Eshin Direct

One-Line Synopsis
Hardened killer wants out and has no friends, befriends local guy and local girl, girl breaks his heart, hardened killer returns, moral crisis comes along and he realizes he can become the hero again and does so for the last fifteen minutes of the film.

Synopsis

Nicholas Page plays Joe, a hit man at the end of his career and he decides to do four more jobs before disappearing. Bangkok sets the stage for his closing act given its corruption and competitiveness. He recruits a local by the name of Kong (Shahkrit Yamnarm) as his runner for things like logistics and receiving details of his mark, while Joe’s employers use Aom (Panward Hemmanee), a club hostess, as their go-between.

Things get complicated when Kong falls for Aom and Joe breaks his rules and begins training Kong to be his successor, while at the same time indulging in a romance with Fon (Charlie Yeung), a pharmacist who shows him what life could be like. Joe has to deal with betrayal, lost love and ultimately his own conscience before he can be free of his life as an assassin.

Review
(Thar be spoilers ahead)

Bangkok Dangerous is a remake of the Pang Brother’s film by the same name released in 2000. In its Hollywood incarnation, it receives a plot rewrite with nods to the original and a top Hollywood star in the form of an aging Nicholas Cage. It is still done by the Pangs and the cast, with the exception of Cage, features Thai actors.

The film sort of makes sense when you consider it a remake of an Asian hit man film. I always find that the depth and strength of the plot is often diluted when they translate these things. In the original, a deaf assassin makes the perfect hit man since he is immune to the sounds people dying and pleading for their lives. He is employed by a minor mob boss who uses his girlfriend, again a club hostess, to transmit instructions to him. Along the way, he meets a pharmacist who specializes in communicating with the deaf and as expected he forms are relationship with her that will lead him on the straight and narrow. I have not seen the original but even reading about it makes me feel that there was so much more to explore about the characters than there was in this remake.

Cage’s performances in recent years have left a lot to be desired and this performance will be probably go down a similar route with the critics. I am still on the fence about this one since I think that art imitates life and Cage’s portrayal of a hit man that needs to get out before he gets washed up worked in a small way. Although he shouldn’t expect the Oscars to be calling. He is pretty much dead face through out as the mostly brooding and dangerous silent type although it offers its comedic moments whether intentional or not.

Cage’s character, Joe’s relationship with the pharmacist Fon is endearing and amusing at times. Most male expats having dated local girls who don’t share a common language can probably relate to this. It was expected that a foreigner will fall for local girl in some form but the twist is that the girl is deaf and mute. I think this helps stave off the usual criticism of the stereotype in that a deaf and mute girl probably also has difficulty communicating with anyone so a foreigner might as well work just as well as a Thai. Thankfully, the film shied away from the typical farang/bar girl relationship and is presented as a local scam artist/club hostess relationship through Kong and Aom.

In terms of character development, again this is weak. Cage’s character Joe goes through some developmental arc but it is predictable – hardened killer wants out and has no friends, befriends local guy and local girl, girl breaks his heart, hardened killer returns, moral crisis comes along and he realizes he can become the hero again and does so for the last fifteen minutes of the film. The character Kong begins on a character development arc that we don’t quite see the end of so it feels incomplete. He begins his training as an assassin but rather than become a ruthless assassin, it seems he’s out to acquire the killing skills to do justice in the world.

A few plot holes. Firstly, Cage should have cut his hair. I’m sure blending in means not looking like a drugged out left-over from the Vietnam war. Secondly, would a professional killer need meds for that graze that he suffered? Surely he would have this with him and really, it wasn’t that big of a scratch. Thirdly, would Fon really be all that disgusted with Joe having dispatched two people that tried to mug him? It is quite a big jump from winning a street fight to figuring out he’s a professional killer.

The film was entertaining but a great film it is not.

Tags: action, bangkok, hit man, Movies, nicholas cage, thailand