THE CORRUPTOR
A movie review by Joe Barlow
(c) Copyright 1999
STARRING: Chow Yun-Fat, Mark Wahlberg, Ric Young DIRECTOR: James Foley WRITER: Robert Pucci RATED: R RELEASED: 1999
RATING: *** (out of a possible ****)
If Jackie Chan is the Beatles of modern action movies, Chow Yun-Fat is the Rolling Stones: he doesn't want to hold your hand, he wants to kick your ass. Already an action star in Hong Kong, Yun-Fat is gradually amassing a cult following in the States on the basis of recent films like "The Replacement Killers." His fan base may soon swell, however: his latest offering has the potential to make him a household name, just as "Rumble in the Bronx" did for Chan.
James Foley's "The Corruptor" is mean, dark and ugly, but not in a bad way. Drawing inspiration from the kinetic ballets of John Woo, Foley and his screenwriter, Robert Pucci, have created a story of intrigue and mystery in the streets of Chinatown, drawing as heavily from American film noir (there are shades of "Touch of Evil") as from the Hong Kong gangster genre. Whereas most action films are content to throw car chases and shootouts on the screen ad nasuem, Foley uses these items as building blocks for an intricate plot involving betrayal, cover-ups, and morality.
Lt. Nick Chen (Yun-Fat) is in charge of an all-Asian precinct in New York's Chinatown region. Chronically understaffed, the group has its hands so full with minor crimes that they never have time to investigate the big ones. Capitulating to Chen's constant demands for more people, Chen is eventually given an additional officer: Daniel Wallace (Mark Wahlberg), who, in addition to being caucasian (and therefore unable to work undercover), is also inexperienced. "He's worse than white: he's green!" explodes Chen.
Nonetheless, the detective agrees to give Wallace a chance, and although the two men dislike each other initially, they (surprise, surprise) eventually develop a mutual admiration which blossoms into friendship. This is one of the least satisfying aspects of "The Corruptor": its reliance on the cliched 'buddy cop' relationship, which seems to occur in every film of this kind. It's been used as recently as last year's "Rush Hour," and is handled so tritely in "The Corruptor" that even the film itself seems bored with it.
Fortunately, the rest of the story is more daring. Chen and Wallace are soon on the trail of a Chinatown crime lord, and the story becomes as much a mystery as an action movie. Along the way they receive advice and information from the mysterious Henry Lee (Ric Young, who played Mao Tse Tung in 1995's "Nixon"), a businessman who seens to have his finger in every pie in town, and who may or may not have the police force on his payroll. But loyalties change on the proverbial dime here, and the villain's true identity is kept safely hidden from the audience until the final reel. Be warned, however: the plot moves fast, and the movie expects you to keep up. Leave to go to the bathroom and you'll probably find yourself lost when you get back.
The movie's title, "The Corruptor," is never explained: the audience is left to draw its own conclusion. For me, Chinatown itself was the corruptor: a society which hides its most devilish secrets in plain sight, if one knows merely knows where to look.
E-Mail: jbarlow@earthling.net Joe Barlow on Film: http://www.ipass.net/~jbarlow/film.htm
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