Dangerous but dumb fun

It’s the end of summer. Fall semester and tailgate parties commence. And the last few leftover summer action films are forced onto the screen.

“Bangkok Dangerous” follows the nefarious path of an assassin named Joe (Nicholas Cage) going through an average day – and an average day for him means killing his targets, by any means necessary.
 
The film is based off a 1999 version of the same name directed by the Pang Brothers. This remake is also done by the Hong Kong directors.

The plot follows the typical Hollywood theme of the “last job,” as Joe is sent to Bangkok to assassinate four people. Once again Cage plays the role of an enigmatic badass who speaks concisely.

For an action movie, “Dangerous” takes off rather slow. The cinematography is dark and gloomy, providing the film with an intense yet laid back tinge.

Of course, the film delves into Joe’s struggles with his job and his humanity. He first shows his human side about a third of the way into the movie when he meets a deaf-mute woman at a drugstore. He becomes enchanted by the woman and eventually asks her on a date.
 
At that point, the film turns into a love story where Cage attempts to flip his killswitch on and off through the latter stages of the film.

A botched assignation attempt leads to a chase scene with Cage completing a near-impossible jump onto a boat, while at the same time managing to avoid an explosion – a severe action-movie cliche. To the film’s credit, it gets most of these cliches out of the way in one or two scenes.

The penultimate scene in the film lost my attention for a minute despite it being one of the most action-packed scenes of the movie because it was just like action scenes in a thousand other movies. Cage infiltrates a dark warehouse with two pistols and kills about 10 people in order to save his sidekick and girlfriend.

Aside from a surprise ending, the plot is unoriginal. But then again, it’s doubtful anyone seeing this movie would expect an original plot. The Pang Brothers succeed somewhat in their attempt at exhibiting Joe’s struggle between being a killer, being human and falling in love.
 
In the end, “Bangkok Dangerous” is surprisingly better than its hackneyed trailer and ridiculous title make it look.