In a Nutshell. Mini reviews of movies old and new. No fuss. No spoilers. And often no sleep.

Wednesday, 8 January 2014

DRUG WAR [2013]

aka Du zhan

Director Johnnie To scales back the high octane action of his earlier films and opts for more of a realistic world of violence in Drug War.  
Fortunately he still includes some of the batshit crazy type of characters as he usually does but pushes them further into the background, while cranking up the beautifully noir-ish photography and fills his palate with loads of blacks, greys and greens.  Instead of focusing more on character, we're supposedly drawn to the intricate plot but if you've ever seen a Michael Mann movie there's nothing new to see here and that hurts considering all of the main characters are about as interesting as a stick of butter.  
A nice looking film with some great shootout sequences makes for a average way to spend one's time.  

3 mutes out of 5

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