SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

Infamousta brilliant actors, brilliant editing

Afouotos Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Dana An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

cdoggy99 First off let me say that I love asian flicks and have for some time. Decided to watch Drug Wars after seeing reviews here and elsewhere. Lemme say that I have mixed feelings about it. Convoluted script and weak characters with some exceptions. Action scenes were also a letdown. Got a little dizzy trying to keep up with all the character switches going down during the drug deals. Loved the deaf guys in the movie. And I was majorly disappointed with the ending of this movie. I mean how much imagination does it take to show a lethal injection execution? And I get it, the main character still trying to make deals by selling out every drug dealer he knows even til the very end. A mixed bag for me.

watrmeln Many crime films focus either on the action or the characters. Drug War tries to do both. Unfortunately, the film that results is less than the sum of its parts.What the film does do well is show a grittier dark side of Chinese society. Shooting in Tianjin, China, lends a bit of authenticity.Unfortunately, this movie suffers from an uneven pace and unclear story line. Aside from Louis Koo and Honglei Sun, most of the acting is forgettable. Of note, I found the Bill Li group especially implausible. The Mute Gang seemed more cutthroat and impressive as a drug gang that the masterminds.I felt the ending was too drawn out, illogical, and unfortunately, comedic. Gunshots apparently don't kill. Chinese police apparently don't use tactics when apprehending armed criminals, except at the very end.

space_base After his meth lab explodes, leaving him scarred and his wife dead, Timmy Choi (Louis Koo) is apprehended by the Chinese police for a crime that warrants the death penalty. In the custody of Captain Zhang (Sun Honglei), Choi sees only one option to avoid execution; turn traitor and help Zhang's undercover unit bring down the powerful cartel that he has been cooking for. As the stakes get higher, it becomes increasing unclear as to who has the upper hand, and who will dictate the endgame. Director Johnny To is a master of the crime film, and with "Drug War," he's created a near masterpiece of the genre. He never convinces us of being in anything but complete control of his multifaceted thriller, and exudes an unparallelled confidence in every scene and phenomenal set piece.To's electrifying picture recalls some of the best work of his great contemporaries. "Drug War" possesses the technical brilliance of Scorsese's "The Departed," the ground-level knowledge and surveillance of David Simon's "The Wire," the gritty realism of Michael Mann's best work, and by the end the blistering, double-fisted action of John Woo's prime. These elements don't come together as a derivative; To is a filmmaker at the top of his game, and makes the most of his cast, his influences, the Mainland setting, and a little of the grotesquerie that often has Hollywood shuddering; in a singular whole. Disparate from most Hong Kong action films, "Drug War" is a methodical, meticulous procedural first, exploiting a street-smart screenplay that knows the Chinese crime scene; and if that statement is indeed false, it never feels less than authentic. Much of the intensity derives from dialogue exchanges, and how rigorous both the cops and criminals try to not get made. Because of this well paced, equally well played dynamic, we never know who we should root for, and that's exactly the point. Mr. To's drama is incredibly intense... but then he pulls out all the stops. The last 20 minutes of "Drug War" is the show-stopping action set piece of the year. An extended shootout that's brutal, ambitious, and a masterpiece of it's kind. It's a marvel of physical filmmaking that also works as an unexpected plot device, violently flipping our conceived notions of these characters on their ear; clearing the way for a fittingly ironic, ice-cold conclusion."Drug War" might just be the best pure crime film of 2013. Technically and narratively stellar, it already seems like a minor classic of the genre.

The Seperator _ The drab, dusty, industrial backdrop of what is purported as the unglamorous metropolis of Tian Jin, China, tacky haute facades are the setting for Drugs War's series of raw, tension filled episodes. From a country riddled with censorship, Drugs Wars, a film by Johnnie To, is an unbridled glimpse of organized crime and crystal meth in China. Although perhaps a tad sensationalistic, the film delivers a bold statement: the Chinese the drug market is alive and well.Louis Koo plays a busted crystal meth baron who has a choice, either help police bust a massive organized crime syndicate, or be executed. He chooses to help police.In an elaborate tireless scheme, actor Honglei Sun dazzlingly plays a police officer portraying a criminal in the attempt to infiltrate this upper echelon syndicate. The best scene of the film is when Sun's character is forced to rail two massive lines of crystal meth as part of this act. The effects of the meth play out into a powerful piece of cinema. Post- OD, literally having come back from the edge death, the chase for the criminals continues with out a flinch.At times this police tenacity is too exaggerated to be believable. The chase for the bad guys goes on endlessly for days. None of the cops ever eat or sleep. They seem to have inexhaustible resources at their disposal. They are able to commandeer an entire harbor just to put on a show of authenticity for the crooks. The cops risk their lives over and over, and for what? To rid the world of a few truckloads of drugs? The conventional divide between the good guy cops and bad guy criminals doesn't blur, until it does. After an epic final gun battle, we have no idea who's who.Drug Wars attains excellence as an action movie and serves as a rare example of a controversial work to emerge from a country that produces so much state-approved propaganda. More @ getthebonesaw.blogspot.com