Leung Ka Fai gets sent to jail for manslaughter after kicking a triad under a bus, complete with sound effects (EWW!). There, he meets up with Chow Yun Fat's Ah Ching character, who happens to be the most charismatic prison inmate ever. Stuff happens, but I don't need to say more because you WILL see Prison On Fire.

Basically, Chow Yun Fat and Leung Ka Fai both deserved awards for this film as both of them are FUCKING FANTASTIC. No jokes. While some may say Roy Cheung is his usual sneering self, it works here and the evil prison warden is bloody well suited to this flick. I was stuck to the screen for the whole thing and I hated the fact that it ended because it just really demands more - probably why there was a sequel that was almost as good (but not quite). Ringo Lam really made the dull grey prison come alive with the characters and not the visual aspect because there's only so much you can get from grey walls and dusty exercise yards.

Prison On Fire gets a bit freakin' sick near the end and Chow Yun Fat shows that Mike Tyson watches Hong Kong movies with a nasty moment, but it doesn't detract from the film because it's already shocked you with the way the prisoners are treated. Ah Ching must be the most luckless man in Hong Kong...

Some of the best acting ever.