Bangkok Dangerous (2008 film)
| Bangkok Dangerous | |
|---|---|
 Teaser release poster | |
| Directed by | Pang Brothers |
| Written by | Pang Brothers Jason Richman |
| Produced by | Nicholas Cage Norman Golightly William Sherak Jason Shuman |
| Starring | Nicolas Cage Charlie Yeung Chakrit Yamnam |
| Narrated by | Nicolas Cage |
| Cinematography | Decha Srimantra |
| Edited by | Mike Jackson Curran Pang |
| Music by | Brian Tyler |
| Distributed by | Lions Gate Entertainment |
Release date | September 5, 2008 |
Running time | 100 minutes |
| Country | Template:FilmUS |
| Languages | Transclusion error: {{En}} is only for use in File namespace. Use {{langx|en}} or {{in lang|en}} instead. Thai |
| Budget | $45,000,000 |
| Box office | $40,732,688 |
Bangkok Dangerous is a 2008 crime film, written and directed by the Pang Brothers, and starring Nicolas Cage. It is a remake of the Pangs' 1999 debut film of the same name, a Thai film, for which Cage's production company, Saturn Films, purchased the remake rights.[1] Known by its working title, Big Hit in Bangkok,[2] and also as Time to Kill, it began filming in Bangkok in August 2006, with locations that include Soi Cowboy.[3][4]
The film was financed by Initial Entertainment Group, with Lionsgate acquiring its North America distribution rights.[5] The film was released in North America on September 5, 2008.
Plot
Hitman Joe goes to Bangkok for a month-long assignment, to kill four people for Bangkok ganglord Surat.
He hires pickpocket Kong as his go-between, a condition of the contract being that the gang will never meet Joe. Contracts from the Bangkok gangsters go through Kong via a nightclub dancer, Aom, who becomes romantically involved with Kong.
Joe's first execution is done in traffic with him riding a bike and stopping in front of the car. He then shoots the target with a machine pistol. His second target is a gangster/sexual predator. Kong said he buys girls at a very young age. Joe spies from another building with binoculars and sees his target having a threesome in his suite. On Thai girl was stripped completely naked riding him while the other one who was down to a thong was french kissing him. Joe sneaks into the penthouse and finds the Thai girl who was stripped naked sleeping at the bed of suite the sex took place. Later Joe discovers that his target was with the girl who was french kissing him on the pool. The girl was topless as shown during the sex scene with a black thong. The sexual predator was kissing her and squeezing her naked breast. (Since it was a rated "R" film, the nipples were exposed. The target decides to take a swim and Joe kills him by drowning him in the pool.
Originally he plans to kill Kong before he leaves but after Kong gives him information about the second target he begins to train Kong. For the third execution Kong assists Joe, the kill does not go as planned, with the target nearly getting away before Joe catches him and shoots him after a chase in front of many shocked onlookers. Before the third kill the gang attempt to identify Joe, he warns them off.
His fourth target is the Prime Minister of Thailand. Joe is about to make the kill when he has second thoughts, is spotted, and escapes through a panicking crowd. Joe is now a target and is attacked at his house by four gang members. He manages to use explosives to take them out and is faced with the choice of rescuing Kong or leaving the country unharmed. Joe decides to rescue Kong, so he sets off to the gang's headquarters with one of the half-alive attackers who was injured in the explosion at Joe's safe house.
Joe goes to the gang's headquarters, kills most of the gang and saves Kong and Aom. The fearful gang leader flees to his car with three other accomplices. Joe spots him and shoots the gang members at the front of the car dead. After one of the gang in back of the car attempts to run to safety, Joe kills him. Joe gets into the back seat with Surat, the gang leader.
As the police arrive at the location, Joe is again in a difficult situation; he decides to use what is believed to be his last remaining bullet to kill himself by putting both his and Surat's heads together. Joe then puts the gun up to his temple and pulls the trigger, killing himself and Surat.
Cast
- Nicolas Cage as Joe
- Shahkrit Yamnarm as Kong
- Charlie Yeung as Fon
- Nirattisai Kaljaruek as Surat
- Panward Hemmanee as Aom
- James With as Chicago
Production
The original film's main character is a Deaf hitman, whose disability makes him a fearless, unflinching gunman. That character has been changed in the remake. During production, doll hair was added to Nick Cage's real hair to produce his unique look.[6]
"We'd like to keep him the same, but we understand that from a marketing point of view Nic needs to have some lines," Oxide was quoted as saying in the New York Times. "So what we’re going to do is transform his girlfriend instead into a deaf [man]. This switch will maintain the drama of communication between the two main characters."[7]
Reception
As of December 13, the film has a 9% approval rating based on 86 reviews from critics at the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes.[8] At the website Metacritic, which utilizes a normalized rating system, the film earned a rating of 24 out of 100 based on 16 reviews.[9]
Box office
The film has grossed $15,298,133 domestically and $25,434,817 abroad, adding up to a worldwide gross of $40,732,950.[10] However, the film grossed $7.8 million on its opening weekend making this the first film since Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star to debut at number 1 with this low of a gross. Lionsgate distribution topper Steve Rothenberg said, "It will be a nicely profitable film for us."[11]
Home media release
Bangkok Dangerous was released on DVD and Blu-ray on January 6, 2009. 734,721 units were sold, gathering $14,674,038 in revenue.[12]
References
- ^ Fleming, Michael (June 6, 2006). ""Cage's 'Dangerous' liaison"". Variety. Reed Business Information. Retrieved August 7, 2006.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Nicolas lands in Bangkok for Pang brothers movie". Agence France-Press. August 22, 2006. Retrieved August 24, 2006.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Stickman Weekly 20/8/2006". Stickmanbangkok.com. August 20, 2006. Retrieved August 21, 2006.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Thai filmmakers hope remakes will lure overseas audiences". Channel NewsAsia. Agence France-Presse. July 20, 2007. Retrieved July 20, 2007.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Lionsgate Acquires Cage's Bangkok Dangerous". Comingsoon.net. February 7, 2008. Retrieved July 21, 2009.
- ^ Fleming, Michael (June 6, 2006). ""Cage's 'Dangerous' liaison"". Variety. Reed Business Information. Retrieved August 7, 2006.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Jessop, Sonia Kolesnikov (July 13, 2006). ""Pang brothers see eye-to-eye on horror"". New York Times. Retrieved July 14, 2006.
- ^ "Bangkok Dangerous". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved December 13, 2008.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Bangkok Dangerous". Metacritic. Retrieved December 13, 2008.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Bangkok Dangerous (2008)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved October 14, 2008.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "'Bangkok Dangerous' on top with modest take". Variety. Retrieved October 14, 2008.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Bangkok Dangerous — DVD Sales". The Numbers.
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