The Corruptor (1999)

With the aid from a New York City policeman, a top immigrant cop tries to stop drug-trafficking and corruption by immigrant Chinese Triads, but things get complicated when the Triads try to bribe the policeman.

Director:

James Foley

Writer:

Robert Pucci

Stars:

Chow Yun-Fat, Mark Wahlberg, Ric Young

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Chow Yun-Fat	...	Nick Chen
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

Storyline

Nick Chen is one of New York City's most martial police officers and the first Chinese-born immigrant on the force. Chen's job is to keep the peace in Chinatown from a turf war that has broken out between the Triads and the ruthless, and dangerous Fukienese Dragons. Chen teams up with Danny Wallace, who is terribly unaware of this situation. When the Tongs boldly attempt to bribe Wallace, Chen is forced to keep his faithfulness.

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Plot Keywords:

buddy cop | police detective | tough cop | two man army | police corruption | 

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Taglines:

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...

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence, language and sexuality

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the lamp store shootout and the massage parlor raid, there are close-ups of Chen shooting a criminal in the head at point blank range with a small revolver. These were directly inspired by Eddie Adams' famous Vietnam War photo of South Vietnamese general Nguyen Ngoc Loan executing handcuffed Viet Cong member Nguyen Van Lem on February 1, 1968.

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Goofs

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.

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Quotes

Nick Chen: Black or red plum?
Danny Wallace: Nah, I don't like plums.
Nick Chen: What do you mean you don't like plums?
Danny Wallace: I like peaches.
Nick Chen: Peaches is shit. Haven't you ever heard the song Sinatra sang? 'Out of the tree of life I just picked me a plum.' Not a peach, a plum.
Danny Wallace: I don't care if he pulled a raisin out of Sammy Davis's eye-socket, I prefer peaches.

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Alternate Versions

German VHS release was cut by ca. 6 minutes to secure a "Not under 16" rating.

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Connections

Edited into Malevolent (2002)

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Soundtracks

Slap Somebody
Written by Erick Sermon (as E. Sermon) & Keith Murray (as K. Murray)
Performed by Keith Murray
Courtesy of Jive Records

User Reviews

Seriously Underrated Slice of Action

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. 9/10

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Cantonese

Release Date:

12 March 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Corruptor

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$5,765,300, 14 March 1999

Gross USA:

$15,164,492

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$24,493,601

Company Credits

Production Co:

New Line Cinema, Illusion Entertainment Group

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1