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 t probably won't come as any surprise to anyone that
"Bangkok Dangerous," the Thai contribution to the old (but clearly not
going anywhere) Hitman Genre, is a faithful rendition of the best of the lot –
that is, John Woo's "The
Killer." All the conventions are here, including: our main character,
the lonely hitman; the hitman's mentor, who is no longer able to take on jobs
because of injury; the untrustworthy boss who will stab you in the back at the
drop of a hat; and last but certainly not least, the pure as snow innocent woman
who wanders accidentally into our hero's life, thus altering his view of life
and his chosen profession. Check, check, check, and check.
"Bangkok Dangerous" purports to take place in the
city of Bangkok, Thailand, but I'm hardpressed to either confirm or deny this
claim, since the movie cares very little about its surroundings. The film stars
Pawalit Mongkolpisit as Kong, a hitman who also happens to be deaf and (as a
side effect of being deaf) a mute. Killing people must not pay much in Thailand,
because Kong lives in crowded pigsty along with his buddy and mentor Joe (Pisek
Intrakanchit), who has since retired from the profession because of an injury to
his hand. Problems arise for Kong when a local gangster develops an eye for Aom
(Patharawarin Timkul), the woman who acts as a broker between Kong and the
powers that be. Unfortunately for everyone, Aom is also the ex-lover of Joe, and
hurting Aom is like hurting Joe, and since hurting Joe is like hurting Kong, the
inevitable result is a bad ending for all involved. Can you say, doomed
characters?
The Pang Brothers, who will go on to write and direct the
haunting "The Eye",
has clearly done their homework. They have all the conventions of the Hitman
Genre down with very little variation. Everything from the crippled mentor to
the innocent girl to the backstabbing boss are lifted directly from John Woo's
"The Killer,"
which was itself probably lifted from some other Hitman film. As someone once
said, There are no more original movie ideas, just variations of old ones.
The first thing one notices about "Bangkok
Dangerous" is that it’s a grainy, grimy, and bleak film. Cinematographer
Decha Srimantra films much of the movie with handheld cameras for the action
sequences, undercranking and overcranking as the need arises to give the
violence urgency. Everything is very chaotic and disorienting (and in the case
of one nighttime hit, nearly impossible to discern what's happening), which is
as it should be. The brothers are going for realistic action and as a result you
can see and hear every gunshot and pool of forming blood. (Although the film is
very violent, there is actually an unrated version out there, which includes
more minutes of violence. I cannot imagine how much more bloody that version is,
because this rated version is quite bloody already.)
The acting in "Bangkok Dangerous" is dominated by
the (of course) quiet Pawalit Mongkolpisit as Kong. The Pangs use creative
flashbacks to give us glimpses into the childhood of Kong, and how it led to his
fascination with guns and eventually the hitman profession. Having killed for so
long, Kong has become immune to it, and treats it as no more than a side effect
of earning a living. Even when he's with Fon (Premsinee Ratanasopha), the
innocent woman who wanders into his life, Kong reverts back to the killer
without missing a beat. Killing is no longer just something he does for a
living; it's what he's become.
The supporting cast, for the most part, does a fine job.
Patharawarin Timkul, as a nightclub owner and Kong's go-between, is especially
strong. Timkul delivers a subdued and powerful performance as a fierce woman
trying to survive in a male-dominated industry. Her lost-love relationship with
Pisek Intrakanchit's Joe is quite effecting, especially when an event comes
along that brings them back together at last. The rest of the cast, including
Ratanasopha as Fon, are sideshows and have very little bearing on the movie as a
whole. They mind as well be cardboards.
"Bangkok Dangerous" is a very good first effort
by the Pang brothers, and if their sophomore work on "The
Eye" proves anything, it's that these guys are headed for something
big. As it stands now, they've proven themselves to be vastly talented with a
very low budget ("Bangkok Dangerous") and equally able with a big
budget ("The
Eye").
It will be a pleasure to see what they come up with in the future.
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