I went in with low expectations. Virtually everything I heard from the critics was bad, and the "buzz" was pretty much just people saying how bad it looked. But being the rebel I am, I went anyway.
I liked it.
We're introduced to Cage's character on assignment in Europe. Cage's character Joe lives by the clock like Tom Hanks does in Cast Away. He's cold and methodical. I realize that sounds clichéd for a hit-man, but the Pang brothers get it across a lot better than other movies with the same subject matter.
Joe goes to Bangkok to carry out a series of hits for a Thai mobster. He quickly hires a street smart pickpocket by the name of Kong to be a messenger and translator. Cage has several rules, one of them being not to get close to people, but slowly he and Kong begin to bond. After a hit or two, Joe takes Kong under his wing and teaches him the tricks of the trade (think Leon and Mathilda). Cage also meets a deaf/mute pharmacist he takes a liking to. She's about as innocent and sweet as somebody can get, providing some good contrast to Joe's work and the seedy, dark streets of Bangkok the Pang brothers have a knack for depicting. As they get close, we see Joe go through what I thought to be some convincing character development. It's not that we relate to Joe, we just understand and sympathize with him, both before and after the transformation takes place.
So, the Pang brothers went through a lot of effort to get us invested in these characters, and that's what makes the action sequences so much better. On their own, they'd be just alright. But since we actually give a damn if Cage or Kong or whoever gets shot, they carry with them a certain emotional weight.
In the reviews I read before going, a few mentioned Bangkok's photography as one of the positive aspects of the film, but many criticized it. I thought it perfectly matched the atmosphere of the movie. It's dark, gritty, forlorn, desolate... No other style would have matched the story as well.
And that's one of the things the Pangs show they're great at; they really set the mood of the movie well. It's a dark and dreary world full of immoral, unsavory people. Joe acknowledges this and lives his life accordingly, but as he's introduced to humanity in one of the most unlikely places of the world, he discovers a completely different outlook on life, one that's worth fighting for, one that's worth dying for.
I liked it.
We're introduced to Cage's character on assignment in Europe. Cage's character Joe lives by the clock like Tom Hanks does in Cast Away. He's cold and methodical. I realize that sounds clichéd for a hit-man, but the Pang brothers get it across a lot better than other movies with the same subject matter.
Joe goes to Bangkok to carry out a series of hits for a Thai mobster. He quickly hires a street smart pickpocket by the name of Kong to be a messenger and translator. Cage has several rules, one of them being not to get close to people, but slowly he and Kong begin to bond. After a hit or two, Joe takes Kong under his wing and teaches him the tricks of the trade (think Leon and Mathilda). Cage also meets a deaf/mute pharmacist he takes a liking to. She's about as innocent and sweet as somebody can get, providing some good contrast to Joe's work and the seedy, dark streets of Bangkok the Pang brothers have a knack for depicting. As they get close, we see Joe go through what I thought to be some convincing character development. It's not that we relate to Joe, we just understand and sympathize with him, both before and after the transformation takes place.
So, the Pang brothers went through a lot of effort to get us invested in these characters, and that's what makes the action sequences so much better. On their own, they'd be just alright. But since we actually give a damn if Cage or Kong or whoever gets shot, they carry with them a certain emotional weight.
In the reviews I read before going, a few mentioned Bangkok's photography as one of the positive aspects of the film, but many criticized it. I thought it perfectly matched the atmosphere of the movie. It's dark, gritty, forlorn, desolate... No other style would have matched the story as well.
And that's one of the things the Pangs show they're great at; they really set the mood of the movie well. It's a dark and dreary world full of immoral, unsavory people. Joe acknowledges this and lives his life accordingly, but as he's introduced to humanity in one of the most unlikely places of the world, he discovers a completely different outlook on life, one that's worth fighting for, one that's worth dying for.