Bangkok Dangerous

"Bangkok Dangerous" reworks many familiar themes - doublecrossed hit-man in love - in a mishmash of imitation John Woo and Takashi Miike, this time in Thailand. All that's missing are the white birds flapping around. Woo and Miike need not worry. The film school cinematography is highly irritating and the first half is slow and filled with labored flashbacks. The second half, however, succeeds in building suspense and interest, thanks to the affecting performance of the guy who plays the deaf and dumb hit-man. There is a scene towards the end that is remarkably original and powerful - you'll know it when you see it. Uneven but worth seeing, if only for the novelty factor - how many Thai films have you seen?

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.

Here we go again. make a good Asian film and soon Hollywood will come around and ruin it for you. Those who have followed my criticisms of remakes know how I feel. For others, The Departed was a shallow remake of Infernal Affairs.

Now, I see that Nickolas Cage is in a remake of this film. Despite the fact that the Pang brothers are directing and writing, it cannot hope to capture what was here.

This is not just an action flick. It is so much more. It is the story of a child with hearing and speech impairment that was cruelly taunted by other children. He grew up into a meaningless life and meaningless jobs until someone noticed he has an ability that could be honed to perfection. Sure, he became a hit-man, but someone cared enough to teach and guide him to his potential.

Now, with just two friends, Kong (Pawalit Mongkolpisit) was happy. He lived with his teacher (Pisek Intrakanchit), and got assignments from Aom (Patharawarin Timkul). Life was good, but about to get better.

He meets Fon (Premsinee Ratanasopha) and love enters his life. He is supremely happy. Unfortunately, she learns the truth about his occupation, and he has to do some real soul searching.

The streets of Bangkok are a perfect backdrop used to maximum effect by the Pang brothers, and the cast is a group that you can really get close to. This is a story that can never be duplicated by someone from Hollywood, and I am disappointed that they would even try.

A good film with a great visual style. Although I kept finding it hard to overcome the problems a deaf\mute assassin would encounter, it was something that was easily overlooked. Revenge, death and love, what more could a story ask for, and this one delivers it well. As with a lot of good Japanese movies, there is a heavy emphasis on visual style to convey a feeling, action or even thoughts of the characters onscreen, and this is done well here. Added to that is the use of audio to either cover the sound in a scene, or totally ignore it, showing the problems of the assassins' deafness, and yet at no point is this made obvious to the viewer, it's something you just notice. There's no Hollywood here either, and it's well appreciated. Watch this film, it's a good one.

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)