The taciturn police commander Zhang leads an undercover drugs team and in his continuous battle against the ubiquitous drug barons, takes up arms against his arch enemy, Timmy Choi. When he gets hold of Choi, he makes a deal with him: in exchange for his life (in China you can get the death penalty for producing only 50 grams of drugs) the young criminal will help the police infiltrate a sizeable drug network. Zhang is helped by the young female detective Xiao Bei: undercover, they are the cheerful drug dealer Ha-ha and his vulgar wife.
Johnnie To’s first action film on the Chinese mainland – again made in cooperation with scriptwriter Wai Ka-fai – is a grubby, realistic-looking glimpse of the work of the narcotics brigade. Accompanied by a driving score by Xavier Jamaux, the cinematogenic action scenes follow each other at high speed with pursuits, shoot-outs and explosions.
Film details
- Country of production
- Hong Kong
- Year
- 2012
- Festival edition
- IFFR 2013
- Length
- 107'
- Medium/Format
- DCP
