Main Cast: Chow Yun-Fat, Mark Wahlberg, Ric Young, Paul Ben-Victor, Jon Kit Lee
Release Year: 1999
Country: US
Run Time: 110 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Nick Chen (Chow Yun-Fat) was the first Chinese-born immigrant in the NYPD, and is now one of the force's most decorated officers. As such, he's been named leader of the city's Asian Gang Unit, who are the primary peacekeepers in Chinatown. Trouble has just arrived for the Triads, the long-entrenched Chinese gangsters who are the real power behind Chinatown. After years of posing as honest businessmen, the Triad's powers are threatened by the newly arrived Fukienese Dragons. With a gang war on the horizon, the city sends a new recruit, Danny Wallace (Mark Wahlberg), to join Chen's unit. Danny finds Chen and the AGU in a very comfortable (perhaps too comfortable) relationship with the Triads. When the mobsters attempt to corrupt Danny, Chen must reassess his relationship with the Triads, and Danny must also learn that certain concessions must be made to ensure the peace in this world set apart from the rest of New York. ~ Ron Wells, All Movie Guide
Review
As a take on the familiar cop-buddy movie, The Corruptor has as many twists and turns as a Raymond Chandler novel, if not nearly as much panache -- or comprehensibility. This was Hong Kong action star Chow Yun-Fat's second American film (1998's The Replacement Killers was the first), and director James Foley gets a lot of mileage out of imitating the trademark style of John Woo -- at least, as far as the action scenes are concerned. The first glimpse of Yun-Fat's cynical, wiseass New York detective Nick Chen is immediately familiar, and when he tumbles behind a table and comes out shooting two-fisted, he's on well-trod ground. With the introduction of Mark Wahlberg as rookie partner Danny Wallace, and an apparently obvious target -- gang violence in Chinatown, complicated by Wahlberg's necessary cultural awkwardness -- the plot seems clear, but as the script adds layer upon layer of complications, soon the only thing that's clear is that nothing is as it seems. Much of the time, this works, largely due to the genuine chemistry between the co-stars and the outstanding supporting cast, particularly Ric Young as slippery crime boss Henry Lee, Brian Cox as Wahlberg's estranged father, and Paul Ben-Victor as an FBI agent who's too clever for his own good -- all stereotypical characters, but well-realized. Unfortunately, Foley can't seem to decide whether he's making a buddy movie, an action flick (complete with obligatory high-speed chase scene and multiple-digit body count -- at least they don't drive through a parade), or a hard-bitten, cynical drama. Sure, all of these are related, but none of them really predominates, so that at the end you're left wondering just what it was you just saw, and disturbed by some of the film's blunter clichés. Still, The Corruptor has some sterling moments. It helped establish Yun-Fat's presence in the United States (remember, this was before Anna and the King or, more importantly, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), and marks a bit of a change of pace for Wahlberg, who manages a serious, sensitive portrayal, although he never looks entirely comfortable in his part. ~ Genevieve Williams, All Movie Guide
Andrew Pang - Willy Ung; Brian Cox - Sean Wallace; Elizabeth Lindsey - Louise Deng; Byron Mann - Bobby Vu; Kim Chan - Benny Wong; Bill MacDonald - Vince Kirkpatrick; Susie Trinh - Amy San; Tovah Feldshuh - Margaret Wheeler
Credit
Paul Denham Austerberry - Art Director, Mary Vernieu - Casting, Anne McCarthy - Casting, Doug Hall - Costume Designer, Jeffrey Steven Authors - First Assistant Director, James Foley - Director, Howard E. Smith - Editor, Terence Chang - Executive Producer, Oliver Stone - Executive Producer, Bill Carraro - Executive Producer, Jay Stern - Executive Producer, Brian Witten - Executive Producer, Jonathan Krauss - Executive Producer, Carter Burwell - Composer (Music Score), Dana Sano - Musical Direction/Supervision, David Brisbin - Production Designer, Juan Ruiz-Anchia - Cinematographer, Dan Halsted - Producer, Jaro Dick - Set Designer, Douglas Ganton - Sound/Sound Designer, Phil Neilson - Stunts Coordinator, Robert Pucci - Screenwriter, George De Titta, Jr. - Set Decorator
