A group of young Chinese thugs in NYC murders triad leader Jackie Wong. They also murder a store owner protected by the Italians. Police Captain Stanley White (Mickey Rourke) is one Polock unwilling to uphold the established understanding between the cops and the Chinese leaders. His marriage to Connie is on the rocks when TV reporter Tracy Tzu (Ariane Koizumi) comes into his life. Joey Tai (John Lone) is the ambitious leader who pushes his way to the top as he advocates a risky strategy to ramp up the drug trade from Thailand. Stanley recruits rookie cop Herbert Kwong to infiltrate Chinatown.
First of all, this is not reality. This is a hard-boiled crime drama and it's not going to put Chinatown in a good light. Certainly, Michael Cimino and Oliver Stone are willing to write in some Chinese stereotypes such as bad driving. There are some fun surprising bits like the Chinese speaking nuns translating the wiretaps. Despite the hard-boiled unreality, I find the semi-claustrophobic feel of Chinatown very compelling. That's why John Lone going to Thailand takes away some of the tension. Otherwise, John Lone is great and Mickey Rourke is pretty good at this role. Ariane is basically a model-turned-actress. It would have been better to sacrifice a little on the looks for better acting. Part of it is the jarring dialogue like when she injects her rape into an argument out of nowhere. I watched this again after these many years and I'm surprised at so many of these memorable scenes. Cimino is capable of great visual mastery but once in awhile, he loses his way through his excesses.
