I'm going to be honest here. It took me a while to gather up the courage to watch this film. I don't know exactly why it took me so long. It could have been the goofy cover art. It could have been the oddly paced first 20 minutes. Whatever it was, I finally grew a pair and sat through this film. That being said, I can safely say that this film pleasantly surprised me. The movie begins, and it feels like a strange comedy. Something doesn't feel right at the offset. Francis Ng's goofy triad boss didn't sit well with me at first, either. About 30 minutes in, however, and the film quickly finds its legs.

More of a drama than a comedy, KING OF DEBT COLLECTING AGENT wins over its audience with a charming cast of lead characters. This is Nick Cheung's film for sure, and he does an excellent job carrying the movie on his shoulders. Since I've only seen him playing Wong Jing-style characters (not counting his excellent turn in HAPPY FAMILY, opposite Candy Lo), it surprised me how restrained his character is in this film. There are a lot of dramatic moments that Nick handles very well, and we have no problem feeling for the guy. The woman who plays his girlfriend (I wish I knew her name) is also quite good, and their relationship works nicely.

Franics Ng's triad boss, like I said, takes some getting used to. Seems that Francis has decided to play it up a little, giving his character some decidedly wierd quirks. His character is a real bastard and such, is easily unlikeable. On the opposite end of the spectrum is the overworked Anthony Wong as a rival triad boss. Like many films with Anthony Wong in supporting roles, he seems to be going through the motions. Understandably so, as he is seemingly playing the same character all the time. I'm still a big fan of both Francis and Anthony, but I'd almost say that if these two roles were given to lesser known actors, the film may have been better off.

In supporting roles are Sam Lee, Gabriel Harrison, and someone named Turbo as Nick's debt collecting comrades. We all know about my affinity to Sam Lee, so it was a joy to see him again. He even has an emotional scene that he handles very well. Gabriel Harrison is not given much to do, other than shaking his head obnoxiously because his character is always doing drugs. Same goes for Turbo, a very big man, who is merely here to seemingly shout out "Hulk, smash!"

Direction by Ivan Lai is decent enough, but shows his low-budget, Cat. III roots through and through. The many triad street battles are filmed in the same shaky, hand-held style you see in all triad films, but it gets the job done. I really enjoyed seeing Nick's character's rise from being a parking attendent to being his own boss in collecting debts. That aspect of the film is really well done. The dialogue is peppered with swearing throughout, which some may deem unnecessary. I may be guai lo, but I know a "diew!" when I hear it. ;)