Bangkok Dangerous

It's been a while since we posted something and I apologize that we've been neglecting y'all. Here's a review that was going to be tentatively posted sometime this summer on the SNMR column over on my regular blog. Perhaps Scribe will add something to this review at some point but we'll see.

GREEN’S "THERE'S BIG MONEY IN MISERY" REVIEW:

There are four rules to being a successful paid assassin:

1) Don’t ask questions. There is no such thing as right and wrong.

2) Don’t take interest in people outside of work. There is no such thing as trust.

3) Erase every trace. Come anonymous and leave nothing behind.

4) Know when to get out. Just thinking about it means it’s time. Before you lose your edge, before you become the target.

Joe (Nicholas Cage) knows Bankgok will be his last. Four more targets and he’s done. To facilitate the jobs, Joe hires a Thai runner named Kong (Shahkrit Yamnarm) to help. Reluctant at first, Joe and Kong form a tentative friendship, with Joe mentoring Kong. After a tough scrape, Joe meets Fon (Charlie Yeung) , a beautiful Thai woman who works at a pharmacy. After a few dates, things seem to be going well until a botched mugging causes the relationship to splatter. When the third job nearly goes bad, and the fourth job really does go bad, Joe becomes the target of his former employers, who have taken hostages…

It seems to me that Nicholas Cage always plays dark, brooding, moody characters who battles with the moral implications of their career choice. Guess what? This film is no exception as Cage plays another dark, brooding, moody character who battles with the moral implications of his career choice. I'm never sure what to make of Cage's work. I think I'd have liked this movie better with another actor in the lead. The rest of the cast is excellent, especially Shahkrit Yamnarm.

The movie was filmed on location in Bangkok and in Prague, according to IMDb and that's a good thing, lending a level of authenticity to the story, since it is supposed to take place in Bangkok.

I like the premise of the story but the screenplay, by Jason Richman, is decent at best and won't wow you. It is adapted from a previous short film by the Pang Brothers, who also direct. The best part of the movie is the last 20 minutes or so, a scene which sort of reminded me of a scene in The Matrix. The whole movie also sort of reminds me of a darker version of Grosse Pointe Blank.

Unfortunately, my library only had the single disc edition. I might have felt better about this movie if I'd had an opportunity to see what the extras were all about in the two-disc version.

I really hate it when studios skimp and print both full and wide screen versions of a film on both sides of the DVD to save money. Sorry, this is a pet peeve of mine that I'm pretty sure I've mentioned before.

**½ out of *****

Bangkok Dangerous (2008, R, 99 minutes), starring Nicholas Cage, Shahkrit Yamnarm, Charlie Yeung, Panward Hemmanee, Nirattisai Kaljaruek, Dom Hetrakul and Tuck Napascorn. Based on the 1999 film by Oxide Pang Chun and Danny Pang. Screenplay by Jason Richman. Directed by The Pang Brothers.