Campy Violent Fun!
Added 9/29/2009
I love Nicholas Cage in just about anything, and this was no exception. Yes, it was an extremely "campy", predictable, violent and definitely Grade B film, but it was so much fun! The way it was filmed was delectable, filled with the raw sights, sounds and colors of Bangkok-you could almost taste and smell the foods in the market, feel the seedy, oily, hot and humid backstreets, and it's mixed-class people; it was wonderful. The story line was typical: assasin meets girl, changes his ways, loses girl because he had to make a moral choice, then goes out in a blaze of glory. But this film has a twist: the love interest was a (delightful) normal woman, AND she was deaf! This made the film much more "realistic"(if you will), using a normal woman rather than the typical woman often portrayed as the heroine, read: stick-thin, extraordinarily beautiful, with a killer wardrobe-even if she is ridiculously poor. If you enjoyed the cult favorite film "Replacement Killers" (Mira Sorvino and Chow Yun Fat-in one of his first US films), you will also enjoy this film.
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Good Stuff
Added 8/31/2009
A lot of my peers refer to me as the "guy who watches those B-Grade Action Movies", so please keep this in mind if you're reading this review.
First, I must confess that Nicolas Cage is very far from being my favorite guy to watch in movies; however, I think that the producers were spot-on when they chose him for this role. He looks the part, acts the part, and executes (pun intended) the part very well.
The story is very solid, and the action sequences are awesome. I'm a sound junkie, and the special effects really rock the house. This movie has my favorite composer, Brian Tyler, so the music is killer (yes, another pun).
Let's face it, if you really need to have your confidence built via an Amazon review before you watch a movie like this, please go rewatch Titanic or something. If you like action, then you'll like this movie. 'Nuff said.
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A miss for Nicolas Cage
Added 8/2/2009
This hitman Joe, (Nicolas Cage) spends a lot of his time training a street-wise con artist named Kong (Shakrit Yamnarm), to be his "understudy" only for his student to get kidnapped and spill the beans of Joe's location in a......never mind. Joe falls in love with a deaf, pretty drugstore clerk named Fon (Charlie Young), only for her to see him kill two street thugs....never mind. Nicolas Cage sported some ratty long hair with his receding hairline that made him look really slimy. The ending was extremely bad. And what a stinking, lousy ending it was. Terrible editing.
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Something to add
Added 7/7/2009
Some movies try to say to much. Some movies spend too much time blowing stuff up and showing people killed in excruciating detail. The Hong Kong style of film making, at times, tries to bridge that gap. Joe, portrayed by Nicholas Cage, is a killer aware that time in his trade is growing short and its time for one big score and get out intact. As in the real world, life takes mysterious turns. This is not a happy film. It is dark, moody and brooding. I recommend you watch this film entirely and then make a judgement.
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Excellent Cage Movie!
Added 6/13/2009
This movie stars Nicolas Cage in a completely different role from his character in his two better known National Treasure films. But I have to say, I liked this role a lot too.
Cage stars as an anonymous hit man only known as "Joe" who obviously has done some very bad deeds around the world. He goes to Bangkok to complete a four hit job for a Bangkok criminal known as Surat. Joe takes the job as his "one last job" to make enough money before he retires.
On the surface this is a pure action flick. There are plenty of chase scenes through Bangkok and plenty of gun violence. But there's a good movie here beyond that. In the beginning Cage's character clearly only cares about himself and his work, and he's not particularly morally bothered by what he does for a living. But in this movie we find Joe turning into a "regular guy" and even meeting a girl in Bangkok who gives him a civilized side. Falling in love with a decent girl makes Joe face up to his criminal past.
Having said all that, the basic story isn't very deep. The entire movie I think would be a complete dud to someone that isn't interested in watching Cage's character develop as a person throughout the movie. We're never told why the guys Joe's supposed to whack need to die, and really only one of his targets is given enough of a story by the writers that I found myself caring what happened to him. The other guys Cage's character whacked I didn't care about one way or the other.
Overall, I think Cage does a very good job in this movie and it's at least worth a rental for anyone who's liked his other movies.
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Campy Violent Fun!
Added 9/29/2009
I love Nicholas Cage in just about anything, and this was no exception. Yes, it was an extremely "campy", predictable, violent and definitely Grade B film, but it was so much fun! The way it was filmed was delectable, filled with the raw sights, sounds and colors of Bangkok-you could almost taste and smell the foods in the market, feel the seedy, oily, hot and humid backstreets, and it's mixed-class people; it was wonderful. The story line was typical: assasin meets girl, changes his ways, loses girl because he had to make a moral choice, then goes out in a blaze of glory. But this film has a twist: the love interest was a (delightful) normal woman, AND she was deaf! This made the film much more "realistic"(if you will), using a normal woman rather than the typical woman often portrayed as the heroine, read: stick-thin, extraordinarily beautiful, with a killer wardrobe-even if she is ridiculously poor. If you enjoyed the cult favorite film "Replacement Killers" (Mira Sorvino and Chow Yun Fat-in one of his first US films), you will also enjoy this film.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
Good Stuff
Added 8/31/2009
A lot of my peers refer to me as the "guy who watches those B-Grade Action Movies", so please keep this in mind if you're reading this review.
First, I must confess that Nicolas Cage is very far from being my favorite guy to watch in movies; however, I think that the producers were spot-on when they chose him for this role. He looks the part, acts the part, and executes (pun intended) the part very well.
The story is very solid, and the action sequences are awesome. I'm a sound junkie, and the special effects really rock the house. This movie has my favorite composer, Brian Tyler, so the music is killer (yes, another pun).
Let's face it, if you really need to have your confidence built via an Amazon review before you watch a movie like this, please go rewatch Titanic or something. If you like action, then you'll like this movie. 'Nuff said.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
A miss for Nicolas Cage
Added 8/2/2009
This hitman Joe, (Nicolas Cage) spends a lot of his time training a street-wise con artist named Kong (Shakrit Yamnarm), to be his "understudy" only for his student to get kidnapped and spill the beans of Joe's location in a......never mind. Joe falls in love with a deaf, pretty drugstore clerk named Fon (Charlie Young), only for her to see him kill two street thugs....never mind. Nicolas Cage sported some ratty long hair with his receding hairline that made him look really slimy. The ending was extremely bad. And what a stinking, lousy ending it was. Terrible editing.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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