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The other mainstream crime mob that gets a fair mention
in the film capital are the Chinese gangs - the triads or
the tongs. It is the latter that get looked at in The Corruptor.
Nick Chen is the much-decorated head of the Asian Gangs Unit
in New York and it is his job to make sure that gang violence
is not only kept to a minimum, but that it doesn't spread
out of Chinatown.
Expert at his job, Chen deals ruthlessly with his enemies
and more than occasionally crosses the line between law and
crime in his efforts to do his job.
His new partner is Danny Wallace, the first white cop to
join the AGU, and a more straight-laced, do-it-by-the-book
bloke has yet to hit the force.
Wallace's play-it-straight attitude puts the 'cuffs on Chen's
style but as the younger officer is drawn into the sordid
world of drugs, prostitution and gambling, Chen has to work
out just who is getting at the newbie.
Hong Kong action star Chow Yun-Fat is excellent as Chen.
He is charismatic, filled with attitude and loves nothing
more than blowing away bad guys. His role is complex and it
is the believable way he carries off the moral tightrope walk
of his life that gives The Corruptor its power.
Wallace is played by Mark Wahlberg and, while not having
the same screen presence as his partner, he is the film's
lightning rod to bring the ever-present temptations of organised
crime out into the open. He is vehemently anti-corruption
- his father being a bent copper - but in the streets of Chinatown
that may not be enough.
The support actors are first rate, with Brian Cox - as the
suitably realistic father - and Byron Mann, as the scheming
Tong boss, enjoying their parts to the full.
The Corruptor is action-filled and has more than its
fair share of blood and guts, but it is so much more than
a blazing-guns cop-flick. It intelligently uses its characters
to examine the grey shadows between black-and-white morals
and because of that comes out as a deep, non-judgmental look
at inner corruption.
Conclusion: Movie 80%, Extras 80%
Continued:
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