Dying to Survive

A somewhat messy film that jumps between different genres throughout the course of its runtime. Dying to Survive starts as a lighthearted crime flick, but turns into a "hero of the people" drama halfway through. The biggest problem is that both parts aren't equal in quality.

Cheng Yong needs money to keep custody over his kid, so he becomes a medicine smuggler. He travels to India and makes a deal with a local supplier. What he didn't anticipate was the need for this particular medicine. His business is a goldmine, but the government is onto him and wants to put a stop to the smuggling.

The first half of the film is pretty amusing. While the relevance of its themes is clear enough, the film isn't too pushy about it. That flips around during the second part, where the drama begins to feel a bit overdone and the heroism becomes slightly annoying. Not bad, but it would've been a lot better if the film had been a bit more consistent.