Rarely does a year go by without a new film from the prolific Hong Kong director Johnnie To, and while they may not always make their way stateside, when they do, it’s likely worth tracking down. And one to keep on your radar is “Drug War,” which is coming to theaters after a festival run last year that saw it hit Toronto, New York, Seattle, London, Rome, Rotterdam and more.
Starring Louis Koo, Sun Honglei, Huang Yi and Li Jing, the gritty crime thriller follows a drug manufacturer, who decides to turn informant and help take down the cartel he’s been cooking for. But time is of the essence, and the cops only have 72 hours to put the plan in motion, and soon events reach a boiling point. In this exclusive scene, we see the cops and informant beginning to forge their uneasy alliance. It’s a solid thriller, one that we noted in our review last fall, builds to “a bravura, multi-location, almost wordless climax” where “bullets fly and bodies mount up on both sides.”
“Drug War” opens in theaters on July 26th in N.Y., August 2nd in L.A., and August 9th in top 10 U.S. markets. Watch below.