The Corruptor

The corrupting influence in this scenario, I'm afraid, is the Hollywood studio system, which seems intent on making Hong Kong superstar Chow Yun-fat an American action icon but is bizarrely reluctant to give him anything much to do. Here, for example, he's forced to share screen time with young turk Mark Wahlberg, who was fine as a rather dim hunk of genetically-enhanced beef in 1997's Boogie Nights, but who lacks the expressive range necessary even for the limited demands placed upon him by this mildly diverting policier. Wahlberg plays a white cop who's (rather implausibly) assigned to work for an all-Asian unit in Chinatown; Chow, natch, is the older, more worldly-wise officer who has to show him the ropes. To be fair, the relationship's actually a bit more complicated than that, and there are a couple of satisfying plot twists along the way; director James Foley, however, who's able with both caustic drama (Glengarry Glen Ross) and neo-noir (After Dark, My Sweet), doesn't seem to have much flair for shootouts and car chases, and Chow's English, though improving, still needs a bit of work. Also, now that he and John Woo are both here in the U.S., is there some law preventing them from reuniting? And if so, can we please repeal it? Optional. (M. D'Angelo)