12-29-2013, 11:24 AM
If you haven't tuned into director Johnny To, he's like the John Woo for this decade. He's the new master of Chinese gangster flicks. Only instead of balletic gunplay and homoerotic undertones, To is more about visceral firefights and gritty sociopaths. DW is his latest, a tale of undercover narcs, meth makers and stool pigeons (heavy emphasis on stool as there is an inordinate amount of defecting in this film). It captures the seedy side of Mainland China, and Louis Koo is particularly oily. The plot moves along briskly and sustains a fair level of tension, but it's really all about the gunplay. There are two big firefights, one in the middle and the finale, and that's the payout. The final battle is very satisfying.
Shadow boxing the apocalypse