What could've been somewhat interesting and dark examination of corruption at its most severe quickly crumbles. David Lai instead opts for massive doses of cartoonish and overblown character behaviour which turns Tian Di into something Hong Kong cinema does well at the best of times; not holding back. Sadly, it's all for the worse as no drama, characters or action takes on any meaning. However the movie boasts fine cinematography and production design which suggests that all reasonable effort was instead spent on the visual presentation. The dark atmosphere also gives way for some effective detours into brutal violence and Yuen Tak's action directing registers favorably at times. It comes with the price of being almost totally detached from any reality Tian Di tries to represent but at least it entertains as a separate element while it lasts.