# Corruptor, The (1999)

### reviewed by
Luke Buckmaster

    THE CORRUPTOR
    Cast: Chow Yun-Fat, Mark Wahlberg, Ric Young, Jon Kit Lee, Elizabeth
    Lindsey, Byron Mann
    Director: James Foley
    Screenplay: Robert Pucci
    Australian theatrical release: May 6, 1999
    Reviewed by Luke Buckmaster

On the Buckmaster scale of 0 stars (bomb), to 5 stars (a masterpiece): 1 and a half stars

Off the beat, I'd say that Chow Yun Fat is a terrific actor. A John Woo veteran and an Asian action spectacle, Yun Fat effortlessly conveyed brilliance in Woo's The Killer and Hard Boiled. His Hollywood debut, however, is another story. What led him to choose two very messy scripts - 1997's The Replacement Killers and this one - to begin his American career is a mystery to me. It's not that The Corruptor doesn't show of its lead performer, it's just that its lead performer can't show off his film. After the first ten minutes or so of The Corruptor, we get a glimpse of what it could have been - but upon its completion, it's clear that this film is a case of misused opportunities. There are a couple of well-choreographed action scenes and some unexpected twists in the plot, but severely hindering this B&B (blood and bullets) soaked caper is its scripting. Jumbled and unnecessarily complex, the screenplay never builds intrigue and seldom shows signs of getting there.

Danny Wallace (Mark Wahlberg) is a new police officer in the Chinatown Asian Gang Unit. A turf war has erupted between two powerful gangs, and corruption and double-crossing has filtered through the police force. Star detective Nick Chen (Chow Yun-Fat) reluctantly partners with Wallace, informing him that white cops are usually killed within days. Whilst Chen battles to keep the peace in Chinatown, Wallace has different intentions, and is reluctant to adhere to the tough regulations of an almost foreign police force.

Perhaps dooming The Corruptor from the start is its two protagonists - they are cliché and rather dull characters. Chow Yun-Fat has the ability to play both the good guy and the bad guy with a flick of his eyebrows, but here he doesn't get the chance to dazzle audiences or develop his character emotionally. Nick Chen is a hard-hitting, dedicated cop - we know that - but the film tries to make him more than that. The characterization of a violent but lovable man was done to perfection in 1998's Japanese film Hana-Bi, but here viewers are distanced from the film's most important character. Yun Fat is never a bad performer, but bad films bring him down. Mark Wahlberg plays a nerd cop (his role bears similarities to Guy Pearce's in L.A Confidential) unconvincingly and sheepishly.

There are few redeeming qualities in The Corruptor, a film that disappoints on more than one level. Poor scripting makes this film come in a long second best to the likes of Payback and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, and that's disappointing since The Corruptor had more potential than both of them. Like looking at a blank page in an otherwise fascinating book, this film doesn't match the high standards of either Hong Kong or Hollywood films - in fact, it arrives well below par on both accounts.

Review © copyright Luke Buckmaster

    Read more of my reviews at In Film Australia
    http://infilmau.iah.net

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