The Corruptor
0.5/4
Starring: Chow Yun-Fat, Mark Wahlberg, Ric Young, Byron Mann, Brian Cox, Kim Chan
Rated R for Strong Violence, Language and Sexuality
I feel really bad for Chow Yun-Fat. Although he became famous for his action movies with John Woo, he's also an excellent actor (he should have gotten an Oscar nomination for "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"), but his attempts to follow Jackie Chan and Jet Li into Hollywood have been met with abysmal failure (after "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," he starred in the "Bulletproof Monk" with Sean William Scott. I think that says enough.). Ironically, he's a better actor than either of them.
Chow Yun-Fat plays Nick Chen, a detective in New York City's Chinatown. He works in the Asian Gang Unit, which essentially is the job of the peacekeeper. While Nick is a good cop, he's also on the payroll of the Triads, led by Uncle Benny (Chan) and his right hand man, Henry Lee (Young). A brutal gang war has broken out between the Triads and a bunch of young psychos who call themselves the Fukinese Dragons. To help him, the NYPD has brought in a young rookie named Danny Wallace (Wahlberg). Nick hates the idea; in his words, Danny "isn't just white, he's green." Nevertheless, Nick and Danny become partners, and Nick tries to keep his young partner out of Henry Lee's grasp. But with a father in the red with some nasty people, looking out for Henry Lee's interests for some extra pocket change is mighty tempting.
Sounds kind of interesting, doesn't it? I thought so too. This film is ripe with promise, but it is saddled with a hopelessly generic script and plastic direction by the usually reliable James Foley.
I don't blame either of the two stars since they do their jobs and its easy to understand why they signed on. Chow Yun-Fat was trying to break into Hollywood while Wahlberg was trying to cement his status as an actor (his big break came two years earlier with "Boogie Nights"). Sadly, this movie doesn't give them the opportunity to show what they're capable of . Danny and Nick are boring. The only color is provided by Ric Young, but that may just be the actor's style; he's certainly doesn't say anything of interest. Brian Cox, the brilliant character actor that he is, is completely wasted as Danny's father. Talk about your unforgivable sins!
This is a huge disappointment. No, it's a spectacular one. I haven't seen a director fall farther with one film than James Foley, who's previous film was the infinitely superior "Fear." True, Christopher Crowe's script was brilliant while this one is garbage, but that doesn't absolve Foley of much. He should have known that the script was awful and not taken it so seriously (or better yet, demanded some serious rewrites by someone who knows what they're doing). He did bring along his star and composer Carter Burwell from "Fear," although it doesn't help. "Fear" was a masterful excursion into terror. It was well acted, intense, and frightening. "The Corruptor" is a snoozefest that feels longer than the entire Blu Ray Extended Edition of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy.
There's really not much more I can say about this movie other than to avoid it.
Starring: Chow Yun-Fat, Mark Wahlberg, Ric Young, Byron Mann, Brian Cox, Kim Chan
Rated R for Strong Violence, Language and Sexuality
I feel really bad for Chow Yun-Fat. Although he became famous for his action movies with John Woo, he's also an excellent actor (he should have gotten an Oscar nomination for "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"), but his attempts to follow Jackie Chan and Jet Li into Hollywood have been met with abysmal failure (after "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," he starred in the "Bulletproof Monk" with Sean William Scott. I think that says enough.). Ironically, he's a better actor than either of them.
Chow Yun-Fat plays Nick Chen, a detective in New York City's Chinatown. He works in the Asian Gang Unit, which essentially is the job of the peacekeeper. While Nick is a good cop, he's also on the payroll of the Triads, led by Uncle Benny (Chan) and his right hand man, Henry Lee (Young). A brutal gang war has broken out between the Triads and a bunch of young psychos who call themselves the Fukinese Dragons. To help him, the NYPD has brought in a young rookie named Danny Wallace (Wahlberg). Nick hates the idea; in his words, Danny "isn't just white, he's green." Nevertheless, Nick and Danny become partners, and Nick tries to keep his young partner out of Henry Lee's grasp. But with a father in the red with some nasty people, looking out for Henry Lee's interests for some extra pocket change is mighty tempting.
Sounds kind of interesting, doesn't it? I thought so too. This film is ripe with promise, but it is saddled with a hopelessly generic script and plastic direction by the usually reliable James Foley.
I don't blame either of the two stars since they do their jobs and its easy to understand why they signed on. Chow Yun-Fat was trying to break into Hollywood while Wahlberg was trying to cement his status as an actor (his big break came two years earlier with "Boogie Nights"). Sadly, this movie doesn't give them the opportunity to show what they're capable of . Danny and Nick are boring. The only color is provided by Ric Young, but that may just be the actor's style; he's certainly doesn't say anything of interest. Brian Cox, the brilliant character actor that he is, is completely wasted as Danny's father. Talk about your unforgivable sins!
This is a huge disappointment. No, it's a spectacular one. I haven't seen a director fall farther with one film than James Foley, who's previous film was the infinitely superior "Fear." True, Christopher Crowe's script was brilliant while this one is garbage, but that doesn't absolve Foley of much. He should have known that the script was awful and not taken it so seriously (or better yet, demanded some serious rewrites by someone who knows what they're doing). He did bring along his star and composer Carter Burwell from "Fear," although it doesn't help. "Fear" was a masterful excursion into terror. It was well acted, intense, and frightening. "The Corruptor" is a snoozefest that feels longer than the entire Blu Ray Extended Edition of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy.
There's really not much more I can say about this movie other than to avoid it.
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