Feel-good sensationalism isn’t always charming, but if you focus on what works in “Article 20,” you might enjoy yourself anyway.

This tale of crime and punishment is a shrewd mix of propaganda and screwball entertainment. The performances are irreproachable.

Riveting as it darts between farcical comedy and sickening thriller, [it] sharply articulates the conflict between laceratingly clear deontic moral logic and an amoral bureaucracy that functionally serves to balance the interests of different constituents

Steady pacing by editor Li Yongyi ensures that Article 20 is consistently engaging even when its mild criticism of China’s legal framework is less than convincing.