Johnnie To Declares A DRUG WAR In New Teaser

Todd Brown, Founder and Editor

After stepping away from the frantic directing pace of the past several years while also favoring romantic comedies as two of his last three directorial efforts, Hong Kong action maestro Johnnie To is coming back in a big way over the next year. To has a pair of crime films in the works, the first of which reunites the prolific director with frequent collaborator Wai Ka-Fai.

Louis Koo takes the lead in To's Drug War, and while the project was shot in mainland China the first teaser gives no indication that To has softened his typical style to suit the local censors. After floating around in bootleg form for the past week the first teaser recently arrived in proper style. Take a look below.

Around the Internet:

DooK

Looks nothing like a typical Mainland-produced, more like Election 2. Overall, I look forward to this and Blind Detective.

Alan Lawrence

Oh, I remember now. I wonder what's going to happen with these two pictures? For all the good roles To has provided Andy Lau and Louis Koo, I feel as if those are the two actors least likely to succeed as leads in To's movies. Both of them have leads in previous To films where they fail to successfully convey what's supposed to be going on with their characters (I think especially of Andy in Running on Karma and Louis Koo in Triangle and Throwdown). But in this trailer Louis Koo looks surprisingly Miami-Vice-style grungy and rough--reminds me of how fresh he seemed in Bullets Over Summer, and he looks dangerous again. The teaser looks pretty exciting. As for this Blind Detective, unless Andy Lau is reaching for some sort of late-career maturity, it doesn't sound too promising to me. Andy is not Lau Ching-Wan; I can't quite imagine it being in the league with or some kind of companion to Mad Detective.

Lyle Chipperson

tss tss Looks like To is making 2 movies or sum'thin. tss tss

Alan Lawrence

What's the second of the pair of crime films To is directing this year?

Todd Brown

Blind Detective with Andy Lau.

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