| “ | Uncle Benny Wong: You are not man enough to kill me. Bobby Vu: No, but we kill you anyway Uncle Benny! |
„ |
| ~ Bobby Vu shooting up Benny’s corpse when he defiantly shoots himself. |
What's the Work?[]
The Corruptor is a 1999 gripping and bleak action-crime thriller starring Chow Yun-Fat, Mark Wahlberg, Ric Young, Paul Ben-Victor, Bryon Mann, and Brian Cox. Taking place in New York's Chinatown, a Chinese-American no-nonsense cop named Nick Chen is partnered with a snarky officer named Danny Wallace to investigate a gang rivalry concerning two powerful factions, the less violent and agreeable Tong Fung Benevolent Association, and the vicious and foul Fukienese Dragons. Little do they both know that they have very differing opinions when it comes to this situation...
Who are Henry Lee and Bobby Vu and What Have They Done?[]
Henry Lee is the second-in command for Benny's forces. What Benny doesn't know is that he is corrupt and is collaborating with Bobby Vu, the leader of his forces. Vu himself is first seen blowing up a occupied restaurant, injuring a few innocents nearby with a mortally wounded Tong solider barely stumbling out of the place. Vu then proceeds to gun him down to send a message and it's revealed he had done similar bombings before. Vu is approached by Jack and repeatedly slapped him in the face before telling him to dispose of Chen. Vu sends his forces to then shoot up a building which endangers many people, only for them to be killed. Chen then beats up and tortures Vu by dunking his head into a sink filled with water. Lee then meets with Chen's new partner, Wallace in a restaurant, looking forward to him when the next few weeks pass, and then convinces Benny to let Wallace join him because he would be a effective weapon to fight off the Fukes. Benny ultimately accepts. Lee also discusses with Chen about how he'd assist them without much trouble.
The next day, Chen and Wallace discovered a mutilated corpse of a women inside of a dumpster. It hasn't been the first. Chen approaches Jack and has him hunt down Vu. Chen then informs Lee there's a informant in the Tongs that is a FBI agent and that he'll expose and kill him. Lee says thanks and briefly asks if he wants a grape from May, to which he declines and leaves. Just then however, Vu arrives and Lee tells him that they'll need to delay their partnership and dispose of a federal agent. It's also revealed they own a business where they sell people and that once Benny's dead and Lee seizes control, Vu will have all the money he'll want and that they'll both murder Chen when the time comes. Lee later walks up on Wallace the next day, knowing the fifteen year-old girl personally and asking him to check out Tony’s.
Wallace discovers a brothel of young girls and witnesses one of Vu’s henchmen filming three young women fucking themselves after having seized a purse. It’s also revealed the number of deceased females were four (counting the one we see earlier as one). Wallace is given a promotion but Chen warns Wallace to not sneak off without his permission. Lee drives and says congrats to Wallace and offers to purchase a drink to which he declines. A montage has Lee forcing one of his women to give a massage to Wallace. Chen and Wallace get into a shootout and chase sequence that leaves half a dozen shot down by Vu’s criminals with dozens more endangered in the process. Chen is reprimanded by FBI Agent Pete Schabacker who warns that he’ll be convicted if he keeps obstructing a investigation and tipping off the wrong people. Chen suspects something is up and presents a tape to Jack, asking him to get whoever shot the traitorous agent and see if he has connections to Lee.
Lee is revealed to have covered Wallace’s father, Sean with the hospital bills and has Wallace boost his career, keeping Chinatown a safe place and wipe out shady businesses as long as he complies with Lee’s demands, otherwise he’ll let the Indians deal with Sean. Tomorrow morning at 6 A.M. sharp, he has Wallace bust into a tin shop on Mott and prevent a Malaysian owner from dealing drugs with a Colombian and sell it to children. Turns out that it was a trick by Lee for Wallace to point a gun at Chen. Wallace explains himself as having taken a deal and in turn he questions Chen about making another deal years ago about the agent. Chen angrily approaches Lee about Wallace and tells him to let Wallace free. Lee smugly says that he could simply have Chen sent to a hellish time in jail, with Chen threatening that if he finds out Lee was behind the murder of the agent, then he will murder him. Wallace asks Chen about his backstory, to which Chen explains in detail that he was the first Chinese officer in the 15th precinct and faced discrimination until Benny took him in and gave him a purpose. Lee was nothing until Chen’s original father was dead after he walked into a casino. Lee could’ve told him about the hit but didn’t.
Vu is seen having sex with a prostitute, when Lee calls him and that it’s time to execute the plan after Benny visits the FBI. Vu drives to a gas station first and things nearly get fishy between him and Jack, with the latter forced not to call Chen. In the morning, Benny was prepared and shoots himself. That doesn’t stop Vu from pumping loads of lead onto his body. Lee informs Chen that the FBI is building a case to incriminate Wallace. Chen has Jack testify against Vu in the future and that he was in compliance with Chen and Wallace. Lee and Vu converse about the police falling apart. Vu wants his cash for Benny’s demise, but Lee proposes a better idea: get a cargo ship containing 196 men, women, and children for $4,000 each to Chinatown, to which Vu triumphantly agrees.
Lee expresses fake sympathy for Chen losing Benny and schemes for Chen to expose half the Fukes and seize half the cargo while Vu takes care of the rest. Jack luckily confesses that Lee has done the deed though and the police collectively come up with something. Unfortunately, Lee exposes to Chen that Wallace is working with Internal Affairs after his girlfriend found the wire and orders Chen to dispose of him when the boat comes, lest he leaves them to hung and dry. When it happens, Wallace convinces Chen to spare him and they both proceed to unleash a can of whoopass on the Fukienese. They investigate deeper into the ship, only to locate all the prostitutes. Vu was waiting for them, having one prostitute gunned down by a minion and luring Wallace into a trap. Chen notices at the last second and takes the bullet, with Wallace shooting Vu back in response. Sadly, Chen passes away in the hospital much to Wallace’s grief. Meanwhile, Lee gets raided and laughs at Chen’s demise, mocking and taunting Wallace that Chen wasn’t Wallace’s loyal friend after all but is shocked when Wallace plays the tape which would all but certain get him sentenced. Lee is then promptly hauled off despite his pleas.
Heinous Standards?[]
Both of them easily pass for a crime-thriller. They’re basically relegated to the slums yet they have a shockingly high kill count involved. They have a horrific secret in which they force women to be auctioned off and keep a few for themselves to have their sick fun and pleasure with, they brutally disposed of them if they run away with their corpses left in dumps, they also have a restaurant explode with loads inside and six innocent lives ruthlessly wasted in a spree as part of their plan and they successfully shoot Benny. Lee in particular has no qualms with setting up Vu to perish just to eliminate loose ends and Vu coldly guns down one of his many prostitutes inside a ship containing hundreds that they plan to sell off and to dispose the heroes, succeeding in ending Chen.
Mitigating Factors?[]
Lee at first glance seems to care about Uncle Benny’s hardships but that is destroyed when he seeks to rule Chinatown by having him assassinated by Vu and helps Wallace with his dad’s medical bills but that’s simply to guise the hollow sociopath he really is. Vu for his part treats his men like complete trash, hitting and threatening them for minor things. Lee in turn sees Vu and his gang as collateral damage, merely so that Wallace won’t be bothering with him anymore. Overall? Both lack any redeeming qualities.
Final Verdict?[]
Solid yes.