On Friday, September 5^th, Lionsgate and Nicolas Cage will roll out the English language remake of the Pang Brothers’ BANGKOK DNAGEROUS, with the Pang brothers at the helm and screenwriter Jason Richman putting a slight different spin on their 1999 screenplay. Their 1999 version was recently re-released – August 5^th, 2008 – by First Look Pictures on DVD. If you’re not familiar with the Pang Brothers, these are the Hong Kong film mavericks that created “The Eye (aka Jian gui)” franchise, “Infernal Affairs (aka Mou gaan dou)” that the Academy Award winning “The Departed” was based on, and “Re-Cycle (aka Gwai wik)” that recently had a run on the Sundance Channel on Demand. They made their American debut with the Ghost House Pictures’ film, produced by Sam Rami, “The Messengers.”

What makes the Pang Brothers’ original BANGKOK DNAGEROUS stand out is the Jon Woo type Hong Kong action and gunfight sequences paired with an operatic type tale of a flawed antihero and a tragic love affair. There are plenty of elements here to keep any viewer engaged in the drama, if not rightly keeping you on the edge of your seat. There is an Shakespearian flaw in the character of Kong that spirals the final act into kicked up type of “Hamlet” ending. The film offers some breathing taking and panoramic shots of Hong Kong and Bangkok, as well as this fun score that feels reminiscent of those classic coming of age films from the 80’s.

 In contrast, this remake, retelling, Hollywood hyper-real, steroid infused mess amateurishly attempts to juggle some of the elements of the original film. Nicholas Cage goes through the film with this perplexed looked on his face as if to say, “What am I doing staring in this film.” The cinematography is all about capturing these beautiful shots of the country without giving any sense of the truly seedy side of the country as the original did. Attempting to create the same sense of sympathy for the character of Joe simply fails as they are simply founded on this character who is alienated by his being a foreigner in a foreign country and his alienation due to his profession. The Pang Brothers’ work is simply lost on this retelling. You get the feeling that with less Hollywood intervention, a smaller budget, a different screenwriter, and an actor like Jason Statham the remake of BANGKOK DANGEROUS might have allowed the Pang Brothers to deliver a remake that could kick some American Box office.

Synopsis (Provided by Studio): Kong, a professional killer, has been mute since childhood. He plies the city's bitterest streets, with silence his only response to the killings and assassinations he performs. He is deadly. He is numb. He enacts his grisly tasks with a sociopathic coldness -his steady, impersonal revenge on the world. Ultimately, the chance for his transformation (and redemption) finally arrives in the form of a girl able to provide the only tenderness and warmth he's ever known. It could save him. It could kill him. A gritty story, the film is a powerful thriller, with strong emphasis on style, suave cutting techniques, effects, and urbane production values. Fast-paced, bloody and exciting, this film shows Bangkok's darker worlds, and the glimmer of hope possible in the dimmest of lives. It's a film about cities, a film about death. With its high-speed chases, its gunfire and action, its intensity, BANGKOK DANGEROUS is a killer.

Directors/Screenplay: Danny Pang and Oxide Pang Chun
Staring: PAWALIT MONGKOLPISIT... Kong; PREMSINEE RATANASOPHA... Fon; PATHARAWARIN TIMKUL... Aom; PISEK INTRAKANCHIT... Jo; also Korkiate Limpapat and Piya Boonnak.
Cinematography: Decha Srimantra
Score: Orange Music
Studio: First Look Pictures
Aspect Ratio: 16 x 9
Format: Dolby Digital Surround 5.1, English Subtitles
Special Features: Previews

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