Jeanskynebu the audience applauded

Platicsco Good story, Not enough for a whole film

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

Lidia Draper Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

dworldeater The Corrupter is a pretty good, but not great action packed thriller starring HK legend Chow Yun Fat. This is the second English language US production for Chow Yun Fat and he gives an excellent performance. He shows more range and depth than his Hollywood debut The Replacement Killers and easily compliments the complexities of the storyline and his character. As excellent as Chow Yun Fat is, his supporting cast does not perform at the same level. For the most part, the support cast is decent. The biggest problem here is the horribly miscast Mark Wahlberg, who opposite Chow Yun Fat was terrible. If Mark Wahlberg was to make this now, he would probably nail it. At the time he did not have the acting chops for a character as complex as this and is not rugged enough to convincingly play a NYC cop, rookie or not. His performance was wooden and looks silly when he tries to act tough. If he could refrain from sounding like Michael Jackson when he talks that would have been a step in the right direction. Flaws and criticisms aside, I enjoy the film. The film looks great and is packed with tons of gritty, bloody action with a stylish 90's rap score to boot.

Robert J. Maxwell It doesn't begin with much promise. After the credits, an unexplained fireball slams into the camera. Near the end, there is the climactic shoot out aboard a freighter smuggling Chinese illegals into the country. In between, photographed in lurid colors suggesting grindhouse, there is a car chase through the streets of New York's Chinatown that slaughters innocent bystanders. More ammunition is expended than during the entirety of World War II and a Chinese girl wearing no knickers licks Mark Wahlberg's naked back.The story itself has Wahlberg as an NYPD detective assigned to 15 precinct, Chinatown, and forced to work under the supervision of Chow Yun-Fat. It's a complicated narrative full of characters and twists and I don't think I'll describe it much further because there is a surprisingly successful element of suspense built into it.Initially, when Wahlberg shows up at the precinct, it begins to look like very familiar stuff. Wahlberg is the only white guy on the roster and the Chinese cops taunt him and ridicule him. When Wahlberg says he goes by the book, the others scoff. It appears to be still another story of the veteran showing the naive rookie how the cow at the cabbage.But then it gets into far more interesting stuff and in a way that involves the viewer. The crosses and double identities are so thick that I lost track of them at time but they gradually became clearer as the story unfolded.Both the principles do well by their roles and the director helps by avoiding contemporary clichés -- the zap of instant editing, the whirling camera held by the drunken photographer, the glitz and whams on the sound track. It's all done neatly, in classical style.You may find yourself getting into it, and the kids will enjoy the furious action sequences.

Paul Andrews The Corrupter is set in New York City where decorated veteran detective Nick Chen (Chow Yun-Fat) who operates in New York's Chinatown, trying to keep the peace & prevent a turf war between rival Chinese gangs. Rookie cop Danny Wallace (Mark Whalberg) is assigned to Chen's team, the only problem is that he is American, a white American. Chen is unhappy at first but decides to try & teach Wallace the way things go in Chinatown while trying to prevent Wallace getting himself killed. During a drugs bust they arrest an undercover FBI agent, then soon after the FBI agent is killed in a Chinatown hit. The FBI think there's a leak in Chen's department & Chen himself comes under pressure. With the violence escalating & gangs kill each other for all out control Chen & his team are caught in the middle of it...Directed by James Foley I thought The Corrupter was a really average cop drama thriller with very little to distinguish or recommend it, those look for some some decent gun-play & action in particular will be very disappointed. The script tends to go for slow burning drama rather than out & out action, there's an OK car chase & a few forgettable shoot-outs but nothing else. I also felt the script was too unfocused, there are various little subplots going on, the illegal immigrants, the prostitutes, Wallace's personal problems with his father, a gang war & struggle for power in Chinatown along with various office politics & red tape that ordinary cops have to deal with. It's all pretty dour stuff to be honest, nothing grabbed me or excited me or drew me in & I just ended up feeling pretty bored, at an hour & forty minutes long The Corrupter does take a fair bit of patience to sit through & I found I had lost mine way before the end credits started to roll. The character's are alright, as far as buddy buddy cop films go they are not typical though. Chen is written as a decent man who has to bend the rules to get things done & keep the peace while the fresh faced Wallace plays it strictly by the book at first but soon realises that life on the street has no rules, they are quite well fleshed out & drawn but they are stuck in such a bland cop drama that it's hard to care or get involved in their story. All in all I just didn't think The Corrupter added up to much, with an emphasis on drama rather than action this won't appeal to your average mainstream action fan.Even with a reasonable car chase about halfway through there was far less action in The Corrupter than I was expecting, even the shoot-outs & gun-play are dull. Filmed in New York & in Canada this looks nice enough with hat gritty, low colour documentary style cinematography that some may like while other's like me will find just bland & anonymous.Taking a paltry five million during it's opening weekend at the box-office The Corrupter is a hard sell, is it meant to appeal to those interested in drama? It's surely too shallow for that. Or is it meant to appeal to the action fan? Well, there's barely any action in it. I just can't see who would like this. The acting is alright, the performances are decent enough I suppose.The Corrupter is a film that I didn't like that much, sure it's well made & reasonably acted but with a bitty story & lack of action I was left distinctly underwhelmed. Average at best for what it is & nothing special.

BroadswordCallinDannyBoy Nick Chen is a tough as nails New York cop who works on both sides of the law. When a new rookie cop is assigned to his unit he sees how the local crime boss tries to corrupt him and Chen reconsiders his ethics. All the while a few twists and turns show who is really playing who.This is by no means a very original movie, especially for Chow Yun-Fat. His first American film, 'The Replacement Killers,' also was kind of a re-run, but what is there to say? He's good at this type of stuff.Just like 'The Replacement Killers' this film was also a flop at the box office and it is probably through its gritty and uncompromising tone. Yeah, there's action and intense shootouts, but it is not like 'Die Hard' or anything. Innocent people die, the ending isn't happy, but what matters is that the film isn't cheesy - it pulls no sucker punches or cheap thrills. It sticks to the characters while keeping the action secondary, but no less intense. The plot too is also pretty interesting and is a little more intricate than 'The Replacement Killers' or Chow Yun-Fat's cult hits from Hong Kong like 'Hard Boiled.' It is not quite a masterpiece of genre, but remains a solid crime thriller nonetheless. 8/10Rated R: strong violence, and profanity