The Corruptor (1999)

Director:

James Foley

Writer (WGA):

Robert Pucci (written by)

Release Date:

12 March 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

If you have a secret, he knows it. If you have a weakness, he exploits it. If you have anything good in you, he destroys it...

Plot:

With the aid from a NYC policeman, a top immigrant cop tries to stop drug-trafficking and corruption by immigrant Chinese Triads, but things complicate when the Triads try to bribe the policeman.

Plot Keywords:

New York | Police | Triad | Chinatown | Illegal Immigrant

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Yun-Fat Chow	...	Nick Chen (as Chow Yun-Fat)
Mark Wahlberg	...	Danny Wallace
Ric Young	...	Henry Lee
Paul Ben-Victor	...	Schabacker
Jon Kit Lee	...	Jack
Andrew Pang	...	Willy Ung
Elizabeth Lindsey	...	Louise Deng
Brian Cox	...	Sean Wallace
Byron Mann	...	Bobby Vu
Kim Chan	...	Benny Wong
Bill MacDonald	...	Vince Kirkpatrick
Susie Trinh	...	Amy San
Ho Chow	...	Black Eyes
Olivia Yap	...	Tai
Lynda Chiu	...	Kim

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence, language and sexuality.

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Cantonese

Color:

Color (DeLuxe) (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #36007) | Iceland:16 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:18A (Alberta/British Columbia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Germany:18 | Philippines:R-18 | Germany:16 (cut) | Netherlands:12 (cut TV version) | Australia:MA | France:-12 | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R18 | Norway:18 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:M18 | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:18

Filming Locations:

Chinatown, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

New Line Cinema

Trivia:

In the original script when Nick Chen walks in on Henry Vu being fed grapes in the bath, she was supposed to be giving him oral sex. Yun-Fat Chow said that Chen would not continue a relationship with May after witnessing this act, and the grape-feeding was suggested.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Chow Yun-Fat's character is questioning the Chinese guy in jail his hand is holding the guys chin, then his throat, then his chin.

Quotes:

Benny Wong: You are not man enough to kill me.
[puts gun in mouth and pulls trigger]
Bobby Vu: No, but we kill you anyway Uncle Benny!
[shoots body excessively with the gang]

Movie Connections:

Edited into From the (Under)Ground Up: The Making of 'The Corruptor' (1999) (V)

Soundtrack:

Break It Down

Very Stylish Thriller

On the surface this is just an old fashioned tale of a slightly wet newbie cop teaming up with a hardened veteran , in short it`s a buddy movie that were very common in the late 80s/early 90s but what sets THE CORRUPTER apart from similar movies is just how stylish it all is . James Foley started his career by directing videos but with one brief exception this doesn`t really show too much with his action style being inspired by the likes of John Woo and Hong Kong action movies . There`s some superb technical aspects such as the editing and the cinematography is breath taking especially the scenes where light filters through windows and we see the spectrum imposed on the characters faces

There are some flaws to the movie of course . One is Foley has cast actors whose native tongue is not English which does cause some unintentional sniggers namely when the characters mention the word " Fokkien " , yeah okay I know it`s set in Chinatown but as is common in movies no one will complain if the characters speak perfect English no matter their ethnic origin or upbringing . The script does get a bit confused and complicated in the final third which did spoil the movie slightly and some people will no doubt be put off by the sometimes over the top violence , but as a violent thriller I was entertained by this movie