Following the success of the star-studded "French Connexion", Marc Dorcel released this poorly executed followup from producer/star Laly. The attractive Laly has had a vanity video career, with very few appearances and little impression made on the public, and this feature is typical of her approach.
Journeyman director Max Bellocchio/Alessandro Del Mar has an affection for exotic, glamorous locations, so this baby is shot not only in Bangkok but also atmospheric Cambodian jungles, plus Naples and Budapest (last- named where the actresses are found, a big benefit of the end of the Cold War).
But as in his dozens of "Tropical" features for the Private label, he is merely a travelogue presenter, staging the humping against beautiful settings, in the vein of those Digital Playground hits of yore: "Island Fever 1-4". That may work for mindless all-sexers, but "Bangkok" is plot-heavy, dealing with vaguely Mafioso drug kingpin Tony organizing a Reagan-esque deal of smuggling drugs on the Naples/Bangkok route in exchange for some good old gunrunning to a Cambodian general.
Laly is the pretend-photojournalist who's really an international cop, out to get the goods on Tony. The action is deadly dull; shootouts perfunctory, and forward movement of the story at a snail's pace. Much of the logistics of storytelling rely too heavily on Laly's clueless boyfriend, who is good for a hump but injected as deus ex machina into the story's twists and turns at will.
The sex scenes are hot, likely in retrospect all that matters although Dorcel was poised to expand his audience much as Digital Playground did for a time with its super-productions like "Pirates". Besides Laly, some great Euro porn stars like Cathy Heaven and Aleska Diamond get down, and Kid Jamaica, usually stuck in gonzo assignments, adds quality mixed-combo action as one of the Italian gangster's sidemen.
As people used to say disparagingly of overproduced Hollywood movies back in the '50s and '60s, you might come out of the theater humming "Bangkok Connection"'s scenery. The beauty of the backdrops overpowers the beauties being back-dropped.
Journeyman director Max Bellocchio/Alessandro Del Mar has an affection for exotic, glamorous locations, so this baby is shot not only in Bangkok but also atmospheric Cambodian jungles, plus Naples and Budapest (last- named where the actresses are found, a big benefit of the end of the Cold War).
But as in his dozens of "Tropical" features for the Private label, he is merely a travelogue presenter, staging the humping against beautiful settings, in the vein of those Digital Playground hits of yore: "Island Fever 1-4". That may work for mindless all-sexers, but "Bangkok" is plot-heavy, dealing with vaguely Mafioso drug kingpin Tony organizing a Reagan-esque deal of smuggling drugs on the Naples/Bangkok route in exchange for some good old gunrunning to a Cambodian general.
Laly is the pretend-photojournalist who's really an international cop, out to get the goods on Tony. The action is deadly dull; shootouts perfunctory, and forward movement of the story at a snail's pace. Much of the logistics of storytelling rely too heavily on Laly's clueless boyfriend, who is good for a hump but injected as deus ex machina into the story's twists and turns at will.
The sex scenes are hot, likely in retrospect all that matters although Dorcel was poised to expand his audience much as Digital Playground did for a time with its super-productions like "Pirates". Besides Laly, some great Euro porn stars like Cathy Heaven and Aleska Diamond get down, and Kid Jamaica, usually stuck in gonzo assignments, adds quality mixed-combo action as one of the Italian gangster's sidemen.
As people used to say disparagingly of overproduced Hollywood movies back in the '50s and '60s, you might come out of the theater humming "Bangkok Connection"'s scenery. The beauty of the backdrops overpowers the beauties being back-dropped.