The Corruptor (1999)

Director: James Foley
Cast: Chow Yun Fat, Mark Wahlberg, Brian Cox, Rick Young, Bryon Mann
Country: United States
Rating: R
Run Time: 110 minutes

The Corruptor is the only American action film that properly utilizes international star Chow Yun Fat. Before the film, Chow made his attempt at U.S. stardom with Antoine Fuqua's The Replacement Killers in 1998. And while The Replacement Killers has great action scenes, the characters are dull and the film feels like a cheap American attempt at Hong Kong action cinema. However, The Corruptor is the perfect American vehicle for Chow Yun Fat because it allows him to play a complex character, show off his action prowress, and star in a film that deals with both Chinese and American relations in the Chinatown portion of New York City. In my opinion, The Corruptor is one of the most underrated action films of the 1990's.

Chow takes aim in the film's most impressive action scene.

The Corruptor is an American action film that draws heavily from Chinese influence in both its aesthetics, themes, and characters. The film tells the story of two cops, a rookie and a veteran, who patrol the streets of Chinatown. Detective Danny Wallace (Mark Wahlberg) joins the 15th precinct, run by Lieutenant Nick Chen (Chow Yun Fat). Their precinct is in charge of the gang wars between the Tongs and the Fukinese in Chinatown, New York. However, Wallace soon finds out that any cop can be bought by Henry Lee (Ric Young), the leader of the Tongs. Wallace and Chen both find themselves in internal affairs for Lee and aid him in his struggle for power against the Fukinese. Things are further complicated when the F.B.I. begin investigating Wallace and Chen in order to build a case against them. As tension rises, Wallace and Chen soon must question if they can even trust each other in the midst of everything.

Nick Chen is one of Chow's best performances in his whole career. Even though Chen is a cop, he aids the Tongs from time to time. Therefore, Chen is a flawed character who plays both sides of the law. What makes the film better is that Chen himself knows that. He talks about how he will have to answer for his decisions one day and regrets aiding the Tong ever since they got ahold of him long ago. The film shows how far cops will go in order to stop crime if only to aid another criminal in the process. These themes of internal affairs, honor, and trust amongst cops and brothers are exactly what separates Hong Kong action films from everything else. Director James Foley and screenwriter Robert Pucci clearly understand how this genre works.

The Corruptor also features one of Mark Wahlberg's best performances in an action film. Walhberg has starred in numerous action films over the years: Shooter, Four Brothers, 2 Guns, Contraband, etc. However, I enjoy his presence here because he isn't self aware of his stardom yet. Wahlberg delivers a strong and honest performance of a cop caught up in the midst of playing both sides of the law. Few of Wahlberg's action-centric characters have as much depth as Danny Wallace does. Wahlberg also has great chemistry with Chow Yun Fat. One of the things I love about this film is that it never tries to be a buddy comedy. While there is some witty banter here and there, the focus of the film is always drama and action. Foley and Pucci made the wise decision to portray the characters as seriously as possible. I also wonder who thought of teaming up Mark Wahlberg and Chow Yun Fat in an action film? Regardless, their partnership works and I quite enjoyed them.

The classic, "You snuck up on me," scene.

The film also boasts a great villain in Henry Lee (Ric Young of The Transporter). Young has a devilish personality to him that makes him for one of the most detestable and conniving villain actors around. If anyone were to ever play an evil snake in an animated movie, Young would be the go to guy. The rest of the film's gangsters and villains are pretty forgettable. Secondary villain Bobby Vu (Bryon Mann) is so exaggerated that I couldn't take him seriously at times. I know his character is supposed to be obnoxious but I think that Mann hammed it up a little too much.

Chen's friend Jack is also pretty annoying. He constantly makes sexual comments about women and is even more obnoxious than Bobby Vu. I would have liked this movie that much more if his character were axed completely. He adds nothing to the story and exists purely for comic relief, painful comic relief that is. Brian Cox (Ironclad) also graces us with his awesome presence as Wallace's father. While Cox is barely in the film, I'll take ten minutes of Brian Cox over no Brian Cox any day.

In the nearly two hour film, there are four big action scenes. Unfortunately, three of these big set pieces take place in the first forty minutes of the film. Therefore, there is a large gap of the film devoid of violence and action. The Corruptor turns into a straight police drama for an act and a half and axes the action all together. I'm all fine for character driven police dramas (The Departed, Infernal Affairs). However, I feel that it is a bit of a betrayal for the film to start off with so much action and than to slow things down considerably for a solid forty minutes of screen time.

Gangster style.

All of the action on display is fantastic though. Any film that starts off with a shootout in the first four minutes is good in my book! There is also a great brothel shootout where Wallace gets his first taste of action. The film even boasts an extremely impressive car chase through the streets of Chinatown. This is easily one of the best car chases I have ever seen. Unlike other car chases, the two cars fire guns at each other throughout the entire chase! If you are to watch this film for anything, make it this car chase. It's a great one.

Even though this film is an American production, I would easily classify The Corruptor as a "heroic bloodshed" film. It contains many elements that one would find in a Hong Kong action film. The film stars Chow Yun Fat, an actor mostly known for his roles in Hong Kong action films. The narrative even concerns cops, gangsters, and internal affairs, concepts that abide in many heroic bloodshed action films. The typical heroic bloodshed themes of honor, brotherhood, and loyalty also abide. All of the action sequences incorporate guns, slow motion effects, and a considerable body count. The film even ends with an action packed finale where one of the protagonists sacrifices themselves, a staple in many heroic bloodshed pictures. The Corruptor also incorporates a high amount of Cantonese dialog, Hong Kong actors, and Chinese music unusual for an American production. These Hong Kong influences are so apparent that it is near impossible for me not to consider the film a part of the heroic bloodshed genre.

Chow Yun Fat is "under siege" in the final boat shootout.

As you can tell, I really enjoy James Foley's The Corruptor. It's a heavily underrated cop thriller that flopped at the box office back in 1999. However, I think that its action scenes and themes still hold up today and serves as a fun film to discover for "heroic bloodshed" junkies out there who think that they have seen them all. It is also the only great American film that Chow Yun Fat headlined during his short lived Hollywood career. I highly recommend the film to all action fans and especially to Chow Yun Fat fans.

Rating: 8/10 - A solid and underrated 90's cop drama that deserves a Blu Ray release in order to revitalize its popularity.

Update: The film finally made it to Blu Ray as of April 2015!