| Old school veteran Lau Kar Wing takes on the triad genre in this raw, unflinching and pretty entertaining 80’s action flick. It is all played very broad and melodramatic, in the typical 80’s style. The violence is fairly raw stuff and goes well with the betrayal and revenge themed storyline, and the intense emotional performances by the cast. Lau Kar Leung did the action choreography and although far removed from his old style, it holds up well with its mix of fights and gunplay. It is not classic kung fu and stylized gun battles, it's just violent. Some of the violence might seem slightly gory and over the top for newcomers, but not the average HK film fan. Characterwise the movie could have worked better. The villains are so despicable that they are almost cartoonish, and the good guys (if you can call them that)--Andy Lau, Alan Tam and Max Mok--just don’t get enough screentime to build their characters and make you care and root for them. However, the cast as a whole is a pretty enjoyable bunch, including the likes of old skool Kung Fu veterans such as Ku Feng, Kara Hui Ying Hung, Chiao Chiao and the usual badguy actors like Norman Chu, Phillip Ko Fei and Shing Fui On, all doing a decent job. This movie won’t make you ponder life's big questions, but it is still a notch above your average 80’s triad potboiler (due to the excellent over the top action and the diverse cast), yet not by much. If you like gritty gangster stuff in the melodramatic 80’s style, then check it out.
FAVOURITE SCENE: Druglab finale. Martial arts, guns, swords, grenades and a molotov cocktail to seal the deal….. great stuff.
STANDOUT PERFORMANCE: William Ho…. He plays a sleazy cowardly bastard like no other. |
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