Synopsis
A drug cartel boss is arrested in a raid and coerced into betraying his former accomplices as part of an undercover operation.
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Cast
- Louis KooTimmy Choi
- Sun HongleiCaptain Zhang Lei
- Huang YiYang Xiaobei
- Michelle YeSal
- Lam SuetFatso
- Gao YunxiangXu Guoxiang
- Wang ZiyiLin
- Wallace ChungGuo Weiju
- Li GuangjieChen Shixiong
- Yin ZhushengSnake Head
Recommendations
- 100
Slant Magazine
The film is a singularly huge, relentless, all-encompassing set piece that mutates and spasms with terrifying lack of foresight. It's all business, business, business. - 91
IndieWire
More traditional in terms of atmosphere and plot, Drug War nevertheless features a tense, unstoppable momentum, a morally ambiguous protagonist and hugely involving action scenes. - 91
The A.V. Club
Drug War brings to mind Soderbergh’s recent "Side Effects", a film defined by similar changes in perspective and genre. However, while "Side Effects" is best at its midpoint, before the viewer has really figured out what kind of movie it is, Drug War becomes both weightier and more playful with each transition, building to a harrowing finale. - 90
The Hollywood Reporter
In Drug War, Hong Kong genre master Johnnie To gives a superlative lesson on how to give an updated, thoroughly engrossing twist to the classic cops-and-robbers chase. - 90
New York Magazine (Vulture)
Hot-dog Hong Kong action stylist Johnnie To has never achieved the cult status of John Woo in this country, but his explosively entertaining — and startlingly splattery — Drug War should win him new fans. - 90
Village Voice
Drug War might arguably be [To's] best film for this reason—it doesn't attempt to raise the stakes on its genre, but instead fully exploits what's there, piecing together an elaborate narc campaign tale out of classic clichés and tight-knot plotting, and letting the disaster of balls-out crime make its own statement. - 80
Variety
A nail-biter that’s actually quite light on action but so well-scripted and shot, it’s nonetheless edge-of-your-seat material. - 80
Time Out
Not a bad setup for a cops-and-robbers thriller, and in the hands of action-movie maestro Johnnie To, the result comes very close to greatness.
