Bangkok Dangerous Blu-ray offers solid video and great audio in this enjoyable Blu-ray release
The life of Joe, an anonymous assassin, takes an unexpected turn when he travels to Thailand
to complete a series of contract killings. Joe, a remorseless hitman, is in Bangkok to execute
four enemies of a ruthless crime boss named Surat. He hires Kong, a street punk and
pickpocket, to run errands for him with the intention of covering his tracks by killing him at
the end of the assignment. Strangely, Joe, the ultimate lone wolf, finds himself mentoring the
young man instead whilst simultaneously being drawn into a tentative romance with a local
shop girl. As he falls further under the sway of Bangkok's intoxicating beauty, Joe begins to
question his isolated existence and let down his guard--just as Surat decides it's time to clean
house.
Consider for a moment the sub-genre of films that build a plot around the life of a hit man. Most
any of them
play out something like this: hit man has done more than his fair share of dirty deeds over the
years, wants out, decides to do that one final job, and later comes to regret the decision.
Bangkok Dangerous plays out to a point as an amalgamation of every hit man movie
cliché there is,
but because the basic structure isn't as widely overblown as something most everyone has seen
one hundred times over, like an average slasher picture, this film manages to remain somewhat
fresh, entertaining, and most importantly, watchable. Also in the film's favor is something of an
unexpected finale that doesn't follow bad movie convention. Rather than simply taking the plot
points from
the previous two acts, tossing them all into a grinder, and churning out some sloppy, uneventful,
meaningless, expected conclusion, Bangkok Dangerous offers a nice little twist ending
that is anything but candy coated and happily-ever-after, and not even as one might expect as
the plot develops over the first 90 minutes of the film.
Come on Nic, shooting a gun isn't that depressing!
Bangkok Dangerous follows the twilight of hit man Joe's (Nicolas Cage, Lord of War) career as
he travels to Bangkok for a final mission. He lives by a
simple set of four rules, the last of which tells him to get out of the game before becoming too
soft, relaxed, and himself an assassin's target. Upon arrival in the "corrupt, dirty, and dense"
city, Joe hires a middle man, a street merchant named Kong (Shahkrit Yamnarm), to act as a
liaison between himself and his employers. Meanwhile, Joe becomes romantically involved with a
deaf-mute drugstore clerk named Fon (Charlie Young). Both of these relationships break his rules
of the trade. As Joe leads a double life, taking out targets while carving out a sense of normalcy
through his relationship with Fon, will his mismanagement of the rules of the game be his
demise?
Bangkok Dangerous's odd yet somewhat enticing mixture of convention and surprise
finale
makes for a movie both easy to denigrate but not all that hard to praise. It plays out predictably
enough, to a point, then becomes its own entity by the end. The events surrounding the first
hour
of the film play out in typical action movie fashion, pointing to a conclusion that, to the movie's
credit, never materializes. Upon further reflection, subtle hints point to the unanticipated
conclusion,
particularly the film's bleak appearance (see the video review) which foreshadows the ending
nicely. The film's first two acts are straightforward and easy to watch though not all that
engaging;
they are never mind numbingly bad nor dull enough to leave audiences squirming in their seats.
Rather, the film is surprisingly engaging, the characters developed well enough, and the pacing
just right, to hold audience attention.
The action is sufficient but unremarkable, though the love angle works slightly better here than it
does in other movies of this sort.
Bangkok Dangerous is an action movie at its most basic levels, and it is in the action
sequences that the film takes on something of a hit-or-miss quality. As the film opens, viewers
witness Joe methodically taking out a target in a very stylish and to-the-point sequence,
accompanied by an adrenaline-pumping score courtesy of Brian Tyler (Rambo). Despite this
stylish and mostly exciting opening kill, the action sequences the rest of the way through are not
all that interesting from a visual perspective, playing out as standard and stale action movie
stunts and shootouts. Nevertheless, like the rest of the movie, the scenes are oddly engaging
despite a sense of "been there, done that" repetitiveness.
Joe's romantic relationship with Fon is perhaps the most interesting angle the film has to offer.
The script never makes her a prop or pawn on which to hinge the action. Rather, she becomes a
part of Joe's life, and although he is not forthright with her, his humanity and compassion effect
his actions later in the film. The relationship is well-integrated into the plot and rewards viewers
with a gentle tug of the heartstrings in one or two places. Cage and Young share a good
chemistry together, and the challenge of developing a relationship between Joe and a deaf-mute
woman requires more than sappy dialogue; the acting must be genuine and the direction true to
pull it off, and Cage, Young, and the Pang Brothers (Re-Cycle) do just
that. Without spoiling the film, it is
this relationship that sets the film apart from others, and Bangkok Dangerous never falls
into movie convention by taking the relationship to the expected conclusion.
Bangkok Dangerous sights in on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate with a 1080p transfer and
framed in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio. The film offers something of a stylized look
that doesn't stand out as too odd or distracting, but it also doesn't lend itself very well to
top-flight high definition eye candy, either. This is a very dark movie, and one that is also
extremely
grainy, which lends a unique, but very cinematic, look and feel to the film. Blacks, in which the
film is bathed, are stable but sometimes veer towards being a bit too bright. The dark nights on
the Bangkok streets are punctuated nicely by spots of neon color that offer the best bit of
vibrancy throughout the image. Interior shots are mostly drab and only moderately-at-best lit.
As a result of the dark, stylized, drab look, flesh tones take on a yellowish, slightly green tint in
many shots.
Still, detail is adequate; many close-ups of Nicolas Cage's face reveal all the finest of nuances.
However, fine detail is rather low elsewhere. Most objects, foreground and background, appear
soft and undefined. What there is to see does look great; a boating scene in chapter nine reveals
excellent color reproduction and above average detail on many objects. The finale is bathed in
various colors, red and blue, primarily, that again add to the stylized look of the film. Bangkok
Dangerous will never be a reference grade disc, but the transfer appears to be an accurate
representation of the film's intended look and feel.
Bangkok Dangerous explodes onto Blu-ray with a full-fledged DTS-HD MA 7.1 lossless
soundtrack. Both Brian Tyler's score, and the various bass-heavy popular music numbers, play
out with
excellent spacing, shooting out of every speaker with plenty of bass thrown in for good
measure. A club scene in chapter three is one of the more lively scenes yet on Blu-ray, as the
pulse-pounding techno beats permeate every square inch of the listening area, effectively turning
the
home theater into a vivacious dance club. Several similar scenes play throughout the movie.
Gun
shots tear through the soundstage with an exciting amount of punch and vigor, as do several
motorcycle sequences. The soundtrack creates a nice subtle atmosphere in many scenes,
bringing
various places and events to life. For example, a rain and thunderstorm scene in chapter eight
lends a nice audible effect that adds some sonic flair to one of the film's romantic sequences. The
action begins to erupt in chapter 12 with gunshots going off in every direction, cracking and
impacting all over the soundstage, and taking advantage of every speaker. It's not 3:10 to Yuma, but it
works, and is a good, clean, fun action movie listen.
Bangkok Dangerous comes to Blu-ray with a smaller supplemental package than what
would have been ideal. Things get started with From Hong Kong to Bangkok (1080i,
15:21). This piece looks at the development and influence of Asian Cinema, hosted by film critic
David Chute. 'Bangkok Dangerous:' The Execution of the Film (1080i, 13:31) features a
series of cast and crew interviews, behind-the-scenes footage, and clips from the film as
discussions
about the original film, shooting in Bangkok, the themes and style of the film, and more, make
up the bulk of the feature. Also
included is an alternate ending (1080p, 8:38), the film's theatrical trailer (1080p, 2:14), and
additional 1080p trailers for My Bloody Valentine 3-D, The Spirit, War, Crank, Lord of
War, and The Punisher. This
disc
is also "Molog" enabled, allowing users with a BD-Live (Blu-ray profile 2.0)-enabled player to
discuss
the film with other users as it plays.
Disc two of this set features a digital copy of the film for playback on personal computers and
select
portable video devices, including the Apple iPod. Played back on a second generation iPod touch,
the
video quality is acceptable and on par with other digital copies, with fine color and decent
detail
and depth, but with the occasional blocking problems, particularly in the blacks. The sound
presentation
is of a higher quality, with a good presence across the two channels and average dialogue
reproduction and sound effects.
Bangkok Dangerous is a difficult film to judge. It's not Leon, for sure, but it is
an
enjoyable ride that plays better than it should and ends with a most unexpected final shot. The film
is far better than its paltry box office take may lead one to believe, and it offers more
meaning and depth upon closer examination than do other movies of this sort. This is by no means
a historical, or even all that memorable, film, but it does make for a rewarding 90+ minutes for
those with an open mind willing to give it a chance. Lionsgate's Blu-ray release of Bangkok
Dangerous is something of a letdown. The picture quality is sure to disappoint many
viewers, though it appears to replicate the film's intended look nicely enough. The 7.1 lossless
audio option is a step above, featuring a dynamic and exciting listen. Unfortunately for fans, the
disc is short on extras. As such, Bangkok Dangerous makes for a very solid rental, and fans
should not be hesitant to add this to their collections when the price is right.
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