Entertaining but fairly run-of-the-mill cops'n'robbers tale, redeemed by engaging performances and a thrilling finale. But not on par with other Johnnie To films such as Sparrow.
Johnnie To in some ways reinvents himself for Mainland China in Drug War, finding ways to use its different realities - rules and locations - to his advantage. It's perhaps less poetic than some of his other work, and more down-the-line in terms of morality, but I still recognize his style in the proceduralism he's brought to the occasional film, and in the way he stages his action in the most unusual places. Sun Honglei is an unflappable police captain and undercover work expert in an uneasy alliance with a drug manufacturer (Louis Koo) desperate to get his sentence reduced from the death penalty by helping him sting the rest of the operation. To creates a riveting procedural with suspenseful undercover moments, and cuts the pure stuff with high-octane action only later on, right into a deliciously ruthless climax no one saw coming. Ruthless is perhaps the word to describe the entire film. The characters are ruthless (on both sides), but the director is also ruthless with them and the subject matter.
Well done action thriller by grandmaster Johnny TO. Luis Koo does a great job. Shoot-Outs seem a bit rushed, maybe the chinese production company wouldn't let him do his overly-stylized bullet ballets ... but i was very very well entertained throughout the running time.
I came in here to post almost exactly what crumzy said. The film started on a very high note, stumbled around halfway through, and was, with the exception of a few exciting shoot-out scenes, quite run-of-the-mill.
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Gunness
Entertaining but fairly run-of-the-mill cops'n'robbers tale, redeemed by engaging performances and a thrilling finale. But not on par with other Johnnie To films such as Sparrow.Siskoid
Johnnie To in some ways reinvents himself for Mainland China in Drug War, finding ways to use its different realities - rules and locations - to his advantage. It's perhaps less poetic than some of his other work, and more down-the-line in terms of morality, but I still recognize his style in the proceduralism he's brought to the occasional film, and in the way he stages his action in the most unusual places. Sun Honglei is an unflappable police captain and undercover work expert in an uneasy alliance with a drug manufacturer (Louis Koo) desperate to get his sentence reduced from the death penalty by helping him sting the rest of the operation. To creates a riveting procedural with suspenseful undercover moments, and cuts the pure stuff with high-octane action only later on, right into a deliciously ruthless climax no one saw coming. Ruthless is perhaps the word to describe the entire film. The characters are ruthless (on both sides), but the director is also ruthless with them and the subject matter.zkrat
Well done action thriller by grandmaster Johnny TO. Luis Koo does a great job. Shoot-Outs seem a bit rushed, maybe the chinese production company wouldn't let him do his overly-stylized bullet ballets ... but i was very very well entertained throughout the running time.acoltismypassport
I came in here to post almost exactly what crumzy said. The film started on a very high note, stumbled around halfway through, and was, with the exception of a few exciting shoot-out scenes, quite run-of-the-mill.Worth the watch though.
monty
AKA Drug War