Du Zhan (2012)
Genre: Crime
Duration: 107 minuten
Alternative titles: Drug War / 毒战 / 毒戰
Country:
Hong-Kong / China
Directed by: Johnnie To
Stars: Louis Koo, Honglei Sun and Yi Huang
IMDb score:
7,0 (11.625)
Releasedate: 15 November 2012
Du Zhan plot
"HIGH RISK HIGH RETURN."
Police captain Zhang and his team make frantic efforts to round up a large cocaine ring in the interior of China. Drug lord Tommy Choi wants to free himself from the death penalty by promising to help the police.
Actors and actresses
Choi Tin-ming / Timmy Choi
Captain Zhang Lei
Yang Xiaobei
Sal
Fatso
Guo Weiju
HaHa's wife
Xu Guoxiang
Driver
Chen Shixiong
Reviews & comments
mrklm
-
- 12860 messages
- 10708 votes
Captain Zhang [Sun Honglei] and Yang Xiaobei [Huang Yi] are efficient, unyielding drug agents who see their opportunity when they get their hands on Tommy Choi [Louis Koo], a major player in the drug world. They force him to become their mole so they can arrest one of the top players in the drug circuit. The question, of course, is to what extent they can trust this cunning criminal. Mutual distrust hangs over the entire film, which unfortunately slows down after a spectacular start and a grim first half, but builds in the final quarter towards a shootout you won't soon forget and an intelligent denouement. An excellent crime film by specialist Johnnie To.
Translated from Dutch · View original
frolunda
-
- 1115 messages
- 4614 votes
Excellent Chinese/Hong Kong crime film about a rather complex anti-drug and undercover operation led by Captain Zhang Lei, played superbly by Sun Honglei. He receives information and "help" from Timmy Choi (Louis Koo), a recently arrested drug producer attempting to evade or reduce his death penalty. The entire operation is intended to lead to the arrest of the major narcotics boss "Uncle Bill," but as the operation progresses and not everything goes according to plan, Zhang Lei begins to have doubts about Choi's full and sincere cooperation.
Drug War was directed by one of Hong Kong's most acclaimed filmmakers, Johnnie To, who shot the film entirely on the Chinese mainland. As a result, the film has a somewhat different ambiance compared to To's earlier work, but the class and quality remain undiminished.
Drug War maintains a fairly high pace where events follow each other quite quickly, but thanks to the solid script, this almost never comes across as rushed or distracting. Only the scene in the harbor left me with mixed feelings; it felt a bit unbelievable and illogical in part.
Otherwise, however, the film has no downsides; beautiful visuals, strong acting across almost the entire board, and several lush and beautifully staged shootouts ensure a great deal of viewing pleasure.
And with the two drivers of the meth truck and the hilarious dealer HaHa, the film even possesses some successful comedic elements.
Drug War (original title Du Zahn) is therefore once again a successful and convincing project by director Johnnie To; in fact, in my opinion, the film even ranks among his better work (as far as I have seen it), very captivating and of high quality throughout its entire length (107 minutes), including a phenomenal ending where every detail seems to have been well thought out.
Translated from Dutch · View original
filmkul
-
- 2722 messages
- 2396 votes
A reasonably strong crime film. The story isn't particularly special, but it is skillfully developed by To. The build-up is good, and a grim atmosphere quickly emerges, drawing the viewer into the doubts surrounding Choi's cooperation. The film doesn't contain many action scenes, but the few that are presented are strongly visualized. The long shoot-out at the end, in particular, is outstanding. Furthermore, the film is a pleasant watch with a number of nerve-wrackingly suspenseful scenes. Visually, the film is also of a reasonable standard, with good camerawork and realistic stunts. 3.5/4.0
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