One Night In Bangkok

While i am sitting here thinking back on my travelling years around the world, i realise that i have visited 18 countries. I think this is too little, i would want to visit at least 15 more countries. But since no one really knows what will happen with this pandemic, i might as well stay in Sweden for now and just find other ways to enjoy my holidays. What can you do? You just have to make the best out of this situation. So at this moment, i had a flashback moment to december of 2014, when i visited Thailand for the first time. This is one of the best trips i ever did with my wife, because so much fun happened here ( not counting in the thai lady boys, those were not planned ). We had our own private chauffeur, who drove us everywhere in Bangkok ( and it was not expensive either ). I did puke all over his car, so he stopped on a gas station on the highway and flushed me off with water, while i was just standing in my underwear ( now that´s what i call great service ). I could probably tell you at least 10 more stories, but i wanted to talk about Bangkok in general. I will personally say that i feel that Bangkok have a lot of fun to offer, no matter what you like. If you enjoy thai boxing matches, you can find them there. If you enjoy thai girls dancing, there are a lot of shows running in many clubs. And the thai food have som much to offer in Bangkok, you can basically find anything you will enjoy, no matter if you are a vegetarian or a meat lover. Thailand in general have something for everyone, all ages, so if you have not been here, you should go there ( when it is safe of course, it might take some time in this pandemic ). When you hear the name Mark Dacascos, what is the first thing that comes to your mind ? Some of you might say TV series Hawaii Five-0, while my first encounter with him was in the American action film American Samurai from 1992. Mark continued to make low budget action films, and i especially enjoyed the 1997 film Drive, that had a lot of violence and gun battles. He is still making films and still have a big fan base worldwide. I have read about one of his latest films since this summer, known as One Night In Bangkok, and the trailer looked like fun. I finally got a chance to sit down and watch this film. Is this one of the better Mark Dacascos films in recent years, or should he retire from the action genre for good ?

Kai ( Mark Dacascos ) lands in Bangkok, Thailand. Armed with a gun, he gets a cab that is driven by Fha ( Vanita Golden ). He offers her a lot of money, if she agrees to drive him to several locations. Since she can´t turn down the offer, she accepts and drive him wherever he needs to go. But what Fha does not know is that Kai is out to kill certain individuals, who have a connection to his past.

One of the first things that comes to my mind with One Night In Bangkok, is that this film feels similar to the Tom Cruise film Collateral. In that film you had taxi driver Max ( played by Jamie Foxx ) who gets a unique customer known as Vincent ( played by Tom Cruise ), who offers Max a good amount of money if he drives him around to different locations. The plot is basically the same in One Night In Bangkok ( with a few differences only ), and if you can accept that, then i have some positive things to say. Mark Dacascos as a hitman in Bangkok is actually a good idea, since we know he is physically well trained to do a character such as this one. His character Kai may not be the most charming man to meet, but you can clearly see that he takes his mission very seriously. And this is the kind of character that Mark Dascascos knows how to deliver, without copying the character of Tom Cruise in Collateral. The fact that this film takes Place in Bangkok is also positive, because you can sense the night life of Bangkok ( if you have been there you will understand what i mean ). I also enjoy actress Vanida Golten as the taxi driver Fha. She seems to have a a very good heart, taking care of her ill brother, and she does give us some interesting facts about her background story, and why Thailand is such an important part of her life. The action scenes are actually not all bad, even if you can tell this film was made on a limited budget. Mark Dacascos knows how to perform physically action scenes, and that is one of the reasons why i enjoy seeing his films. As a standard action film, One Night In Bangkok may not deliver any surprises. But if you appreciate this genre, i have a feeling you want to check this film out. Director Wych Kaosayananda ( who directed the Antonio Banderas action film Ballistic ) use the settings of Bangkok in a simple but effective way, while combining this with a classic action concept. One Night In Bangkok is a good choice while ordering home thai food, you might actually feel comfortable with this combination.

Rating: DDD