them and Cage, they did not sit forward in the editing suite and say 'we can't release this crap!'

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the 1999 version by same directors & writer was far better., 8 January 2009

Author: Jay Harris (sirbossman6969@yahoo.com) from United States

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Oxide Pang Chun & his brother Danny Pang wrote & directed this tale in 1999,Now they & the powers that be decided to remake it.

The brothers & Jason Richman revised the screenplay (see next paragraphs) and the 2 brothers directed it.

The 1999 screenplay was about a deaf-mute assassin (name is KONG)_ who falls in love with a lady pharmacist.

Nicolas Cage is the assassin in this film, He is is not a deaf-mute, He does however fall in love with a deaf-mute lady pharmacist.

In all American action films it is required that our hero have a side-kick. In this revised mess, said side-kick is still named Kong, but as all true side-kicks is far from deaf or mute & he becomes the apprentice to our hero.

This is where the film fails. Nicolas cage who is usually a very accomplished actor walks through the role in a glaze,He forget to build a character & just reads his lines.

The actor who plays Kong; Shahrit Yamnarm is excellent,his role is the best in the entire movie. He like most Thai's speak Englis quite well. If they made him the Assassin,as the role was in the original,but let him speak, I feel this could have been a much better movie.

The entire cast besides Cage is all Thai. The film was made (except for the first scenes) in Bangkok. We do see the crowded streets & clubs & can feel the excitement of this beautiful city. The opening scenes were made in Prague, also very well done.

There is a good music score with some numbers done as background in a nightclub, one of the dancers is pertinent to the story.

The movie is violent but not overly so, there is little foul language

If it were not for Nicolas Cage poorly done role, this film could have been a first rate action movie. Sorry to say it is not.

Ratings: **1/2 (out of 4) 72 points (out of 100) IMDb 6 (out of 10)

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I hope that will not be repeated, 8 January 2009

Author: vxxv from Saudi Arabia

I'm a Nick Cage fan. I'm A fan of the Pang Brothers. I fell asleep on this English remake of their first/second (depends upon which brother) film.

The film has Cage as a hit-man known as Joe go to Bangkok for one last hit, or rather series of hits, there are four targets all in Bangkok which will allow for a large payday for a little movement. He gets hooked up with a street hustler for an aide and guide, whom he intends to kill when the job is done. He also meets a deaf mute pharmacist....zzzzzzzzzzz.

What sorry was I sleeping? Slow brooding film is too slow and brooding. It put me right out. Which isn't normal for the Pangs who create films that make you want to watch to the end even if the material isn't very good. Despite not really caring what happened, I'll try it again when it hits home video.

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Disappointing, 8 January 2009

Author: livefreeordie55 from United States

I expected better from a seasoned veteran of film like Nicholas Cage. The first 10 minutes tricked me into believing that this movie was going to be great. For me there is nothing better than a Hit-man movie, unfortunately I was greatly let down. Instead of making the profession look cool and fun this movie tried to turn it all upside down. It was like some independent film maker on his own mission to taboo being a Hit-man. Using a love interest as well as a sudden and completely unexplained newfound conscience which consisted of the usual garbage of over-dramatization. For me the only good Hit-man movie is one that glamorizes the profession, such as..Hit-man. That was a great movie and video game. All in all this movie had a lot of potential that it wasted on trying to show how a Hit-man can turn into a caring, sharing LOSER. By the way in real life this would not happen, so it's pointless to have Hollywood always over-dramatize everything, like they did endlessly in American History X. Leaving you with no understanding of people's true intentions or what was fact and fiction. Makes it very one sided. I will never watch this again, hopefully YOU won't watch it at all.

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