The Corruptor (1999)

A thriller with a difference, this is a rare film: an action film that gives us complex human characters to care about, as well as plenty of adrenaline-pumping shoot-outs and car chases to enjoy. It's a complex film to watch, with lots of different characters and relationships. It's not simply a film about good vs. evil, the bad guys versus the good guys - here, the lines are blurred, and nobody is painted in just black and white.Chow Yun-Fat excels as the corrupted cop with a heart of gold, giving us a noble character (no stretch for him) who we really care about by the film's ending. However it's Mark Wahlberg who comes as the real surprise, giving us a man torn between doing what's right (ie. turning in his partner) and doing what his heart tells him. The two men strike up a realistic relationship, one which is very watchable, and the film keeps you guessing as to the final outcome of things right up until the very end.There are lots of sleazy criminals also kicking around, and the film is shot in gloomy locations with a lot of shadows. Typically men will be talking in an office with sunlight shining on them through the half-closed blinds. This gives it a dark atmosphere, yet it's still a very crisp, well-photographed film to watch. The action is excellent and realistic-looking, with a top car chase (my only complaint is that it could have been longer) through the streets as bullets rip through the two vehicles and a whole slew of innocent people are butchered as the carnage progresses through the city. There are also plenty of shoot-outs as the cops raid illegal brothels and drug dens, the film painting a very seedy picture of the city. The ending is unusually heartfelt, and will be tugging at your emotions (clue: it's not a happy ending).This isn't just an action film - it's a human drama too, with believable characters mixed in with the expected bone-crunching excitement. A nice surprise.

It doesn't begin with much promise. After the credits, an unexplained fireball slams into the camera. Near the end, there is the climactic shoot out aboard a freighter smuggling Chinese illegals into the country. In between, photographed in lurid colors suggesting grindhouse, there is a car chase through the streets of New York's Chinatown that slaughters innocent bystanders. More ammunition is expended than during the entirety of World War II and a Chinese girl wearing no knickers licks Mark Wahlberg's naked back.The story itself has Wahlberg as an NYPD detective assigned to 15 precinct, Chinatown, and forced to work under the supervision of Chow Yun-Fat. It's a complicated narrative full of characters and twists and I don't think I'll describe it much further because there is a surprisingly successful element of suspense built into it.Initially, when Wahlberg shows up at the precinct, it begins to look like very familiar stuff. Wahlberg is the only white guy on the roster and the Chinese cops taunt him and ridicule him. When Wahlberg says he goes by the book, the others scoff. It appears to be still another story of the veteran showing the naive rookie how the cow at the cabbage.But then it gets into far more interesting stuff and in a way that involves the viewer. The crosses and double identities are so thick that I lost track of them at time but they gradually became clearer as the story unfolded.Both the principles do well by their roles and the director helps by avoiding contemporary clichés -- the zap of instant editing, the whirling camera held by the drunken photographer, the glitz and whams on the sound track. It's all done neatly, in classical style.You may find yourself getting into it, and the kids will enjoy the furious action sequences.

The Corrupter is set in New York City where decorated veteran detective Nick Chen (Chow Yun-Fat) who operates in New York's Chinatown, trying to keep the peace & prevent a turf war between rival Chinese gangs. Rookie cop Danny Wallace (Mark Whalberg) is assigned to Chen's team, the only problem is that he is American, a white American. Chen is unhappy at first but decides to try & teach Wallace the way things go in Chinatown while trying to prevent Wallace getting himself killed. During a drugs bust they arrest an undercover FBI agent, then soon after the FBI agent is killed in a Chinatown hit. The FBI think there's a leak in Chen's department & Chen himself comes under pressure. With the violence escalating & gangs kill each other for all out control Chen & his team are caught in the middle of it...Directed by James Foley I thought The Corrupter was a really average cop drama thriller with very little to distinguish or recommend it, those look for some some decent gun-play & action in particular will be very disappointed. The script tends to go for slow burning drama rather than out & out action, there's an OK car chase & a few forgettable shoot-outs but nothing else. I also felt the script was too unfocused, there are various little subplots going on, the illegal immigrants, the prostitutes, Wallace's personal problems with his father, a gang war & struggle for power in Chinatown along with various office politics & red tape that ordinary cops have to deal with. It's all pretty dour stuff to be honest, nothing grabbed me or excited me or drew me in & I just ended up feeling pretty bored, at an hour & forty minutes long The Corrupter does take a fair bit of patience to sit through & I found I had lost mine way before the end credits started to roll. The character's are alright, as far as buddy buddy cop films go they are not typical though. Chen is written as a decent man who has to bend the rules to get things done & keep the peace while the fresh faced Wallace plays it strictly by the book at first but soon realises that life on the street has no rules, they are quite well fleshed out & drawn but they are stuck in such a bland cop drama that it's hard to care or get involved in their story. All in all I just didn't think The Corrupter added up to much, with an emphasis on drama rather than action this won't appeal to your average mainstream action fan.Even with a reasonable car chase about halfway through there was far less action in The Corrupter than I was expecting, even the shoot-outs & gun-play are dull. Filmed in New York & in Canada this looks nice enough with hat gritty, low colour documentary style cinematography that some may like while other's like me will find just bland & anonymous.Taking a paltry five million during it's opening weekend at the box-office The Corrupter is a hard sell, is it meant to appeal to those interested in drama? It's surely too shallow for that. Or is it meant to appeal to the action fan? Well, there's barely any action in it. I just can't see who would like this. The acting is alright, the performances are decent enough I suppose.The Corrupter is a film that I didn't like that much, sure it's well made & reasonably acted but with a bitty story & lack of action I was left distinctly underwhelmed. Average at best for what it is & nothing special.

The Corrupter is an amazing crime thriller that combines intense action and shocking twist that will have your jaw on the floor. The Corrupter stars Mark Wahlberg as Danny Wallace a rookie cop who works in the Asian Gang Unit, he works under and with Detective Lieutenant Nicholas Chen the head of the A.G.U. Wallace first case with Chen is to solve a bunch of brutal murders that are happening all over Chinatown, but as Wallace get's deeper and deeper into the case Wallace finds out something that bust the whole thing wide open. The Corrupter is one of those rare crime thrillers it keeps you guessing and thinking right up to the jaw dropping climax that will leave you breathe less. I highly recommended this amazing crime film. I hope my review helps~ C.R. Lopez.