Source: Wikipedia 

‘My name is Joe... And this is what I do'

Bangkok Dangerous is a very different and a special movie to me.  When I first saw it, it was a very new experience, I could only watch the first five minutes (the initial assassination in Prague) for a few days until I could see the whole thing a few days later. It was a moving experience, even after seeing the first few minutes I knew this film was going to be a winner, once I saw that scene I had to find that music that accompanied it ‘Prague’ because it was so heavenly and had an other worldly sense about it, it is now, and probably will remain, my most listened to song on iTunes, with 522 (its now 546, I started this review a week ago) listens and following that is the Stolen theme with 282 listens- a clear gap.

Source: http://www.filmcommission.cz/filmography/project/p/233

I like to use this movie a lot as an example when people say Nicolas Cage can only play crazy people in films. A lot of people recently seem to think that The Frozen Ground is Nicolas’ most subtle role and I like to disagree. I believe that this is his most subtle role. People generally say that Nicolas Cage sleepwalked his way through this film and yet again I have to disagree! The character he is playing is an assassin, who has killed too many people to count, is lonely and unfulfilled, we also do not know much about his past or even much about him in general, his character is a sinister one but wishes for release. So, apologies to all those who wished for Nicolas Cage to be happy and smiley, he’s playing a character who’s had enough and sees very little in life and I think he plays him very well, with intensity and a dark aurora to him, the movie shows Nicolas Cage in a new unseen light where he is downplaying his character to the extreme and I think it works. 

Source: http://aucinema.yagg.com/2012/01/05/dossier-les-pires-coupes-de-cheveux-de-nicolas-cage/

The story is something that isn’t the most original of concepts in a film but it is executed with finesse and with a spin. The film has been put in that seemingly bottomless pit of a ‘style over substance’ film. The film has enough extensive beautiful shots of a lovely place while also serving great action and drama. I feel that this film was advertised very poorly, it was advertised as a straight up actioner but the film has much more depth then that, it has a heart, it is a drama film with action elements as opposed to an action film with drama elements.

Source: http://clatl.com/freshloaf/archives/2011/07/07/summering-at-the-flop-house

The inner critic in me wants to give this film negative points for its slower, seemingly unedited, pace but the regular person who sat down and watched the film just fell in love with it, I love slow, dark scenes that have a lot of atmosphere, that don’t have to characters speaking, only the ambience of the surroundings to tell a story, a deeper story then one would have if words were spoken. I love deep character development, I love the inner turmoil of Joe we see and I love his redemptive nature as the film goes on, hell, even the name of ‘Joe’ can symbolize a person who blends into the background and someone who just fits in anywhere without drawing attention to himself, and above all else, I personally really love the culture, I like that we get a little sampling of the Bangkok daily life and customs. I zone in on this because I love learning about other cultures and countries.

Source http://correctopinion.wordpress.com/tag/nicolas-cage/ 

I personally get very attached to most things I do. Be it, a video game or a movie or even a certain smell. A certain smell of a deodorant can bring back many memories for me, as I’m sure it does for many people, but when I hear the first few seconds of Bangkok Dangerous I get overwhelmed by many emotions. I felt very different when this movie ended as to how I felt at the beginning, I felt like I was with Joe as he went to Bangkok to do his mission, I felt like I was with him when he finally found a reason to be happy, and this is what a good movie is supposed to, make you care for the characters. The ending of the movie, while I’m all sure we prefer the alternate ending but the actual ending that we are shown is stylish, blunt, depressing and surprisingly shocking for a summer film and that is why it succeeds because it is a unique finale.

 
Source: http://spicymoviedogs.com/bangkok-dangerous-2008/

Although the critics have reviewed and moved past this movie a long time ago, I feel like they should have taken viewing this movie at a different angle, it’s a small, foreign film that’s more about the characters as opposed to mind numbing violence, even though there is plenty of that too, that’s the mindset I took while seeing it and I just loved it. The fact that the trailer is different to what we get, maybe that played a part in their opinion.

Source: http://www.theguardian.com/film/movie/125611/bangkok.dangerous 

If I were to make a list of how many times I have seen a Nicolas Cage film, and I have, Bangkok Dangerous would easily be number one on that list. I’ve seen it upwards of 15 times and I know I should stop because the way it makes me feel will wear off after awhile if I keep watching it. With a movie that is slow and character driven, with so many great aspects: redemption, religion and romance, just to name a few, a peaceful welcoming soundtrack sprinkled with a hint of tension, a fantastic, unique, performance from Nicolas Cage and a different location for a movie. This is the perfect example of a movie that seems to be, unknowingly, made for me. I just love this movie very much and have no problems giving a solid 5 out of 5 stars. It might be a little different and a little slow, but that’s no reason to call it a failure.

Source: http://ohnotheydidnt.livejournal.com/22994049.html

I also believe that the first 5 minutes could be taken out and be nominated for an Oscar for best short movie or something. I am also going to Prague next year with my film course, I wish to re-create this scene while I am there.

Thank you for reading.