Shut it. I'm a fan of Nicolas Cage through and through and this film is a testament to his talent......which is then smothered in poor story and direction.
Ok, overview. Cage is Joe; an assassin who is completely removed from life, people, relationships everything apart from the job. He has 4 rules he sticks to, the same old "hard man" ethics that Stathem, Oliphant and Jones do so much better. Joe is asked to do 4 jobs in Bangkok, the films begins with him setting himself up with a stately home, a few super bikes and a local contact, Kong, (Shahkrit Yamnarm) a street dealer whom Joe pays for deliveries and information.
This thread of the story is good quality action film material. Everything, however, goes a little Soviet-Constructed-Reactor when writers/directors Pang & Pang attempt to introduce romance to BOTH Joe and Kong at the same time. Kong hits on a stripper, Joe awkwardly attempts to bump uglies with a deaf or mute (i can't tell from the film) pharmacist's assistant. This is awful. No other way to put it. It's obviously an attempt to show a human side to Joe as well as a caring more romantic side to Kong. Quite honestly it detracts from the gravitas of the film, effectively showing Joe in two very different lights which don't mesh well at all.
The "local talent" of Thai actors are the saving grace of this film. Mob bosses, support actors and general cast are all very talented actors and deserve credit for their performances in supporting Cage through this difficult film. Interestingly enough Cage is listed as a Producer. This might explain why his role in the film is less the "classic Cage" we know and (I) love and more emotionally accessible.
It's an 18 for 4 scenes of bloody violence in the film and nothing else, nearly no sex, very little swearing etc which raises the question why not play the gore card more? There are plenty of opportunities to make the shoot-outs more like "Lucky Number Sleven" or "Shooting Aces" - in my opinion it should be a 12 if you wipe away the blood splatters.
The action elements, chase scenes, gun fights etc are adequate but clichéd. A motorbike chasing a boat along a tight river is not exactly The Matrix style originality. The final sequence however is different, very well acted and very well directed - a gleaming gem in the film.
A film for torrenting if action films are your thing, i wouldn't pay money for it in cinemas nor rent it. Defiantly not one to add to the Cage Collection of Gold though, which for me contains the National Treasure films, Next, Ghost Rider, Face/Off and Knowing (feel free to hate me from a distance for those choices)
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