Drug War (Du zhan)
Dir: Johnnie To
2012
****
Johnnie To's Drug War is the ultimate fast-paced, action packed, crime thriller. It's got everything you could want from the genre, from mystery (who is Uncle Bill?), suspense (is Timmy really working with the cops?), action (shootout at meth lab with Deaf meth lab assistants being a highlight) and thrills (the climax is worth watching the film for and is destined to be thought of as a classic moment in cinema). The acting is impeccable, the transformation that Honglei's detective Zhang Lei goes through is amazing, playing it larger than life one minute and deadly serious the next. There are a few moments of humour which seem out of place at first but they're often balanced and only add to the impact when the mood changes. This leads to quite a heart-pumping experience and an unpredictable treat. Thrilling, relentless, brutal and quite tiring, Drug War is utterly brilliant.