By Geno McGahee
Mark Dacascos is back and is in this dark and gritty film “ONE NIGHT IN BANGKOK.” The career of Dacascos has been going through an evolution as he ages and this film is a good example of how he’s moving from straight out fist-fighting, high-kicking action star to a more John Wick sort of killer. I see a lot of John Wick in this film.
Kai (Dacascos) is a hit man that flies into Bangkok with a score to settle and teams up with a taxi driver, Fha (Vanida Golten) to start marking his targets. Much of this film is set up. This isn’t your straight forward action film. It is riding the line between drama/suspense and action with the pace and bloodshed coming in the last act, mostly.
The relationship between Kai and Fha is an interesting one. As Fha drives him around, she is completely unaware that he has hits to perform, but it soon becomes evident and she is at a crossroads. She realizes she’s too invested to back out now and decides to stick it out until all the deeds are performed and that’s when the film’s storytelling is at its best. The dialogue between the two humanizes Kai and develops Fha all that much more. Fha may be the best character in the movie.
ONE NIGHT IN BANGKOK isn’t what you might expect from a Dacascos film, but that’s not a bad thing as he spreads his wings a bit. The film starts off slow and then builds really well. This is not my favorite film of his, but it’s not a bad watch. At times, it seems to lose the pace, but it evens out and Golten and Dacascos carry the film well and their dialogue between them is interesting. I recommend it.
