| Kong (Pawalit Mongkolpisit) has been deaf-mute since childhood, the ceaseless taunting of his peers eventually coloring his worldview into a clear cut case of Them vs. Me. But, as he matures into young adulthood, Kong meets Jo (Pisek Intrakanchit) while working as a janitor at the local shooting range. Jo offers his gun to Kong when he notices his interest, and is impressed when he learns that Kong's deafness actually helps him concentrate far better on targeting than any marksman he's even met. Eventually, the two men begin a lucrative career as hitmen, given no-questions-asked assignments from Aom (Patharawarin Timkul), who also works as a hostess as a go-go bar. But soon, Kong meets a pretty girl named Fon (Premsinee Ratanasopha) who works at a local pharmacy. Shown a modicum of kindness for the first time in his life, Kong soon finds himself questioning his chosen profession... until Jo, seeking vengeance against a local crime boss for the brutal rape of Aom, sparks off a criss-crossing malestrom of violence that threatens to engulf Kong's one chance at true happiness.
 Yes, here we go again... it's the old Hitman With A Heart Of Gold chestnut. Honestly, is there an action movie plotline that's more played-out by this point? It's gotten to the point where I'm more surprised when a hitman actually relishes their job right up until the end credits begin to roll. Bangkok Dangerous offers nothing the seasoned action fan hasn't seen many, many times before, with slicker production values and more compelling moralizing.
So how does Bangkok Dangerous stack up to this weary plot template? Well... . it's a'ight, even if it's certainly no The Professional/Leon. The acting is fine, the action isn't terrible, and there are some stylish touches by directors Danny and Oxide Pang (who have re-worked their film into an imminent American remake of the same title featuring Nicolas "No, not the bees... !" Cage)... but, honestly, I've seen this fucking movie before. Add to that one of the worst DVD transfers of all time (see below), and you've got a release that's impossible to recommend.
Honestly, I can't pad this review out any more, especially for such a terrible-quality screener. Bah...
 Presentation
What the fuck? I'd seriously like to believe that First Look Studios(who sent me this disc completely unsolicited) sent me a bum screener copy, because the DVD I just watched has one of the most wretched picture transfers I've ever seen. Having the image be cropped from it's original 1.85:1 ratio to a 1.33:1 square is bad enough, but the image itself is fuzzy, grainy, smeary and full of artifacts (night scenes are particularly bad-looking). Plus, the Englsh subtitles are burned into the picture and unremovable, and some are even cut off by the edges of the frame! The press release sent with this screener promised a "16x9" transfer, but somebody screwed the pooch royally. I was thinking maybe this was some sort of Grindhouse deal where the terrible visual presentation was deliberate, but watching the trailer after the film stunned me, because the image was pristine!
 The audio is presented in a weak 2.0 Thai mix that doesn't do any justice to the copious amounts of gunfire and screeching tires. There aren't even any scene selections on this disc, just one generic main menu with a "play" button. Jesus wept...
Extras
The aforementioned trailer (1:33) is the only extra, and while it's still misframed at 1.33:1, it's the only element of the disc that's even vaguely watchable.
Bottom Line
Not a terrible film, but the abyssmal presentation is unforgivable. Bangkok Dangerous, at least in this awful release, should be avoided at all costs.
|
