User reviews

As well-intentioned as his inspirational youth cycling drama 'To the Fore' may have been, we'd much prefer Dante Lam's character-driven yet action-packed cop dramas 'The Stool Pigeon', 'Beast Stalker' and even the under-appreciated 'That Demon Within'. It should therefore be relief to his fans that Lam is returning to familiar territory with his latest, based upon the Chinese government's response to the real-life incident often referred to as the 'Mekong River Massacre' in which a special narcotics investigation was assembled to enter the Golden Triangle to arrest the notorious drug lord Naw Khar and his compatriots responsible for the killing of 13 Chinese fishermen and crew on board two merchant vessels. And true enough, Lam does not disappoint – not only does 'Operation Mekong' represent his return to large-scale hyper- kinetic action cinema, it is his most ambitiously action-packed movie ever and will quite likely be one of the best action movies you'll see this year.

True to its title, the focus is on the covert operation led by Captain Gao Gang (Zhang Hanyu), a no-nonsense hard-nosed anti-narcotics officer handpicked by the Home Affairs Minister. Except for an opening prologue that tells of the devastating impact of the drug habit in Chinese society and introduces the Golden Triangle as a key producer of the narcotics, there is no attempt at social commentary. Nor does the film try to portray the politics involved, aside from mentioning the multi- national task force that was set up among China and the three aforementioned Southeast Asian nations in the days following the massacre to conduct joint patrols of the Golden Triangle and the titular river. Whether to avoid becoming propaganda or risk becoming a flashpoint in complex geopolitics, Lam and his four co-writers steer clear of the vagaries surrounding the unilateral move by the Chinese government to sanction its officers sent under the guise of the multi- national task force to bring the criminals to face trial back in China than in any of the other countries.

Brought to the fore (pun intended) instead is the intricacies of the operation, as Gao's elite squad teams up with locally based intelligence officer Fang Xinwu (Eddie Peng) to identify the location of Naw Khar's base deep in the jungles of the Golden Triangle Special Region. That entails trying to rescue one of Naw Khar's men Yan Taung Pha responsible for setting up the deal that led to the massacre, which inadvertently exposes Xinwu's informant Gong Chai; when that fails, posing as a rich businessman looking to use Naw Khar's drugs to complement a new casino venture; and by doing so, getting closer to Naw Khar's inner circle, in particular his son Naw Htuu, to extract that crucial piece of information in order to apprehend Naw Khar.

Each one of these three new leads is opportunity for Lam to stage a high-octane action set-piece (with impressive direction by Tung Wai) – first, a breathless foot chase through a claustrophobic market and a busy train station that turns into a jaw-dropping car chase complete with gunfights and RPGs; then, a shootout in a crowded mall which ensues in mass chaos and a tragic outcome for one of Gao's men; and finally, the all-out assault on Naw Khar's jungle lair that culminates in a spectacular boat chase along the Mekong River. Lam's insistence on realism, whether in terms of sets or props, ensures that every one of these elaborate sequences looks, sounds and feels real and thrilling. Coupled with that is his flair for build-up – prior to the mall shootout for instance are gripping parallel theatres of events, one led by Gao masquerading as businessman Mr Qian meeting Naw Khar's number- three Ya Ta and the other led by Gao's man Wenfeng trailing the bag of money used for the exchange – which accentuates the tension and sheer white-knuckle suspense of each major sequence.

Compromised in the process is character detail or development, which frankly is somewhat of a pity. The most we learn about Gao aside from his solid leadership of his team is through a few occasional scenes where he looks at videos of his young daughter and one where he shares with Xinwu that the tolls of his job have led to his divorce years earlier. Xinwu gets a tragic backstory with Xing Deng which leads to questions about his ability to remain objective during the operation, but that little history hardly builds to anything compelling. The rest of Gao's team are defined only by their unique skills as well as by their Greek God-code names. There are also no shades of good and evil here, such that Gao and his men are uniformly heroes whereas Naw Phar – depicted as an over-the-top villain who snorts heroin and laughs when his child soldiers blow their own brains out playing Russian roulette – is unquestionably to be despised.

There is never any doubt that Lam has set out to make a wall-to-wall action movie, and on that count, he succeeds tremendously. Mind you, this is not some Hollywood B-movie, but one where every gunfight, car chase and explosion is choreographed with panache, adding up beautifully to a single movie that has nary a dull moment. Unlike his peers who have taken on similar subjects (such as Johnnie To in 'Drug War' or Derek Yee in 'Protégé'), Lam isn't taken so much by the fallouts of the drug business or its victims – notwithstanding the brief nod to the limbless villagers punished for disobeying Naw Khar's orders – as he is on the complexities and minutiae of the clandestine operation that helped bring to justice one of the biggest criminal kingpins in the Golden Triangle. If you accept 'Operation Mekong' on its terms, you'll find this one of the most exhilarating movies of the year, an accomplishment which cements Lam's reputation as the foremost Hong Kong director for big-scale action cinema.

Action scene well done. Full of thrill and tension all the time. You won't get bored since there are different fight scenes with variations. The plot is somehow simple. Well, I would say most action movies are not focused on weaver a complicated plot. The patriot of main characters serves its purpose, yet a bit more depth would be nice.

Some of the reviews are quite judgemental and not based on the movie per se. If we see all movies as somehow a Propaganda then all American movies with heroes in it will fall into the category. Since when does IMDb cares about politics rather than the movie itself? This is kind of disappointing.

Note: Check me out as the "Asian Movie Enthusiast" on YouTube, where I review tons of Asian movies.

In October 2011, the 13 crew members of two Chinese cargo ships were shot to death on the Mekong River, which runs through the Golden Triangle, and a large amount of metaamphetamine drugs were recovered from the crime scene. The Chinese government dispatches an anti-narcotics task force to the area to investigate. There they team up with an intelligence officer for a dangerous mission that takes them deep into the lawless jungles of the Golden Triangle and the lair of a ruthless drug-lord.

Now although there are a handful of protagonists here, two of the actors really step to the forefront, get the most screen time, and carry the film from start to finish – Hanyu Zhang and Eddie Peng. Hanyu Zhang previously appeared in films such as "The Taking of Tiger Mountain", "Special ID", "Bodyguards and Assassins", "The Message", "The Equation of Love and Death", and "Assembly." The thing I like most about this actor is his screen presence. He has a very commanding presence that keeps you engaged. With regard to Eddie Peng, I just covered him last week while reviewing "Call of Heroes" – so it's nice to see him in this one as well.

One criticism that I've read regarding this movie is that the story and character development are rather thin. I would agree with that criticism. The structure of the film basically goes like this. The narcotics unit gets "intel" about one of the drug lords, or someone who is associated with one of the drug lords, and they immediately take action. Sometimes, it's an infiltration and undercover sting – other times it's an extraction (or pseudo rescue mission) that takes place in a hostile area. These infiltrations and extractions may last anywhere between 10 minutes to 30 or more minutes of screen time, depending on the complexity of the particular mission. But in-between the missions, our protagonists basically do nothing but get ready for the next one. So there's really not much time for adding complexity or depth to the characters.

But with that said, "Operaton Mekong" more than compensates for this flaw with its blistering pace and action set pieces.

The action design is mostly gritty and diverse, with an emphasis on urban apprehensions and special ops strikes that involve gunplay and hand-to-hand combat that does get quite violent at times (there are a few intense scenes involving children and oppressed villagers). This creates a sense of thrill and suspense even though it does get unrealistic (especially in terms of how much damage our two heroes can take). This is definitely neat stuff, incorporating some creative equipment and technology, as well as one of the coolest dogs in recent memory. The dog in this movie – I think his name is Bingo – is awesome, and his usefulness contributes a certain creativity that you don't see in many action movies. And the sheer quantity of action is significant, meaning that things move at a very fast pace.

A few other positives I'd like to mention: There are some beautiful natural environments, as well as some great overhead shots of various country locales. International conflict and cast are also a nice mix.

This is a no nonsense crowd-pleasing action from Dante Lam, who previously directed "The Beast Stalker", "The Stool Pigeon", "Beast Cops", "Fire of Conscience", "Unbeatable", and "To the Fore."

Initially, the film is a bit confusing, but you soon get to know the characters and once the introduction is done, the film starts making perfect sense. The film features beautiful cinematography and incredible action sequences, with impressive photography during these action scenes.

'Operation Mekong' is filled with intrigue, suspense and action, making it the perfect action thriller. As an added bonus, the film is visually stunning. There are a few disturbing images of kids using drugs, though. The film is fast-paced and there never really is a dull moment.

The film's main antagonist, Naw Khar, is unfortunately an undeveloped, weak character who doesn't really contribute much to the movie. The film's climax would have been so much better had he been a stronger character. Nevertheless, this is an incredibly entertaining film.

As a foreigner I find it always difficult to watch an Asian movie. Even with subtitles, what I am used to. It's because you can't make anything about any word they say. Even if it they would speak about "McDonald's" for example you actually would not hear that world out of their mouths. Besides of the linguistic barrier I saw some pretty good Asian movies. This one is full of action, and if I have to be honest the action scenes are really good. The filming of those action shots are of high quality. The story itself isn't bad either but to me it was just a bit too long to stay concentrated for the entire movie. There are a lot of characters, a lot of action and a lot of fast speaking that doesn't do any good to the movie. But it's okay to watch once though. Just for the good action scenes you should give it a try.

From the film point of view, it can only be moderate, the story is clear, the action is in place, special effects are not dizzy. Of course, as the main theme movie, at least it won't make people sleepy.

Full of war & actions package💥 follows the Mekong River Massacre in 2011⛵ Based on true events about the Asian drug mafias in Golden Triangle (Laos, Thailand, Myanmar)💉 Rating : 7⃣⭐

This film is intended to be a nationalistic exhibition and exultation of the mighty prowess, fortitude and ingenuity of their Special Forces. Instead the film portrays a bunch of inept and amateurish 'military' personnel--with Greek mythological figures as nicknames no less--lacking real leadership, conviction, training, and strategic experience in undercover and covert operations. This film would probably appeal to the uninformed simpletons. Anyone with any type of military understanding would find this film laughable and appalling. The filmmaker really did a disservice and insulted every member of the PRC military--along with the 13 Chinese victims, the real life casualties. They must be cringing if they could see this shameful account unfolding like a Mickey Mouse escapade. Instead of what potentially could have been a great showing of national pride, this film is just an embarrassing foray into the shoot-and-blow-them-up genre. If you're into that type of films, then this one is for you.

I might don't know anything about the event in which Operation Mekong based on but what I do know is even when it a propaganda movie that glorify China about how righteous they are for seeking justice for their people by turning a foreign country into a battlefield it still a pretty damn awesome movie to be honest.The characters is likeable and each action set pieces stand out in its own way.The movie is all for a good 2 hours of braindead action so do not take it seriously

I've watched quite a few Chinese-Hong Kong action films lately, and Operation Mekong is quite fun. That being said however, I'm not a fan of the characters in movies like this. This is because I feel like Chinese action movies like Mekong or Red Sea, in my opinion, don't really develop their characters all too well, but then again that's pretty much the same for a lot of western action cinema as well.

The action in this movie isn't too bad, and I feel like there's just the right amount. The problem I have with Operation Red Sea (Mekong's spiritual successor) is that there's just wayyy too much action, and it hardly calms down even for a second. However, Operation Mekong has enough action to keep you entertained and watching and isn't a two-hour-long firefight like Red Sea.

The acting I felt was pretty good, as I thought that most of the actors in this film had good performances. The story was coherent and easy to follow. The movie definitely does offer quite a few fun action scenes (the mall scene is probably my favorite part of the film). The cinematography and music were, at their best, not bad.

For those who just want a fun action story told from a different country's perspective, I'd recommend watching Operation Mekong.

Before downloading this film I knew nothing of it. I very quickly looked on this site & Wiki, decided it seemed alright. After spending a time getting subtitles to this film, I knew this was a film night I would have to pay more attention (subtitles).

I actively paid all due for the first five minutes. My attention turned to rechecking and actually reading my previously go-to sites. All information was polite, glowing, short. The first review here is an insight. It is so rapturous in it's love of Operation Mykon is so saccharine I have turned this from a 4 star review into a 3 star one.

Just because New China can bankroll this kind of simulacrum doesn't mean we should all look. This film would be at home, back in the late 80's

5 stars only because of the first 5 or 10 minutes, which were well done. Anything after that, with the exception of the final moments is absolute and total nonsense. It is said in the end that the film is based on real events, and true enough, the very basics of the story are correct. That is that 13 Chinese sailors were murdered, and drugs found on them. Who murdered them remains a mystery, but there is a good chance it wasn't the men executed for it. The movie purports to tell the official version agreed upon by the Chinese and Thai governments, but it fails at it too. The action scenes are unreal, like the ones you would expect from a grade B American action film. The green screen in some places was more than obvious thanks to bad lighting. What was supposed to be a jungle in some places is clearly an artificial forest. The men who are supposed to be speaking Shan are speaking Thai. There's also the issue with some of the characters that are very out of place (their ethnicities wouldn't per it them to become drug lords)

Finally, the antagonists are all depicted as crazed men who train kids high on drugs to be soldiers. Without any spoilers: absolutely unreal. The real life drug lords of the Golden Triangle supported their communities to gain their trust and help when needed. They build schools and clinics and were called fathers. This film is bad, twists a real story unil it's unrecognizable, and is just badly done!

Whether it is the anti drug version of "outwitting Tiger Mountain" or the national propaganda film, good-looking is the last word. From Tsui Hark to Lin Chaoxian, Hong Kong directors are becoming smarter and smarter about how to combine action elements with national policies, which is a good momentum. After watching it, an aunt nearby lamented that it was not lost to American blockbusters at all. Such films were not only exciting Chinese films, but also exciting.

Well made action flick. lots of great action scenes, lots of beautiful shots, and some great music. but the story was sloppy with too many different moving parts, including some that seem unnecessary. i would love to watch just the action sequences again (1 viewing)

(2016) Operation Mekong/ Mei Gong he xing dong (In Mandarin with English subtitles) ACTION

It's supposedly based on fact, but we both know it's nothing more but used as the vehicle for unique action sequences, that centers on China's war of drugs with the capture of a wanted felon responsible with 13 innocent Chinese civilians murdered by drug lords upon crossing the Mekong River. Starring Eddie Peng as undercover narcotics squad Fang Xinwu working with expert Gao Gang (Hanyu Zhang) to capture and properly charge the dangerous drug lords responsible.

Anyone would know by now that much of the story is highly exaggerated, so basically the only reason to watch this is to see the action scenes.

I really enjoyed this movie. It kept me captivated throughout the entire film.

The cinematography was really top of the line. Some directors take daring chances to use unique camera techniques, and they don't always pay off, but the camera shots & CGI in this movie were done masterfully.

The story was very good, and the fact that it was based on a true story makes it even more of an enjoyable film.

Everything came together for this to be a great movie. Great acting, great set design, great wardrobe, great writing, and great cinematography.

The realist portrait of the criminal underground within the Golden Triangle region of Southeast Asia was a real eye opener.

The film takes the viewer through dark back alleys, open city streets, busy shopping centers, police stations, jungles and onto the open water which helps keep the viewer captivated.

I gave this a 10 because there was so much good action. The cinematography was awesome, special effects are as good as it gets. Only downside I can see is it is subtitled and that is ok, it took away from me reading and trying to follow the action at the same time, I just cant get over how well this movie was done.

Very good movie. Start to finish action thriller. Wondering about so low ratings. Story of a mission of four nations against a dangerous drug mafia backgrounded at Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and China. Beautiful camera work with eye-catching photography of wood areas, valleys of Mekong river and surrounding. Story seems realistic not so sophisticated as other Hollywood movies based on a real event between drug mafia and police war which took 13 lives of China commando and a Police dog too! There are no big name in actors or no one is so powerful that story moving around him. A tension full climax will definitely impress you. Thrill, action and tension makes you bind till end without taking a sigh of relief. .No space for boredom here. I recommended this to them who love action and thrillers. Must watchable. It is pity for such good movie to see low ratings. It worth 8 or above. Me gives 8 stars and 1 extra for fascinating & classical outdoor photography.

This movie deserves a better rating for many reasons :

• tribute to old american thriller genre : one can see reference towards The deer hunter, Scarface or the godfather... But this is not a copycat
• not only A Michael Bay type of movie : Yes, there are lots of explosion, and the chinese governement and army were involved in the process, But Dante Lam got more talent.
• Political incorrectness, that left Hollywood
• Deep script, where I discovered the interactions between China, Thailand and Myanmar to fight against their drug issues with the Golden Triangle.
• This movie is built as a videogame : and this is for me a good point.

And finally no, this is not a propaganda movie (that could explain, i guess, the bad rating) the cop methods are not as straight as american ones, and the heroes end jaded for example.

I've written a handful of reviews. I felt like writing for this one, not only because it refers to a true event. But, also for how us filmed, first quality stunts and effects, the acting is pretty good and you'll never fill that there is a lack of it. The action scenes are superb, probably, the best type I've ever seen. It's cruel, I wouldn't recommend it for teens, it's an adult movie, no sex, but lots of action and some, involving minors, which could be choking. So seat and enjoy the movie, you'll never could guess what's going to happen.

That's why I believe every one could enjoy it and spend more than two entertaining hours.

The real incident is very cruel. 13 Chinese compatriots were killed innocently and cruelly. Under the leadership of China's police, Myanmar and other multi-national police have been united to arrest the real murderer, and justice has been done for the dead compatriots. On this basis, director Lin Chaoxian adapted his works. Our police and drug dealers fight bravely, even unavoidable sacrifice, in order to get justice!