DVD Corner

Drug War Blu-ray Review

“Drug War” is yet another solid film by Johnnie To.

The plot: After a drug manufacturer/smuggler (Timmy Choi) is busted by the law, he decides to join the police as an informant in order to avoid the death penalty. Joining Choi on his new mission is Officer Zhang who decides to go undercover in order to gather intelligence. Together, the two set out to takedown the major drug cartel bigwigs. Will Choi betray the criminals he worked for or will he try and pull a fast one on the police? You’ll have to see for yourself.

Director Johnnie To has carved out a career making notable crime and gangster flicks such as “Vengeance,” “Election,” and “The Mission” and he continues to go to that well with his latest work “Drug War.” From a story perspective, there’s nothing particularly surprising or groundbreaking about ‘War,’ but, like the majority of his catalogue, it’s a well made and consistently good film. Yes, you can argue that the pacing is a bit uneven and that the “character going DEEP undercover” plot device has been done to death, but once the action set pieces roll around, ‘War’ comes alive. The shootout with the deaf-mute brothers is something you have never seen before and the elaborate and lengthy climactic shootout sequence is brutally intense. Those two sequences alone make “Drug War” worth watching.

Video/Audio:

Presentation: 2.35:1 1080p. How does it look? While the hi-def transfer is fine, I couldn’t help but feel a bit underwhelmed by it. It’s just not as glossy or sharp as most of the best transfers I come across.

This disc contains Chinese 5.1 DTS-HD MA and Chinese 2.0 Stereo tracks (with optional English subtitles). Both tracks are satisfactory especially during the film’s action sequences.

The only extras here are Well Go USA Entertainment trailers (including one for “Drug War”).

October 23, 2013 - Posted by nicklyons1 | Blu-Ray review | Drug War Blu-ray Review, Johnnie To