"Bangkok Dangerous" isn't a bad film – or at least not as bad as most of the reviews around here claim – but it is an astonishingly ordinary film that features literally every cliché of "hired assassin" concept you can possibly think of. There's the lonely and super-skilled hit man who intents to pull of one last job before quitting the business for good, he teaches his errand boy to become his successor, finds love and happiness with a girl for the first time and – last but not least – refuses to make the final hit because his target is a noble individual. We know this is the prototypic pitch of every thriller in its type, yet we still pay the full price of a cinema ticket because the film stars Nicolas Cage and we'll probably see a lot of spectacular action and virulent gunfire. "Bangkok Dangerous" is a big-budgeted remake of a Thai thriller released in 1999, which was also directed by the Pang brothers. In the original, the hit man was a deaf-mute but since Nicolas Cage is far too expensive to have him shut up the whole time, they made his love interest a deaf-mute instead. Unfortunately, this takes away the one truly ingenious aspect about the original. What remains is a painfully predictable and bland thriller that can't even be saved by the handful of impressively staged action sequences. Still I wouldn't call "Bangkok Dangerous" a complete waste of time, though, as there are a couple of stylish and worthwhile – albeit less obvious – elements working in its favor. Nic Cage gives a good performance as the unworldly killer and particularly the Pang Bros' depiction of the city of Bangkok is deeply enchanting. Especially at night it looks like a melancholic and depressing place infested with prostitution, petty crimes and perverted tourists. The moody soundtrack emphasizes the atmosphere of melancholy even more. This is definitely not a film that'll increase the tourist business there. Otherwise there's very little to say about "Bangkok Dangerous". If you're a fan of Nicolas Cage and rough action, you won't regret giving this one a look. Just realize you'll have completely forgotten about it the next day.

A mysterious professional assassin, who called himself Joe (Oscar-Winner:Nicolas Cage) goes to Bangkok to do his last job. His mission is to kill four strangers by killing one at the time. Joe becomes tired of his so-called profession, he teaches a curious young man (Shankrit Yamhnam) to trained as a killer. Meanwhile, Joe falls in love with a lovely young woman (Charlie Yeung),who's deaf-mute. But the people, who hired Joe tries to double-cross him by trying to find his identity and kill him, once Joe's last hit is too risky to handle. Joe takes his skills and decide to use it by the people, who hired him for the work.

Directed by the Pang Brothers (The Messengers) made an lively action-thriller with some good scenes and excellent locations. Cage is fine in this movie but Yamhnam and Yeung have the better moments in the film. Actually the Pang Brothers remade their own film with a bigger budget, American lead actor and changing a few plot points from the original 1999 version. Plenty of film critics hated this remake but isn't as bad as what they say about it.

The DVD Special Edition is from the two-disc set. Disc one has an sharp anamorphic Widescreen (1.78:1) transfer and an good Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. The DVD includes two featurettes, an interesting alternative ending and the original theatrical trailer. Disc two is the digital copy of the movie. "Bangkok Dangerous" isn't a great flick but it's fairly fast paced with some stylishly photography action sequences and a few good moments. Fans of the filmmakers work and fans of action movies will enjoy it. (*** 1/2 out of *****).

BANGKOK DANGEROUS tells a way-too-familiar storyline that'll have you reaching for your DVD of LEON before you're even halfway through. In essence, it's LEON transplanted to Thailand, with Nicolas Cage (and his exceptionally dodgy hair) retiring to the Thai capital to take on one last job before he finds himself stricken by his conscience. What goes from there will surprise absolutely nobody watching.

This film should have been a lot better than it was; after all, the Pang Brothers are known for their innovative style, so you'd expect at least decent action sequences. The ones we're given are half-decent, if that; there are some good stunts here and there, and some nicely vicious touches (the bit on the boat, for example),but for the majority of the running time it's strictly par for the course. The film as a whole seems to be content to go through the motions and it does feel like it's missing its soul.

Cage (who sleepwalks through the part, incidentally) takes time out from his hit-man duties to romance a shop assistant, and boy, did they go wrong with this particular sub-plot. Cage's intentions seem akin to those of a stalker, and instead of being romantic, the whole part of this story feels desperately sad on Cage's part, like he's a middle-aged lech grabbing out for one last thing. The whole film closes with an out-of-left-field ending which seems a little too far-fetched, and as a whole it's completely forgettable, like one of Seagal's straight-to-DVD efforts.