Operation Mekong (2016)

Operation Mekong: Directed by Dante Lam. With Hanyu Zhang, Eddie Peng, Baoguo Chen, Chun Sun. Inspired by the true story known as the Mekong Massacre–two Chinese commercial vessels are ambushed while traveling down the Mekong River in the waters of the Golden Triangle, one of the largest drug-manufacturing regions in the world. 13 sailors are executed at gunpoint, and 900,000 methamphetamine pills are recovered at the scene. Upon discovery, the Chinese government immediately sends a band of elite narcotics officers led by Captain Gao Gang (Zhang Hanyu) to the Golden Triangle to uncover the truth behind the murders. Tea field owner and Golden Triangle-based intelligence officer Fang Xinwu (Eddie Peng) joins the investigation. After it is discovered that the drugs seized on the Chinese ships had been planted by the henchman of a notorious drug cartel leader named Naw Khar, the governments of Thailand, Laos, Myanmar and China launch a joint task force to apprehend the criminal. The road to justice is, however, paved with dangerous and deadly obstacles.

“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 wasnu0026#39;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. Thereu0026#39;s also the issue with some of the characters that are very out of place (their ethnicities wouldnu0026#39;t per it them to become drug lords)u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eFinally, 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 itu0026#39;s unrecognizable, and is just badly done!”