Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows FanStore News Showtimes

PTU

Play trailer Poster for PTU R Released Feb 9, 2003 1h 27m Crime Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
63% Tomatometer 16 Reviews 80% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
A seedy policeman (Lam Suet) deals with various gangs and squabbling colleagues while searching for his missing gun.

Critics Reviews

View All (16) Critics Reviews
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 Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (177) audience reviews
LABEL 2 #2024香港电影湖南展映周# 影像很有质感,PTU队员走在深夜香港的街道上本身已有足够的美感,画面构图对人物关系的展现足见杜导功力;具体到文本就没有太多可圈点之处了,故事讲得过满反而让人失去了想象的空间。 Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 06/14/24 Full Review 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 Read all reviews
PTU

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Cast & Crew

Better Luck Tomorrow 81% 79% Better Luck Tomorrow Watchlist Heat 38% 26% Heat Watchlist Third World Cop 21% 87% Third World Cop Watchlist Man on Fire 38% 89% Man on Fire Watchlist TRAILER for Man on Fire City of God 91% 97% City of God Watchlist Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

Synopsis A seedy policeman (Lam Suet) deals with various gangs and squabbling colleagues while searching for his missing gun.
Director
Johnnie To
Producer
Kuo Hsing Li
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