An investigator sends his underage junkie niece undercover, and her death kicks off a search for the hellborn Mr. Lee, a drug kingpin whose identity remains a tightly guarded mystery. How does one say “Stop remaking great movies!” in Korean? Because it seems our friends to the South have become as complacent as we Americans when it comes to cranking out unwanted overhauls. No sooner has one said “Another Spider-Man reboot?” before there’s a new version of Johnnie To’s mainland Chinese crime drama Drug Wars (aka my favorite movie of 2012) washing up on American shores. Half the action is staged (not to mention stagey) in what looks like high-priced Presidential Suites at various five-star hotels doubling as a gangster’s lair. Perhaps my love for the original clouded my vision for this version, but damn if I didn’t spend more time looking at my watch than I did at the screen. Directed by Lee Hae-young and starring Cho Jin-Woong and Ryu Jun-yeol. (2018) — Scott Marks
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