Search - Killer Tattoo on DVD

Starts of promising and then...

Michael L. White | Westland, MI United States | 06/02/2006

(1 out of 5 stars)

"A terrific example of not judging a DVD by its cover; the most "killer" aspect of KILLER TATTOO was its marketing materials. When I saw guns, crazed assassins, and a guy in an Elvis jumpsuit, I thought that I had found the perfect film. Perhaps this was the Thai remedy for 3,000 MILES TO GRACELAND.

KILLER TATTOO starts off promisingly enough. Seconds after being released from jail, Buffalo Gun (Suthep Po-ngam) gets an offer to kill the chief of police for 250 Large. He puts together a crack(ed) team of odd-balls including his old friend Ghostdog (Sornsutha Klunmalee), young upstart Dog (Petchtai Wongkamlao), and EP M16 (Pongsak Pongsuwan). Each of these fellows has his own foibles: Ghostdog is haunted by the ghost of his wife, Dog is wracked with guilt, and EP M16 thinks he's Elvis - so much so that he can only communicate in English. Unbeknownst to them, their assignment has also been shopped to Kit Silencer (Somchai Kemglad), an assassin of renown who's been searching for his mother's killer since he was a tot. His only clue is the tattoo on the Mystery Man's arm (thus the name of the movie would more accurately have been "TATTOOED KILLER").

Despite the promising set-up with a group of motley murderers, KILLER TATOO never really pays off. Director Yuthlert Sippapak provides a handful of good set pieces, but these often come off as pale imitations of John Woo's THE KILLER. The only fairly interesting aspect of the film comes from its anti-"farang" (European/American) sentiments. Most, if not all, of the main antagonist's forces are comprised of farang and the film's heroes note how popular white faces are in advertising when seeing their streets lined with ads sporting Caucasians. Other than fanning the flames of anti-Western sentiment, this farang theme doesn't amount to anything. However, that's par for the course for this disappointing cult wannabe."