For those of you who have no idea about this "Johnnie To" film, Drug War, brace yourself ...
The film starts with a drug bust at one side of the city and Louis Koo's character Tian Ming, the local drug lord, crashing his car into a restaurant at the other. Establishing their dynamic early on, Tian Ming and Honglei Sun's character Captain Zhang Lei come into contact at the hospital and quickly a game of cat and mouse ensues. However knowing Tian's screwed and out of places to escape he begs to save his life from the death sentence if he helps Captain Zhang take down a bigger fish. Now just in case you got lost in all that, here's the film's Synopsis:
Synopsis
After losing control of his car and crashing into a local restaurant, a man loses consciousness on the street. Later, while working on a case, the police's anti-drug division captain, Zhang Lei (Honglei Sun), realizes that the man in the crash is drug lord Tian Ming (Louis Koo). In order to avoid the death penalty, Tian Ming helps the police put a stop to the entire drug trafficking circuit, but just as soon as the police are ready to make a large bust, Tian Ming makes a decision that shocks everyone involved. (imdb.com)
All apprised? Good, now I can tell you the good stuff! The moment Captain Zhang Lei and Tian Ming cross paths, Tian knows he's fudged, luckily for his punk ass he manages to scrabble a tense yet fragile deal for his life, take down the drug ring keep your life. In fact any scene with Captain Zhang is awesome, his undercover abilities alone make it a great watch.
The action and suspense is very well done, keeping you on your toes here and there as you wonder whats going to happen and whether Tian will try and make a break for it. Personally I feel the pacing could do with some minor tweaks, there were moments I zoned off but whenever Captain Zhang was back on the screen I quickly zoomed back in.
That's not to say the other characters weren't as brilliant, with everyone pulling their weight, well ... Huang Yi's character Miss Yang Xiaobei was like a stone here and there but when it came to the more physical or emotional scenes she drove it home. Two characters to note also are these two below, they deliver a stellar performance and really come to life when threatened, who are they? You'll have to watch to find out.
Final thoughts and Score
Although not a show stealer, Drug War is very good especially whenever Louis Koo and Honglei Sun are on the screen and the last third of the film is a great thrill ride. Everything ties in nicely and ends like any story with this level of chaos should do in Asia.
Definitely worth a watch.
Like, share us on Facebook ReelHungry
and follow on twitter @ReelHungry
Stay Hungry
No comments:
Post a Comment