Bit of a
triad melodrama – it has its enjoyable parts, but overall, it feels like an
overwrought rendering of a paint-by-numbers story. Pretty middling.
Two gangs
are locked in a bitter rivalry. Hong Fei,
the son of one gang’s leader, has tried to put that life behind him, but when
his father’s health deteriorates, he’s forced to step in. With a lovely journalist and her overeager
brother (a novice member of the gang) backing him up, Hong Fei sets out to
finish what his father started.
Not too
much here that we haven’t seen before.
Tong, the journalist and our narrator, puts a slightly different spin on
the story by drawing parallels to “the ancient hero world,” but rather than
giving it more gravitas, the comparisons make the film feel a little too
self-important, drawing itself up to mythological proportions.
On the
plus side, some likable performances. Carman
Lee does a nice job as Tong, and I enjoy Jordan Chan (who costarred with Tony
Leung Chiu-wai in Heaven Can’t Wait)
in a different sort of role as her brother.
I wouldn’t quite say they elevate the lackluster material, but they do a
fine enough job with it.
As for
Leung, he basically does as advertised as Hong Fei, a noble former triad member
who’s hero-worshipped by the newer recruits who’ve heard stories of his
near-mythical skill with a blade. He’s
almost unspeakably cool, mysterious and even-keeled with a tortured past that
he rarely talks about. The writing for
this character is very self-conscious – it definitely feels like it’s trying
too hard, and the overall effect can be a little eye-rolling. As with the ton of the narrative as a whole,
it places a bit too much importance on itself.
Leung is
best in the less-mythic moments, when Hong Fei is more of a character and less
of a legend. There’s a really strong
scene of him interacting with his father after the onset of his father’s health
problems (it seems like a stroke.) Their
relationship has been estranged for a while, but in this scene, as Hong Fei
attempts to make a wary overture of help, the history between them and their
changing relationship plays out with very little dialogue, Leung speaking
volumes with his expressions. It’s
really effective – if there had been more scenes like that, it probably
would’ve been a better movie.
Recommend?
In
General
– Not necessarily. Nothering too much to
recommend it; if you’re looking for triad dramas, there are better examples.
Tony
Leung Chiu-wai
– A cautious maybe, if only for those scenes where the film gets out of its own
way and lets Leung really act. Still, I
wouldn’t call it a must-see.
Warnings
Lots of
gang violence, sexual references, language, drinking/smoking, drug references,
homophobic jokes, and thematic elements.
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