Drug War (Johnnie To) [114 points / 13 votes]
"If you have any doubts when I say that China and Hong Kong have a hammer-lock on the cops-&-criminals genre, then you simply need to spend an evening with the latest masterpiece from Johnnie To. Don't be surprised to find the razor-sharp genre filmmaking on display to be only the tip of the iceberg, as Drug War is a first-rate example of what is may well be some of the finest cinema being produced anywhere in the world today. Consider for a moment that the last time the USA put this level of craftsmanship and care into such a genre picture was in 2006 with Martin Scorsese’s Academy Award-winning The Departed, which happened to be a remake of a far superior Hong Kong film, Andy Lau's Infernal Affairs (2002). These are hard-edged, gritty, politically charged, and very bloody dramas that seek not just to sell some popcorn and fill a few seats, but are serious-minded (albeit damn entertaining) films that believe that these stories are important and they have something relevant to say about the state of the world. Drug War seems "bigger" than most To films in that the film breaks free of the typical confined metropolis and sets its story on mainland China. In this respect, it may be his biggest picture to date.
From the brilliantly cross-cut opening, Drug War hits the ground running: The film opens with a series of suspicious faces on a busy expressway. We know right away that some of these are cops, and some of these are criminals. Figuring out who is who is just part of the game, and the next 3 to 4 days of mayhem that unfolds details an obsessed detective and his attempts to coerce a captured drug lord into assisting with an ever-expanding sting operation. The amount of flip-flopping and psychological power plays that ensue are enough to make even the most attentive viewer crave a second screening. As shared earlier, it is worth noting that To is not just out creating tension for tension's sake but is playing to a very real social anxiety in Chinese culture regarding corruption and ulterior motives in positions of power.
When it comes to end of the year recaps of cinema, we tend to focus on a few key sequences or scenes that tend to define the films that we loved. Drug War features no less than 3 of these sequences, foremost a deliriously paced drug meeting that has the same scene repeated twice with the phenomenal actor Sun Honglei posing as a villain on each side of the table - first as buyer, then as seller. It's a veritable masterclass of acting and something that we should expect to see homaged in a Tarantino film within 10 years time. Add to this, then, both a monumentally choreographed bit where the police, posing as local crime bosses, must demonstrate their control of a shipyard and its fleet of vessels and also a blood-soaked gunfight finale that strikes a match to any sympathies you may have developed within the cast and rubs our face in the Chinese-imposed regulations that mandate the bad guys get their comeuppance. Each of these scenes in their own right are enough to make a good film great. The casual manner with which the great Johnnie To incorporates them with such ease and consistency only underscores the mastery at play here. You can bet that somewhere Robert Aldrich and Don Siegel are chomping cigars and high-fiving over this one." -- Adam Lemke
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