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This film is very good, it's hard for me to give a 5 [star rating] for any movie. Since I have lived the Triad life for about two years of my life in Hong Kong and 3 years in New York, I can relate to this movie. The back-stabbing, anything-to-get-ahead attitude, and also the loyalty and friendships are all too real. A great Triad film and good action--anyone that wants to see what Triad life is like, this is a great film to use!! | | LOG IN TO COMMENT ON THIS REVIEW! |
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| Despite its fluid, energetic style, the film doesn't transcend any of the clichZ&Mac255;s of the 'problem youth movie' genre (in this edition, young rebels full of vim and notions of honour are pitted against the dishonourable and unconscionable). Interesting characters (such as the stuttering girl and the pastor) are not developed. Dior Cheng is too wet behind the ears, and has yet to train his energy and talent in the right directions. His innocent looks lack the requisite 'touch of evil' of a young transgressor. Hong Kong cinema still can't get over Andy Lau's 'good bad boy' image. However, the movie succeeds in conveying the feeling of a young city brimming with energy that is not necessarily violent. The outstanding climactic scene between Leng Kwan and the young cop is exceptionally inspired. Though adapted from the comics, this is a real movie movie. Prospective filmmakers seeking to make the transition from another medium to the movies ought to take a leaf from this production. |
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| | | | | The commercial success of Young and Dangerous isn't without foundation: whole hearted- involvement is probably the most important factor. That is to say, the director, writer, and the cast, were wholly involved in their roles and set out to create romanticized if also unscrupulous characters living in a world marked by streetside violence. In the process, they have projected the kind of energy that has been missing in Hong Kong cinema for quite a while. However, by the second half of the movie, the energy level seems to have dropped off. Dior Cheng's characterization is dated and old-fashioned: a replay of the stereotypes created by Alan Tang in his gangster movies. Here's hoping that Part Two will be a more rounded exercise. | | LOG IN TO COMMENT ON THIS REVIEW! |
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| Compared with some Hong Kong gangster movies, Young and Dangerous has a good attitude. Essentially, it sees its triad youths as transgressing innocents and not conventional delinquents connected with triads. Firstly, the triad youths are not shown to do anything bad; the character they kill is a bad guy. Their other 'bad deeds' are hardly bad as we understand the word (kicking a dirty old man for flirting with a young manicurist, forcing the stuttering girl to eat dumplings). Secondly, some of the triad youths get the punishment they deserve (getting beaten up in Macau, friends get killed, getting cold-shouldered by your mates, Dior Cheng expelled from the triads). Thirdly, the death of Big Brother Chi Hung is a form of warning: the worse that can happen to the triad youths is that their family will suffer for them. Fourthly, the film portrays a more pliable image of the cops than most Hong Kong gangster movies. This is another aspect of the movie that makes it more widely accepted in Hong Kong cinema. |
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