# Corruptor, The (1999)

### reviewed by
Bob Bloom

The Corruptor (1999) 2 1/2 stars out of 4. Starring Chow Yun-Fat and Mark Wahlberg. Directed by James Foley.

Sometimes it's an actors charisma that carries a picture.

     Take "The Corruptor," for example.

On the surface, James Foley's Chinatown crime drama is nothing more than a bloody, ultra-violent "B" picture.

The characters are stock: the wise veteran cop who knows his away around the territory, the eager, young rookie trying to fit in and prove his abilities, and the sly, calculating crime lord, with the affable personality that conceals a rattlesnake.

The pleasure of "The Corruptor" can be attributed to two factors: a slightly better than average script, and the personality of its star, Chow Yun-Fat.

This Hong Kong action star is making his second American film - the first was "The Replacement Killers" - after a stellar stint as John Woo's favorite actor in a series of gritty, violent dramas such as "Hard-Boiled."

Chow is smooth, charming and deadly as Detective Nick Chen, head of the AGU (Asian Gang Unit). He has strong ties to the Chinatown community, and is not above accepting a favor or two from some of its "businessmen" leaders.

Chen is not a dishonest cop. He knows where to draw the line. His biggest concern is defusing a gang war that is costing many lives as well as hurting tourism in Chinatown.

Enter Detective Danny Wallace (Mark Wahlberg), an idealistic young recruit who wants to help clean up the community, but instead gets sucked into the dark underbelly and double-dealing of Chinatown.

Robert Pucci's script offers enough twists and surprises to hold some suspense. It is also rather dark and bloody.

Explosions and car chases abound with innocent bystanders mowed down with abandon.

And Foley tends to make you air sick with his continual swirling aerial shots of New York City. One or two would have sufficed, but it seems he needs to remind us every few minutes of the story's locale and that New York is a chaotic composite of good and evil.

Otherwise, "The Corruptor" is an engrossing little movie. One reason is the contribution of Ric Young as the seductive crime lord, whose glib manner entices all those around him.

Wahlberg is sincere as Wallace, but this is Chow's movie.

It would be fun to see him and John Woo re-team or see Chow in a film with a stronger script. His potential is limitless.

Bob Bloom is the film critic at the Journal and Courier in Lafayette, IN. He can be reached by e-mail at bloom@journal-courier.com or at cbloom@iquest.net

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