Country: China / Hong Kong
Review: Hong Kong helmer Johnnie To, returns in great shape to his favorite action-crime-thriller genre, putting in confrontation astute drug dealers and relentless cops. This ride to the underworld of narcotics supply and distribution is often hilarious and suspenseful, covering a mega operation carried out by Captain Zhang (Honglei Sun) and his anti-drug police squad, to dismantle a huge network that operates across Asia. The key for their success will be a drug lord named Timmy (Louis Koo) who decided to cooperate to avoid death sentence, after has been arrested. Well structured, the story flows coherently and is characterized for a dynamic pace, punctuated by one or two sporadic slowdowns that didn’t change my interest in the story. In addition to its fierce shootings and car maneuvers, which will put the action genre fans in ecstasy, there were some moments of good humor that helped turning “Drug War” in an easy-watching movie. Its major strengths were the simplicity and effectiveness of processes, without trying to stand out through unrealistic action scenes. To’s long time collaborator and partner in his Milky Way Production Company, Wai Ka-fai, co-produced and co-wrote, contributing to create a fruitful action flick. It simply became Johnnie To's most interesting film in years.
