Bangkok Dangerous

Plot synopsis:
Joe (Cage) is a professional freelance contract killer who works strictly by the rules; never socializing outside his work, staying secluded in quiet spots, never interacting or meeting with his handlers and always leaving on time without a trace. He usually hires young pickpockets or small-time criminals as his local help, whom he usually murders after the end of the job to prevent any identification. He uses multiple aliases and also has middlemen between him and his handlers. He also carries a watch to perform a hit in specific time and correctly visualizes his every target.
After completing a hit in Prague and killing his current help, Joe travels to Bangkok for an assignment to assassinate four people for notorious Bangkok crime boss Surat, whom he never meets. Joe occasionally provides insight via voiceover narration throughout the film. He hires a local Thai pickpocket named Kong, who has simple English knowledge, as his go-between in Bangkok, a condition of the contract being that the gang will never meet Joe. Contracts from the Bangkok gangsters are passed to Kong one by one via a nightclub dancer, Aom. Joe's first execution in Bangkok is done on motorcycle; when the target car stops at a red light, Joe kills all the occupants with a machine pistol.
Kong retrieves information about the second target, again via Aom, and the pair become friendlier with every contact. Before Joe executes his mission, Kong informs him of the target, Pramod Juntasa, another notorious gang lord and Surat's rival crime boss who acts as sex trafficker, buying young girls from impoverished parents and selling them after sex deals. Joe sneaks into the target's penthouse and drowns him in his pool. Unsatisfied with Kong's assistance, Joe contemplates killing him, but after a brief confrontation when Kong is ambushed by local gangsters regarding a briefcase containing information files of Surat's/Joe's targets, he instead decides to act as Kong's mentor and trains him for self-defense.
Midway through the movie, Joe meets Fon, a deaf-mute pharmacist, with whom he becomes intrigued after a brief consultation. Joe later returns to the pharmacy to invite Fon out for dinner. Soon after Joe falls for Fon and meets her mother. The affair is cut short when he shoots and kills two assailants in Fon's presence. Blood splatters on Fon, and she runs off, trembling and traumatized by the violent deaths. Feeling betrayed, Fon cannot forgive Joe and ends their relationship.
Before the third kill, the gang attempts to identify Joe, and he warns them off. For the third execution that takes place at the Damnoen Saduak floating market, Kong assists Joe. The kill does not go as planned, and the target, a playboy and a criminal underworld associate, nearly gets away but Joe manages to catch and assassinate him. Before beginning his last mission Joe visits Fon, presumably to say goodbye. She initially ignores him but as Joe begins to drive away she runs after his car.
His fourth target is the Prime Minister of Thailand, who is revered by many. Joe is about to make the kill when he has second thoughts, is spotted, and escapes through a panicking crowd. Meanwhile, the gang has abducted Aom and Kong with plans to execute them. Joe, now a target, is attacked at his house by four of Surat's henchmen. He uses explosives to take them out and is faced with the choice of rescuing Kong or leaving the country unharmed. Joe decides to rescue Kong, so he sets off to the gang's headquarters with one of the half-alive attackers.
Joe goes to the gang's headquarters, kills most of the gang including Surat's underboss/bodyguard (who is blown into half by explosives), and saves Kong and Aom. The fearful gang leader flees to his car with three other accomplices. Joe spots him and shoots the gang members, then gets into the back seat with Surat. As the police arrive at the location, Joe realizes he has only one bullet. He puts his head adjacent to Surat's, puts the gun up to his temple and pulls the trigger, killing himself and Surat.
=== Alternate ending ===
An alternate ending to the theatrical version shows that before Joe kills himself in the original version, Kong steals a police car and comes to his rescue. He kills Surat and runs to the stolen car (although he is shot once in the arm). After eluding the police officers, they hide in a neighborhood a few meters away from Surat's headquarters. As locals come out to investigate the commotion, Kong reveals that Joe is the man who killed Surat. They help him recuperate while one local remarks that Surat was a very bad man, adding that his death marks an end to his crimes and atrocities in their place (with the words "it's good that he is dead") Kong then takes Joe to a boatman and gives him his passports, so that he may flee the country. Joe thanks Kong for his assistance, and gives him a bank account number with "a bonus", stating that he was a good student. Joe then departs, with the camera focused on Kong (from Joe's perspective, similar to the original ending).

Tags: philosophical, violence, neo noir, murder, flashback

Review:
I, myself, understood the idea, but saw no reason in remaking the Thai movie that had the same idea and add almost nothing to it other than production costs.Bottom line: sad-good-assassin story, with no twist.
We know this is the prototypic pitch of every thriller in its type, yet we still pay the full price of a cinema ticket because the film stars Nicolas Cage and we'll probably see a lot of spectacular action and virulent gunfire.
In the original, the hit man was a deaf-mute but since Nicolas Cage is far too expensive to have him shut up the whole time, they made his love interest a deaf-mute instead.
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.
Joe takes his skills and decide to use it by the people, who hired him for the work.Directed by the Pang Brothers (The Messengers) made an lively action-thriller with some good scenes and excellent locations.
"Bangkok Dangerous" isn't a great flick but it's fairly fast paced with some stylishly photography action sequences and a few good moments.
This is a movie for people who just want to see some good solid action and good entertainment.When i first saw the grade on IMDb i was a bit skeptical, but after seeing the movie i was quite satisfied with it.Sure, it is quite predictable and the acting is not ground breaking.
Meanwhile , the killer falls in love with a deaf-mute (in the first version this handicap is borne by the murderous) pharmacist (enjoyable Charlie Young) and he shares brief moments of happiness .This detailed study about an assassin and a youth he trains is an exciting movie with a great visual style .
It looks like it will be garbage just from the video cover: a half interested Nicolas Cage in damn-ridiculous hair (basically a Muppet called and wants its body back), and with a premise that sounds just like it is, a remake of an action movie from years back.
At first, yes, it may look like he's bored, or wooden, or both in the character of "Joe" the hit-man who has his four rules and, naturally, breaks at least a few of them during the run time of the movie in Bangkok (i.e. be anonymous, don't make connections with people you don't know, and know when to quit), but this gives way to something else.
And for good reason, since he's not a "people person" really.That is until Joe meets 'Kong', who is a guy he hires for work but then takes on as his pupil (as the narration dutifully and unnecessarily tells us, because he sees something in Kong), and then also a romantic interest in a deaf-mute girl who works at a pharmacy.
Cage's acting was exactly what I expected and the location filming lent a very accurate air of realism.There is a story being told here so the movie does move between intense action and quieter moments.If you dislike remakes of films in general then I suppose this may not appeal to you.
But when Kong is abducted by Surat (Nirattisai Kaljaruek), who had hired Joe for the assignment in Bangkok, he is forced to betray Joe. But the hit man decides to rescue Kong in his last job."Bangkok Dangerous" is an action movie by Oxide Pang Chun and Danny Pang with the nihilist story of a professional killer.
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.
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.
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.
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.
It really isn't worth seeing unless you're some hardcore Nicolas Cage fan, and you thought Ghost Rider wasn't a big steamy pile.It only gets away with 2* because there really are a lot of movies out there that are way worse.
I liked the Thai action film Bangkok Dangerous (1999).It was not a great movie,but it was entertaining,it had well done action scenes and it had also had the exotic "taste" the movies from that country usually have.Now,we have the crappy remake of that competent film.Bangkok Dangerous (2008) is a very bad action film which bored me very much.For one sight,the action scenes are badly filmed.They do not produce even the minimum level of excitement or emotion,so I did not care for what happened in them.One of the elements which had worked pretty well in the original film,was to make the main character a mute guy because that had helped to increase the dramatic complexity of the character.I thought it was a mistake to give him voice in this movie because,like that,the character completely lacks of complexity.Plus,I did not like Nicolas Cage's performance.I usually like his work,but on this movie he was unnatural and forced and I could never feel his emotional connexion with his love interest.Besides,the violence in this movie is completely insipid,so it never provoked impact on me.Bangkok Dangerous (2008) is another bad remake which committed the fatal mistake of boring me very much.Instead of watching this crappy remake,I suggest you to see the original film..
Nick Cage has shown to be a flexible actor with a wide range of movies showing his talents to adapt to a character in any given film.
Cage is playing on auto-pilot, not trying anything impressive and the rest of the cast is just running along on the same pace and that doesn't do the trick.This is a remake of a Thai film and although I've not seen that one yet I highly recommend everyone to watch that one instead.
The same thing happens here but it's the girl, Fon (Charlie Yeung) who is mute, not Joe. Since this more expensive film is noisier than the original Bangkok Dangerous, I missed the moments of intense silence it had.
The fact that such laziness is peddled by directors actually from that part of the world only because they want to earn some coin, is pretty mercenary.It feels like the perfect example of how artists can strip their original work of anything that may have made it personal or innovative, stick a big-name star in the middle of the resultant mess and gain some quick and undeserved attention from a wider market.Hit-man Nicolas Cage is slick and dangerous.
But when an American film is guilty of the same practice it really doesn't sit right and spoils the entire picture.Well, that and the fact that someone gave Nic Cage the lead role (Nic Cage, probably, seeing as how he co-produced).Cage is a slightly off-centre, slightly dishevelled hit-man, in Bangkok for an assignment, who forsakes his usual practice of using some street punk to do his running around for him then killing them when the job's done when he realises that young hustler Kong possesses both the speed of mind and body and street-smarts to be a worthy apprentice.
Other than that, it is good with the thrilling music.Overall: It is not bad for a Pang brothers movie as we all know that they did their specific genre, horror, good but if it is directed by some other big-action directors, it will be disappointing.
every one plays well.I agree with this cut comment you know, i've been watching a lot of fresh movies lately, especially action ones because i really love the genre (i just never grow up i guess).
This softening of his rules makes him happy for once, but at the same time the nature of his work means that any looseness is a dangerous thing.Like everyone else, I went to see this film figured that, although not great, it'll probably deliver some good action sequences within an obvious plot.
Now, I know this is not the case and I have added the original to my rental list to see for myself if this had been done better before, but here the Pang's have no fluidity, no thrills, no nothing  even the cinematography seems to miss the "gritty urban" feel it is aiming for an ends up just being murky to no benefit.The Bangkok Dangerous remake is a poor film.
i had a lot of expectations from this movie as cage is the hero but it completely disappointed me.coming to the story i did not get why he had an attachment with that local guy just because he told him that the elephants nose pointing downwards is not good and coming to the actress,i don't understand why director decided to make the actress deaf and dump,the scenes between both of them are a torture,if he decided to make her deaf and dump then he would have made the scenes between both of them either romantic or touching but the scenes are neither touching nor romantic,coming to story its predictable throughout,action scenes are below average and last but not the least the cages acting is also dump.overall its not worth watching.
While you are watching what you considered a 'New' film, like " Bangkok Dangerous" you get interested and half way through, you get the feeling 'you've seen this movie' before.
Here you are watching Nicolas Cage as an experienced and well seasoned hit man and he is teaching a young man (Shahkrit Yamnarm) how to be an assassin when your memory informs you, the last time you saw someone doing the same thing, it was called " The mechanic." Well in this film, Cage reveals specific new rules to his trade and adds a touching romance when he falls for a beautiful deaf mute girl (Panward Hemmanee).
I am giving it two stars because I do not want it to be #1 from either end, as in "it is so bad that even in a Worst Movie competition it would take the second place".There are several reviews explaining in detail why it is bad - too dark, slow, stupid "love" scenes, no dialog for extensive periods of time, supposedly skilled hit-man unable to hit target.
The character Joe(Nicolas Cage) is one lonely guy, cause in the business of being a professional hit-man, his life as been like living in a suitcase.
This wouldn't have been a great movie even with a more suiting actor, but Cage's lackluster performance and haggard look didn't do Bangkok Dangerous any favors.Mostly this movie felt to me like one of those films where nobody was really trying.
This is basically a bigger budget film leaning more to the western audiences compared to the original and the hit-man played by Nicolas Cage isn't deaf this time around.
If your a fan of Nicolas Cage, and especially him being in a action movie with a bit of drama, I guess this is worth a look.5/10.
or just a mixed bag of beans (mixture being assembled with the ones you like and the ones you absolutely loathe).This movie has a few nice action set pieces, they alone might warrant a 5/10, but I won't do that in this case, because the "story" holding this together and especially the "performance" by Cage do not warrant that.
The directors have done some good work and better movies, as is true with Cage.
What goes from there will surprise absolutely nobody watching.This film should have been a lot better than it was; after all, the Pang Brothers are known for their innovative style, so you'd expect at least decent action sequences.
The film as a whole seems to be content to go through the motions and it does feel like it's missing its soul.Cage (who sleepwalks through the part, incidentally) takes time out from his hit-man duties to romance a shop assistant, and boy, did they go wrong with this particular sub-plot.
All this film needed was a little imagination or some good direction to rise from an average movie to one that could have been much better.
Nicolas Cage's stars in this remake of the hit 1999 classic "Bangkok Dangerous" a film that while entertaining with some impressive stunts ultimately doesn't offer anything new beyond it's presentation.Joe, or stale-acting- wooden- performance-laden-cardboard-cutout-hero of the story is a hit-man (sound familiar) takes a trip down to Southeast Asia to do some good 'ol fashioned killing for some nameless party that the audience knows nothing about.
I guess I can mark today as Remake day, having to watch two movies which are adaptations or updates to their original, both of which have Asian origins, though one I will be going in blind given that I've not watched its predecessor.I've only caught the DVD of the Pang Brothers' Bangkok Dangerous, arguably their breakthrough film about a deaf mute hit-man, which made audiences round the world sit up and take notice of their talent in crafting gritty stories.
Unfortunately, whatever that made Bangkok Dangerous unique the first time round, got thrown out of the window for tried and tested, and therefore safer and predictable fare, that this one looked no more than a bland, generic action movie.One of the chief aspects of the original that was junked, and that was probably a bad call, was with the mute hit-man now being your typical usual hit-man, joining the ranks of thousands already out there in cinema.
I thought the Pang Brothers' story, and the original movie, steered very clear from trying to resemble your typical Hong Kong / Hollywood action flick, and wanted to stamp their own authority in their take on the action-hit-man genre.
Tell me if you're not seen something like that before, and they should have thrown in some doves for good measure too.Nicholas Cage as Joe (in a little name reversal from the original) came at a time where his star wasn't fading that fast, yet.
good script writing nice romantic side and of course will performed action scenes and amazing acting from cage i like this one ,,recommend to see for sure impressive end of story as the same of the beginning thank u ,,,,, i believe this flick had being really underrated sometimes i agree with people...that we all expect more from someone we admire like cage ,,,, but if you see the movie you will understand why i rate it better that couple of cage recent movies ......
Boring action film from the usually dynamic Pang Brothers and star Nic Cage.
Joe (Nicolas Cage) is a professional hit man looking for a final job.
With "Bangkok Dangerous," Hong Kong's Pang Brothers breathed new life into an old story with a remake of their own 2000 film of the same title.
While the earlier film was entirely Asian, the brothers hired American film star Nicholas Cage and reworked the original characters and story for the remake.
A relatively short film, "Bangkok Dangerous" should satisfy Cage fans and those seeking a fast-paced action movie, who can overlook flaws in the script and character development..
i was disappointed in this Nicolas cage vehicle.i had hoped it would be a good action adventure movie.instead,it's more of a drama,with very little action.there is really nothing new here.plus,it's a bit too bleak for my tastes.and it's pretty slow.but,at least we got to see some of Thailand.the music is quite good,and the movie has nice visual style.there isn't a lot more positive i can think of.Danny Pang and Oxide Pang Chung directed this,which is a remake of their 2000 Asian version of this movie.i haven't checked out the original yet,so i can't compare the two.Nic Cage is convincing here playing a very dark character,although he doesn't have a lot to work with.However Shakrit Yamnarn is much more effective in a supporting role.overall,Bangkok Dangerous rates a 5.5/10.
There used to be a time when watching movies starring Nicolas Cage was actually kind of an event.
I enjoyed kicking back and watching Nic Cage do an action movie like this.
I feel sorry for people that actually paid to watch this.I watched my brother's DVD of it.I can honestly say that it's the worst film I've seen for quite some time.Stupid, rubbish plot and story.Bad camera work and direction.Poor action scenes.Completely and utterly forgettable acting Completely and utterly cheesy and as for the deaf and dumb "girlfriend parts",why?
Nicholas Cage plays an assassin who wants to get out of the business for good and he accepts a last job in Bangkok.And like in every assassin story he falls in love with a girl he meets in a store and later takes on a student.The action was not spectacular nor was the acting.