The Corruptor (1999)
6/10
Slick and passable crime thriller in which two cops attempt to stop a war between rival underworld factions
13 January 2022
A young Caucasian cop , Danny Wallace (Mark Wahlberg) , is assigned to New York's Chinatown precinct and partenered with a shrewd veteran , Nick Chen (Chow Yun Fat) . The expert policeman attempts to eliminate drug-trafficking , illegal immigrant and corruption at whatever cost and he'll stop at nothing to get it , but two Chinese bands confronting each other . Then things get complicated when the Triads try to bribe the cop . Both , Danny and Chen are drawn into a cobweb of treason and deception. If you have a secret , he knows it. If you have a weakness, he exploits it. If you have anything good in you, he destroys it...You can't play by the rules when there aren't any. Geen recht. Geen regels. Geen gerechtigheid. No law. No rules. No justice.

Nail-biting action movie with thrills , action-packed , violence , betrayal and bloodletting shoot'em up . The movie has a John Woo style , there are amount of shoot-outs , frenetic action and running men while they are shooting . The thrilling script and interpretation are top-drawer , and there's crossfire enough to satisfy the average appetite for destruction. Chow Yun-Fat finally receives a Hollywood stardom that already had before internationally in Asia . Nevertheless , the action segments suffer in comparison to his work in John Woo films . While Mark Wahlberg is fine as the tough cop and he showcases the talents that previously showed in other movies . A good starring duo , Chow Yun-Fat as Nick Chen and Mark Wahlberg as Danny Wallace giving acceptable performances , being well accompanied by an appropriate support cast , such as : Ric Young , Paul Ben-Victor , Byron Mann, Jon Kit Lee , Andrew Pang , Frank Pellegrino , Tovah Feldshuh, Elizabeth Lindsey and special appearance by the veteran Brit actor Brian Cox as Mark Wahlberg's father who get into trouble .

It contains an adequate and evocative cinematography by the Spanish Juan Ruiz Anchia who has photographed various James Foley's films . The motion picture was competently directed by James Foley , providing from his standout cast some top-drawer interpretations . Foley originally did not want to do John Woo's trademark "Mexican Standoff" in this film , but producers begged him to include these kinds of rip-roaring scenes . Foley is a fine craftsman ; however , he got two Razzie Nominations for Worst Director , as in 1988, he was nominated for Who's That Girl? (1987). Then in 2018, he was nominated again for Fifty Shades Darker (2017). Foley is a good director who has made movies in all kinds of genres with penchant for dramas . As Foley has directed important and some successful movies , such as : ¨Reckless¨ , ¨At Close Range¨ , ¨After Dark my Sweet¨ , ¨Two Bits¨ , ¨Fear¨ , ¨The Chamber¨ , ¨The Corruptor¨, ¨Confidence¨ , and directed one Oscar-nominated performance: Al Pacino in ¨Glengarry Glen Ross¨ . Rating : 6/ 10 . Acceptable and decent movie ; it will appeal to action fanatic enthusiasts and fans of the phenomenal duo of main actors : Chow Yun-Fat and Mark Wahlberg.
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