''Operation Mekong'' () is a 2016 Chinese-Hong Kong

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in C ...

action film directed by

Dante Lam Dante Lam Chiu-Yin () is a Hong Kong film director, writer and actor who is a major figure in Chinese action cinema. Background He was trained in the tradition of John Woo as an assistant director and worked as an actor and producer. He often writ ...

and starring

Zhang Hanyu Zhang Hanyu (born 19 December 1964) is a Chinese actor. Zhang became the first Chinese actor to win the "Grand Slam", winning Best Actor trophies from the Golden Horse Awards, Golden Rooster Awards, Hundred Flowers Awards and Huabiao Awards. L ...

and

Eddie Peng Eddie Peng Yu-Yan (; born 24 March 1982) is a Taiwanese actor, singer and model. Personal life Peng was born in Penghu, Taiwan. He moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada at the age of thirteen. In 2000, he graduated from Sir Winston Churc ...

. The film is based on the 2011 Mekong River massacre. It was released in China on 30 September 2016 and became one of the highest-grossing films in China.

Plot

A merchant vessel operating in the Mekong River Delta is attacked by bandits, causing the death of 13 people. When a huge amount of drugs is found onboard, Chinese authority teams up with police forces from Thailand, Laos and Myanmar to investigate the case. The movie is inspired by a true event that took place in 2011.

Cast

as Gao Gang *

as Fang Xinwu *

Feng Wenjuan Feng Wenjuan (; born 20 August 1989) is a Chinese actress best known for her role in a number of films, including ''The Last Tycoon'' (2012), ''Operation Mekong'' (2016), and ''Project Gutenberg'' (2017). Early life and education Feng was born ...

as Guo Bing "Aphrodite" * Sun Chun as Yu Ping *

Chen Baoguo Chen Baoguo (; born 9 March 1956) is a Chinese actor. He graduated from the Central Academy of Drama, Erjia in 1977 and has since acted in many films and television series, including ''The Emperor in Han Dynasty'', ''Da Zhai Men'' and ''Rob-B-Hoo ...

as Minister of Public Security Jiang Haifeng * Liu Xianda as Xie Wenfeng "Icarus" (哪吒 meaning

Nezha Nezha ( 哪吒) is a protection deity in Chinese folk religion. His official Taoist name is "Marshal of the Central Altar" (). He was then given the title "Third Lotus Prince" () after he became a deity. Origins According to Meir Shahar, Nez ...

) * Jonathan Wu Linkai as Kuai Yitong "Hermes" * Zhao Jian as Guo Xu "Poseidon" * Zhan Liguo as Fu Baowei "Panoptes" (二郎 meaning

Erlangshen Erlang Shen () or Erlang, also known as the Lord of Sichuan (), is a Chinese god with a third truth-seeing eye in the middle of his forehead. Erlang Shen may be a deified version of several semi-mythical folk heroes who helped regulate China's ...

) *

Shi Zhanjie Shi or SHI may refer to: Language * ''Shi'', a Japanese title commonly used as a pronoun * ''Shi'', proposed gender-neutral pronoun * Shi (kana), a kana in Japanese syllabaries * Shi language * ''Shī'', transliteration of Chinese Radical 44 ...

s Jiang Xing "Ares" (木星 meaning Jupiter) *

Wu Xudong Wu may refer to: States and regions on modern China's territory *Wu (state) (; och, *, italic=yes, links=no), a kingdom during the Spring and Autumn Period 771–476 BCE ** Suzhou or Wu (), its eponymous capital ** Wu County (), a former county i ...

as Wild Bull Team Leader *

Carl Ng Carl Ng (吳嘉龍; born 27 March 1976) is a Hong Kong actor and model. Early life The third of four children, Ng was born in Hong Kong and is of mixed ethnicity of half English and half Chinese. His mother is Susan Ng, a British woman, wor ...

as Pierre * Pawalit Mongkolpisit as Naw Khar * Vithaya Pansringarm as P'Som *

Ken Lo Ken Lo (Kenneth Houi Kang Low) (born 19 March 1957) is a Hong Kong actor, martial artist, and stuntman. He is known for his martial arts and stunt work as a former member of the Jackie Chan Stunt Team, most notably for his antagonistic role as Jo ...

as Xing Deng * Ron Weaver as Puja * Ganesh Acharya as Mr Zar *

Mandy Wei Mandy Wei () is a Taiwanese actress, model and host. She started her career as a model and then as a MTV host before starting a career in acting. Wei attended Soochow University and speaks Mandarin, Taiwanese and English. Early life Mandy Wei w ...

as Fang Xinwu's girlfriend (cameo) The members of the operation have aliases: in the Chinese version they are named after deities in

Chinese folk religion Chinese folk religion, also known as Chinese popular religion comprehends a range of traditional religious practices of Han Chinese, including the Chinese diaspora. Vivienne Wee described it as "an empty bowl, which can variously be filled ...

, while in the English versions the names are changed to deities in

Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities o ...

Production

Production began in September 2015. Shooting locations include

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

(

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...

and

Yunnan Yunnan , () is a landlocked province in the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the ...

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

, and

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

but a few scene include HQ task force and another place in

Penang Penang ( ms, Pulau Pinang, is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the M ...

,Cameron Highlands

Pahang Pahang (; Jawi: , Pahang Hulu Malay: ''Paha'', Pahang Hilir Malay: ''Pahaeng'', Ulu Tembeling Malay: ''Pahaq)'' officially Pahang Darul Makmur with the Arabic honorific ''Darul Makmur'' (Jawi: , "The Abode of Tranquility") is a sultanate and ...

and

Perak Perak () is a state of Malaysia on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula. Perak has land borders with the Malaysian states of Kedah to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kelantan and Pahang to the east, and Selangor to the south. Thailand' ...

Release

''Operation Mekong'' was released on 30 September 2016. It concerns an incident that occurred in Chiang Saen District of Chiang Rai Province on 5 October 2011 when 13 Chinese crew members from two cargo ships were murdered by a Myanmar drug-trafficking ring. Thai Prime Minister

Prayut Chan-o-cha Prayut Chan-o-cha (sometimes spelled Prayuth Chan-ocha; th, ประยุทธ์ จันทร์โอชา, ; born 21 March 1954) is a Thai politician and retired army officer who has served as the Prime Minister of Thailand since he ...

, responding to news of the film's imminent release, said that the film would be banned in Thailand if it was found to "damage" the country. "I have ordered authorities to check the content of Operation Mekong. If it is damaging, it will be banned," Gen Prayut said. Some believe that the reason for his government's nervousness is that Thai troops, the "elite" anti-drug Pa Muang Task Force, were known to have been at the scene of the massacre. Nine soldiers were arrested, but "...have since disappeared from the justice system." Naw Kham, a

Golden Triangle Golden Triangle may refer to: Places Asia * Golden Triangle (Southeast Asia), named for its opium production * Golden Triangle (Yangtze), China, named for its rapid economic development * Golden Triangle (India), comprising the popular tourist ...

drug kingpin, and his gang were found guilty of attacking the two Chinese cargo ships in collusion with Thai soldiers. He was executed in March 2013 in China along with three accomplices, including a Thai national.

Reception

The film has grossed at the Chinese box office. Jessica Kiang of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' stated that ''Operation Mekong'' "hurtles by in an enjoyably giddy, propulsive rush right until the final titles, which dedicate the film to the dead fishermen and detail the fate of the real Naw Kham." Kiang stated that the sense of escapism in the film may be interfered with by the references to real life tragedies.

Awards and nominations

Accolades

References

External links

* {{Golden Rooster Award for Best Picture 2016 crime action films 2016 films Polybona Films films Chinese crime action films Action films based on actual events Films directed by Dante Lam Films shot in Beijing Films shot in Thailand Films shot in Yunnan Hong Kong crime action films Crime films based on actual events 2010s Mandarin-language films 2010s Hong Kong films