Review of The Corruptor (1999) by Steven Y — 31 Mar 2009

While not perfect, The Corrupter is far from lacking when it comes to delivering the action goods we've come to expect from a Chow Yun Fat movie. People who say it needs more action or character development must have watched the wrong movie.

To add more of either would have had to resulted in a longer movie. From start to finish, no time is wasted in conveying the story or showing Hong Kong style gunplay that is above and beyond what American audiences are used to.

Extremely violent and full of imaginative ways to kill people with a gun, I don't see how anyone who would even consider watching this would give it a low rating. Unlike today's action flicks who strive for their precious PG-13 rating, this movie takes it over the top and is full of gratuitous nudity, immoral activity, and point-blank head-exploding gunfire.

If you're into any of the aforementioned goodness, then you more than likely won't be disappointed by this flick. The famous car chase scene is perhaps the most violent ever put to celluloid. Mark Wahlberg isn't the greatest actor but is believable nonetheless.

Chow Yun Fat plays the role of desensitized Asian gang taskforce detective Nick Chen perfectly. This isn't a movie to watch with the kids as Chen's antics can sometimes leave one questioning his sanity.

With a touching ending and adrenaline pumping action, The Corrupter delivers on all promises - so much so that I must wonder if some of the other reviewers here were even watching the same movie.