Operation Mekong

The crews of two Chinese cargo boats are found murdered on the Mekong and drugs are found aboard. Against the claim that the dead were smugglers, China sends an investigation team, which tries to expose a trap set by a drug organisation in the region. Dante Lam based the film on a real event of 2011. The action comes out of the Hong Kong school but at a larger scale: river chases, explosions and a long firefight in a shopping mall. Zhang Hanyu and Eddie Peng lead. The political frame is explicit and endorses China's operation in the region directly; the film makes no attempt to hide it. The passages involving child soldiers are the most disturbing part. Who it is for: viewers who like Asian action and operation stories drawn from real events. Who it is not for: anyone uncomfortable with its political framing.