I remember seeing the original Thai version of Bangkok Dangerous at the Stockholm Film Festival when it came out a few years ago. And I really liked it, i think that the Pang brothers have talent. I was actually surprised to see that they had also directed this remake, because this is one of the worst action movies i have seen this year. And that's saying quite a lot...
The whole premise and storyline follow form 1A, there are no surprises and no inventiveness whatsoever. The story arc can be seen a mile away, which might not be a disaster if the whole thing is well executed. Unfortunately it is not. There are so many problems with this movie that I hardly know where to start. Action scenes are poorly shot and executed, the acting is substandard, the characters are all caricatures and there isn't a single moment of true suspense in the whole movie. And then I haven't even mentioned Nicholas Cage yet.
It seems that Nicholas Cage is stuck somewhere in the late 90's when he had his heyday as a solid action star. Con Air, Face/Off and a couple of other movies made him established in the genre. And I actually liked both the movies and him quite a lot. But it seems that he can't let go of that. In this movie it's painfully obvious how much he has aged in the 10-15 years since. Several times I wanted to scream "act your age!" at him when he tried to perform action moves that would have been appropriate for someone twenty years his junior. 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. Cage came and went, doing his job without enthusiasm. The other actors feel like a collection of local talent far from able to carry this movie, especially not since Cage failed them. I would definitely recommend anyone to skip this movie and watch the original instead. It might not have been a masterpiece but it was definitely a lot better than this mess. This is just another one of those remakes that doesn't make anyone happy.
The whole premise and storyline follow form 1A, there are no surprises and no inventiveness whatsoever. The story arc can be seen a mile away, which might not be a disaster if the whole thing is well executed. Unfortunately it is not. There are so many problems with this movie that I hardly know where to start. Action scenes are poorly shot and executed, the acting is substandard, the characters are all caricatures and there isn't a single moment of true suspense in the whole movie. And then I haven't even mentioned Nicholas Cage yet.
It seems that Nicholas Cage is stuck somewhere in the late 90's when he had his heyday as a solid action star. Con Air, Face/Off and a couple of other movies made him established in the genre. And I actually liked both the movies and him quite a lot. But it seems that he can't let go of that. In this movie it's painfully obvious how much he has aged in the 10-15 years since. Several times I wanted to scream "act your age!" at him when he tried to perform action moves that would have been appropriate for someone twenty years his junior. 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. Cage came and went, doing his job without enthusiasm. The other actors feel like a collection of local talent far from able to carry this movie, especially not since Cage failed them. I would definitely recommend anyone to skip this movie and watch the original instead. It might not have been a masterpiece but it was definitely a lot better than this mess. This is just another one of those remakes that doesn't make anyone happy.