Reached by phone in Thailand, Oxide Pang said in halting English that he felt "fortunate" to have American backers interested in retooling his films for Western viewers - even if he feels the final product bears only a passing resemblance to the 1999 original.
"In eight years, we had two movies remade by Hollywood," Pang said. "So many directors make a lot of films and don't have any chance to remake a movie in Hollywood. On that, we feel good."
"But the original version of Bangkok Dangerous is old already," he added. "We feel like this is a new story. It's not a remake. It's brand new."
Shot on location with a Thai crew, Bangkok Dangerous delivers a strong sense of place. Gunbattles are intercut with shots of floating lotus blooms; Thailand's national symbol, the elephant, provides a leitmotif. But the filmmakers hope the movie will stand out to moviegoers by offering a kind of cultural immersion in an alternative filmic universe.
"It is an Asian movie, not an American one," said Cage, who also produced Bangkok Dangerous. "We didn't want to make any concessions to the American audience and let the Pangs do anything they could to break from the American moviemaking formula. I have no idea how it is going to connect with viewers. I place this one under the category of 'experimental.' It's one of the most unusual films I have made."
