PTU

R

Released Feb 9, 2003

1h 27m

Crime

Drama

List

63%

16 Reviews

Tomatometer

80%

2,500+ Ratings

Audience Score

A seedy policeman (Lam Suet) deals with various gangs and squabbling colleagues while searching for his missing gun.

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Audience Member

The entire film takes place essentially over the course of one tense night as a group of cops race to recover the lost gun that could disgrace their team. The film almost feels shot o a set, as most of the action happens around deserted city streets with groups of police of thugs wandering about and encountering one another at varying turns. Good stuff, decent action bits. Well worth a rental.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/07/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A skilled Director, Johnny To, a good "police and thieves" movie, a very good photography, all together make a good evening on the couch. The story is not new, but the elements are well blended; the late night atmosphere - the story starts and ends in the same night - in a dark Hong Kong recalls John Landi's Into the night... but without his humor. A good 3 stars movie, a dvd that worth the ten bucks ;-)

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/23/23

Full Review

Audience Member

The longest night of the PTU, where the empty street of the city become the scenery for ordinary crime, ordinary corruption at every level:, where truth is the real victim but "life goes on". Works like a charm.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/28/23

Full Review

Audience Member

good solid crime drama

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/21/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I'm not the most knowledgeable when it comes to Johnnie To films but I tend to enjoy the films I have seen. While I enjoyed PTU I found it far from perfect. I had a hard time trying to figure out what the point of the film was. What was the real drive behind each of the characters? Was this a film about Police corruption? Was it a crime drama? A comedy? There were just too many characters that seemed to be important but outside of the main character who loses his gun, they really aren't more than filler. This film could have been done as a 30 minute short with better results. There are glimpses here and there throughout the film that hint at the drive behind each character but nothing is truly fleshed out. I did enjoy the acting even if the characters weren't fleshed out enough. Either needed to be more fast paced or longer to add more depth to all the characters cause the end product was only "ok" in my books

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/28/23

Full Review

Audience Member

sedikit membosankan,bukan film yg tepat jika ingin melihat aksi polisi dor2 an dengan action lebay,,(IMO)

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/23/23

Full Review

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Johnnie To

Director

Simon Yam

Mike Ho

Suet Lam

Sergeant Lo Sa

Ruby Wong

Leigh Cheng

Eddy Ko

Eye Ball

Raymond Pak-Ming Wong

Supervisor Wong

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Anthony Quinn

Independent (UK)

The droll opening, set in a restaurant where the pecking order is rigorously observed, gives way to a complicated but uninvolving cat-and-mouse game between the police and rival gangs.

Rated: 2/5

Jun 22, 2007

Full Review

Sukhdev Sandhu

Daily Telegraph (UK)

Characterisation, always a hit and miss affair in To's films, is deliberately rather thin. Instead, To and his cinematographer, Cheng Siu Keung, make the greasy, near-abandoned streets of the Hong Kong capital come alive

Jun 22, 2007

Full Review

Peter Bradshaw

Guardian

It's an oddity in some ways, and its brief appearance in cinemas can only be the precursor to a DVD release, which is how it will mostly be seen. It's a smart, sharp piece of work, however big the screen.

Rated: 3/5

Jun 22, 2007

Full Review

Kevin Wight

The Wee Review

There are tighter, more complete works in [To's] extensive filmography, but PTU would make a great introduction to his style.

Rated: 4

Jun 23, 2021

Full Review

Rob Aldam

Backseat Mafia

A brilliantly crafted thriller which juggles a number of disparate elements and brings them all together for an explosive finale.

Jun 17, 2021

Full Review

Amber Wilkinson

Eye for Film

An enjoyable, high-energy romp.

Rated: 3/5

Jun 25, 2007

Full Review

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Synopsis

A seedy policeman (Lam Suet) deals with various gangs and squabbling colleagues while searching for his missing gun.

Director: Johnnie To
Screenwriter: Kin Yee Au, Nai-Hoi Yau
Distributor: Mei Ah Entertainment
Production Co: Mei Ah Films Production
Rating: R (Some Language|Violence)
Genre: Crime, Drama
Original Language: Chinese
Release Date (Theaters): Feb 9, 2003, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 28, 2021
Runtime: 1h 27m