The Corruptor Review
by Robert Workman (DarkFalcon AT webtv DOT net)May 9th, 1999
Bob the Happy Bastard's Quickie Review
THE CORRUPTOR
Chow Yun Fat continues his American invasion of sorts in the action/drama flick The Corruptor. This time, he's part of a squad of cops in Chinatown that's been put on task to investigate a gang on the rampage. All's well until a new office in the squad, Mark Wahlberg, stops in.
>From there, the story takes different directions, some more favored than others. How does one define a dirty cop? Why is someone giving Wahlberg some good tips on bad crimes in Chinatown? And why is the same Uncle Benny from Lethal Weapon 4 appearing in this film?! Is he just a popular Chinese villain or what?
Director James Foley does a credible job for keeping the pace, at least. Some of the dialogue is kind of outta whack (I wished for closed captioning in some parts of this movie- WHAT DID THAT GUY SAY?!), but the action scenes are very well filmed.
Wahlberg holds his own with a performance that's a slight bit under what he gave in last year's The Big Hit, but who cares? It's Yun Fat's show, and this actor truly delivers with some great lines, over the top attitude and, of course, the ability to provide excellent gunplay. The guy's got more done here than he managed in The Replacement Killers, and I'm sure his third movie will be even better.
The Corruptor's not a bad piece of work when it comes to cop films, and it features a terrific car chase scene where innocent people actually play a part of, some of whom get slaughtered quite brutally. At last, no "get out of the way" ridiculousness, it looks hauntingly real. I only wish the story weighed in a little more, but, as is, there's plenty to like here, particularly if you're a fan of Yun Fat's.
RATING: 5 (out of 10)
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