While not one of the very worst movies of last year, Lionsgate's Nicolas Cage-led remake of Bangkok Dangerous certainly deserves consideration as an honorable mention. An anemic, dull potboiler of an action film, this is a classic example of the type of film that borrows heavily from every other film in its genre with no intention of paying it back. There is nothing new, original or noteworthy in this, save one, single, solitary shot during a gondola chase that is actually stylish and well done. Everything else is exactly what you expect, only done much worse than you probably imagine.

The film is directed by the Pang brothers, the Hong Kong twins transplanted by way of Thailand, who felt they needed to offer something different to American audiences than they had in the 1999 original. So, instead of having a mute killer, this version has a killer who can't stop narrating and who instead falls in love with a mute woman. The result is a boredom-inducing mess that will set your eyelids aflutter just thinking about the tedium it has in store for you.

And the disc, with just three special features, is almost as bad as the film. One is an alternate ending that makes the already terrible ending even more laughable. At the point when the story turns away from the film's actual ending, your eyes will open and your jaw will drop. It really is something special. Then there's the typical making-of that addresses ad nauseam the genius of the Pang brothers and what an amazing city Bangkok is. Sadly, there's nothing interesting in there about being present and filming during the coup that took place there, nor are there any interesting anecdotes about the period of time they were in production there -- just filler about what a great city Bangkok is and what the filmmakers hoped to accomplish with the movie.

The one thing of note on the disc is the featurette "From Hong Kong to Bangkok: A Look at Hong Kong Cinema." This is a cool crash course on the evolution of Hong Kong action films, which led up to and inspired films such as this one. While many film buffs will see this as a simple refresher course, it is a great introduction to a scene that was very popular in the '90s and has seen a stiff decline in more recent years. Those unfamiliar with the movement will find a densely packed feature that will offer up a lot of insight and a lot of titles that should be written down and checked out. Sadly, this great segment ended up on a disc few will be watching and one that I cannot otherwise recommend.

Bangkok Dangerous is available now from Lionsgate.

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