ViuTV PTU Review

While TVB was screening its Police Tactical Unit 2019 drama in Hong Kong, so was ViuTV. Although the name sounds the same and the theme of the dramas centers around police enforcement, the similarities end there. ViuTV’s Police Tactical Unit or PTU (PTU機動部隊) for short boasts of some big names in its cast and is a typical cop and robber drama while TVB’s version is a very short production with an edutainment focus. So, if you like to watch police dramas skip the TVB one and watch ViuTV’s PTU instead. After having sat through the drama, let me give you the PTU review below.

Bear in mind that PTU is a collaboration between Hong Kong’s Emperor Entertainment Group (EEG) and China’s Youku. So, there are Cantonese and Mandarin versions out there and the cast also comprises of stars from both Hong Kong and China.

Episodes: 30
Type: Crime
Aired: May 2019
Images Credit: ViuTV

PTU Cast

• Raymond Lam Fung as Ko Ka Sing
• Charlene Choi Tsoek-Jin as Madam Ho Wai Ling/Janet
• Alex Fong Chung-Sun as Fai Kor
• Louis Cheung Kai-Chung as Man Sir/Man Bun
• Kingdom Yuen King-Dan as Ngoi Chau
• Irene Wan Bik-Ha as Lai Wah
• Patrick Tam Yiu-Man as Kwan Sir
• Emotion Cheung Kam-Ching as Panda

Main Characters

Ko Ka Sing

Ka Sing is an ex-undercover cop. After finishing his mission to nab a criminal named TT, he returned to serve in the PTU. He chose to wear a uniform to remind himself that he is now a police officer after spending 6 years as a gangster. During his years as an undercover cop, he had a relationship with TT’s sister, Ka Ka. They broke up after his mission was over but Ka Ka’s actions forced them to meet again.

Due to his experience as a gangster, Ka Sing is street-wise and will not hesitate to bend the rules when discharging his duties as a PTU officer. He can also be impulsive and will not care to explain his side of the story which cause him to have disagreements with his superiors and colleagues.

Ho Wai Ling

Wai Ling, also known as Madam Ho or Janet, is Ka Sing’s immediate superior. She was transferred to PTU from CID by Kwok Sir (Shek Sau) to keep an eye on Ka Sing to ensure that the latter is a clean cop after his 6-year stint as a gangster. Wai Ling is the type of cop who plays by the book and this causes her to clash often with Ka Sing initially.

On the personal front, Wai Ling also has a boyfriend, Paul (Deep Ng Ho-Hong). However, the relationship isn’t exactly a happy one and they broke up eventually. She later fell for Ka Sing but their relationship was full of uncertainties due to the latter’s ties to Ka Ka. Wai Ling’s late father was also a cop but died in the line of duty under mysterious circumstances.

Fai Kor

Fai Kor is a sergeant and leads his team of PTU members in their daily beat patrols together with Wai Ling. He is a very experienced officer and knows that Ka Sing will be a problematic subordinate. This also puts him at odds with Ka Sing initially. However, Fai Kor was also an undercover cop years ago. Therefore, he understands what Ka Sing is going through and his disagreements with the latter stem more from his desire to help rather than mere distrust.

Because of Fai Kor’s past experience, he still has some influence among the gangsters. He also got separated from his girlfriend, Lai Wah, back then after his mission was completed. He tried to look for her but was unsuccessful. Eventually, he got married to someone else but the marriage isn’t a happy one due to his wife’s preference for him to do business rather than work as a cop.

Man Bun

Man Bun is a senior police officer in the CID. Due to the cases that involve the gangsters and Ka Sing’s close relationship with them previously, Man Bun often targets the latter in his investigations. This results in conflicts between them. The conflicts are further heightened when Man Bun finds out that Wai Ling is starting to fall for Ka Sing. Man Bun also has feelings for Wai Ling who used to work for him before her transfer to the PTU.

While Man Bun isn’t married, he has a daughter from his relationship with his childhood friend. However, he doesn’t care much about them apart from giving financial support.

Ngoi Chau

Ngoi Chau is Ka Sing’s mother. She is an avid gambler and the joker in the drama. She has a good relationship with her son and they care a lot for each other. Ngoi Chau is also a straight-talker with a loud mouth.

Lai Wah

Lai Wah is Ngoi Chau’s old friend and they are like sisters. Lai Wah runs a bar and has remained single after her split from Fai Kor 18 years ago. Unlike Ngoi Chau, Lai Wah has a calm demeanor.

Synopsis

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAuUyCRsyug

The drama begins with the arrest of TT, a gang leader, with the help of Ka Sing as an undercover agent. After TT was shot while on transit under police custody, he fell into a coma. On the surface, it looked like the work of criminals trying to get TT out of remand. However, it was a traffic cop who shot TT and this raised Ka Sing’s suspicions. He wanted to find out the truth as he was trusted and treated well by TT during his time as a gangster.

After TT was taken out of the picture, his territory and businesses were taken over by Panda. Hidden by TT are some valuable but mysterious goods that are now being sought after by a secretive party. During an aborted exchange between Panda’s men and the unknown party, Fai Kor’s PTU team happened to be nearby. The officers split up during the chase and Ka Sing was pursuing Kwai Tim (Zhao Yixin) who was holding the bag of money. In the confusion, Ka Sing accidentally shot a colleague, Ka Lai (Wang Yilin) while Kwai Tim discarded the bag of money in a back alley during his escape. However, the money was then lost as neither the underworld nor police could get their hands on it.

As a result, Ka Sing was suspected of taking the money by his team members. But who has actually taken the money? What are those mysterious goods hidden by TT? And why does Man Bun keep targeting Ka Sing in his investigations? While this is the main plot of this PTU drama, there are also other sub-plots along the way involving other minor cases to fill up the 30 episodes.

ViuTV PTU Ending (Spoilers Alert!)

Relationships

The last scene of PTU sees Ka Sing proposing to Wai Ling. They are aware of each other’s feelings and Ka Ka also felt that Wai Ling is the most appropriate woman for Ka Sing. She left a message to Wai Ling before her death to take care of Ka Sing.

As for Fai Kor, his wife decided that they should go their separate ways. Fai Kor also bumped into Lai Wah again. After finding out that she had been raped 18 years earlier as revenge by the gangsters for his betrayal, he felt responsible for her.

Shoot-Outs

In the PTU final episode, Man Bun and Kwai Tim were killed in a shoot-out with Lui Fei Loong and his men. To understand the relationships among all these characters, we will have to backtrack a little to the last few episodes. Man Bun and Kwai Tim are like brothers and grew up together in war-torn Vietnam. Fei Loong was the army commander who raided Man Bun and Kwai Tim’s village back then, raping and killing their family members. Man Bun wanted revenge and Kwai Tim voluntarily helped him along.

When TT woke up from his coma, Man Bun made a secret deal with him – revenge on Ka Sing and his freedom in exchange for the location of the goods. It turns out that the goods are actually valuable liquid explosives which are also wanted by Fei Loong and their location is hidden in Ka Ka’s tattoo on her back. In a meet-up with Ka Sing and Ka Ka, a shoot-out ensued and Ka Ka was accidentally shot and killed by TT. TT managed to get back the explosives from Sun Yeh (Eddy Ko Hung) with the help of Man Bun and Kwai Tim and wanted money from Fei Loong in exchange.

What Happened During The Exchange

Kwai Tim betrayed and killed TT so that he and Man Bun will have control over the explosives which they want to use to flush out Fei Loong. In the end, both Man Bun and Kwai Tim were killed in their bid for revenge. The briefcase containing the explosives was thrown into the sea during a pursuit of Fei Loong by Ka Sing. The former was then arrested by police.

PTU Review – Is It Worth Your Time?

Personally, I find that PTU is watchable for a police drama fan. Similar to The Defected, there is an element of suspense if a certain character is a good or bad cop. However, the suspicion level is pretty mild and it doesn’t raise the thrill factor for me because the hints are pretty clear who is the bad guy. Perhaps what is more interesting is what type of goods has TT hidden and why Man Bun wants them for himself. Throughout the drama, you will also get to watch a few action-packed scenes to keep your interest going.

The Plot

While dramas like the Line Walker is about the adventures of an undercover cop, PTU is about the transition of an ex-undercover cop to a uniformed officer and the close relationship that he has built with the underworld figures. This theme is interesting enough to build a long story for a 30-episode drama but I think they kind of spoil it by bringing in unnecessary cases that have no relevance to the main plot. These fillers help to stretch the drama when it might just be better to shorten it to 20 episodes instead of 30.

So, what you will get is the suspense of a some hidden goods being hunted by a mysterious party after TT fell into a coma at the beginning of the show. But after a few episodes of this, the viewers will be distracted by irrelevant cases and gangland rivalry with the hidden goods mystery tapering off. Then, it picks up again towards the end. In other words, you will have to sit through sub-plots that I feel do not add value to the main storyline.

Acting

I don’t mind watching Raymond Lam as he has done a few police officer roles in the past and has the necessary experience to depict his character rather convincingly. He just has the face of a recalcitrant cop with a gangster background. Perhaps his role in the Line Walker has left a deep impression on me. He also shares great chemistry with Kingdom Yuen as his mother in the drama.

However, my first impression of Charlene Choi after the first few episodes made me wonder if they could have gotten another more suitable actress for the role. She just seems too soft for the role of a police officer with her slow manner of talking. As the drama progresses, I started to get used to her way of acting but I still think her portrayal of Wai Ling is lacking in terms of mannerisms and conviction.

I also like Patrick Tam in this PTU drama. He certainly knows how to inject unique features into the character that he has to portray. The sad thing is his character is not a very important one and thus, his screen time is pretty limited. Alex Fong is in his usual stoic and serious look with no new surprises for viewers.

My Verdict

I would say give it a try if you really like to watch police dramas because the episodes are short (about 30 minutes each) which cut down on the time invested. The sub-plots are annoying but the action and pursuit scenes partly make up for the inadequacies. At least, it is not a bore despite getting sidetracked from the main plot.

However, be prepared for glaring plot holes and a simplistic ending. The relationship between Fai Kor and Lai Wah is not satisfactorily resolved. Ka Sing is seen proposing to Wai Ling but they have never been shown dating in the whole drama. The proposal is just there for the sake of having a feel-good ending. It is definitely not a must-watch production unless you are a diehard Raymond Lam or Charlene Choi fan. But it is interesting enough to follow until the end due to the mystery goods that everyone is after.