Election's plot concerns the naming of the new leader of the Wo Shing "society", the largest gang in Hong Kong. There are two leading candidates: Lok (Simon Yam), a diplomat who has wheeled and dealed his way to the top, and Big D (Tony Leung Ka-Fai), a hot-head who used intimidation and bribery to further his career. Uncle Teng (Wong Tin-Lam), one the most influential Wo Shing members, doesn't trust Big D and so convinces the other senior members to vote for Lok. The news doesn't sit well with Big D, who hatches a plan to steal the gang's ceremonial scepter in an attempt to wrangle control from Lok.

The plot might sound simliar to many of Johnnie To's other crime pictures, but the execution is not. It's missing a bit of the spark that made movies like A Hero Never Dies so great. I'm not saying Election is bad by any means -- it's actually quite good -- but if you're expecting The Mission, or something in that caliber, you'll probably be disapointed because there is seemingly so much wasted potential. This is brought to light through both of the performances of Simon Yam and Tony Leung Ka-Fai. They're good, but both characters end up feeling empty to the viewer because we don't know that much about them. To usually does a wonderful job in fleshing out characters, but both Lok and Big D feel underdeveloped, and more minor characters (such as Uncle Teng) barely get any screen time.

Supposedly, the initial cut of Election ran three hours (the theatrical and video versions run at about ninety-nine minutes), so this halving of the footage might explain why everything feels half-full at the end of the picture. Just as things are going along interestingly, the story takes a sharp turn and goes into a conclusion with a sudden, almost shockingly violent, end. This feels like a cheap way to end the picture, especially since it became widely known that To started work on a sequel shortly after this movie was released. Was To intentionally holding back to leave room for the sequel?

These "flaws", I admit, are probably more of my personal nit-picking than anything else, but 2005 was a pretty lackluster year for Hong Kong movies, and I was holding on to some shred of hope that Johnnie To would be able to pull out some sort of Chirstmas miracle and craft another home run, especially since Election was entered into the Cannes film festival (which is still a pretty big deal for a HK production). Judging from the result of Election and the other "big" films of the year like Seven Swords (which marked the beleagured Tsui Hark's attempt re-attain greatness in the director's chair) Hong Kong is going to need to find another big director besides Steven Chow (who only makes one movie every two years) to create big hits for both Asian and Western audiences if they're going to be an economically viable center for film production.

Most of the HK directors, like To, seem to be stuck in a place cinematically between the two cultures, and Election is another example of how this conflict has resulted in (at most times) watered-down versions of the cinematic entires of the 80's and '90's that established Hong Kong as a cinematic powerhouse. Again, Election isn't a bad film per se. It's just that it -- like way too many recent releases from all over the world over the past year -- is disappointing, especially considering the cast and crew involved.

Those who are not familiar with HK standards and practices should know that the HK film industry has some strange rules regarding depictions of the Triads. If a film shows any of the behind the scenes traditions and secret society shenanigans, it automatically receives the harshest rating possible. You can actually glorify the Triads and show them doing stuff the general public knows about, like gambling, running brothels, doing drug deals, and scrapping with rival gangs and the cops, but god forbid you show them flash a gang sign. It is a bit strange, but we've got our own weird ratings board rules, like sex scenes deemed NC-17 purely because of a thrust or two, and decapitations, cutting, and such being perfectly fine as long as there is no blood.

So, basically, it was a pretty big deal that a commercial film maker, already known to have a good handle on entertaining crime/Triad films like PTU and The Mission, was delivering a seemingly taboo-breaking film. Election ended up making a pretty good splash at the box office, the HK awards circuit, and found its way to Cannes.

The film concerns the appointing of a new chairman for the Wo Sing Society, the largest conglomerate of various sub groups of Triad gangsters. The two leading candidates are the calm and reserved looking Lok (Simon Yam- Dr. Lamb, Hitman, The Mission) and the brash, obnoxious, and temperamental Big D (Tony Lueng Ka Fai- Double Vision, Flying Daggers, She Shoots Straight). The elders largely agree that Lok is the best man for the job. However, Big D has been making the rounds with bribes, swaying certain leaders, which proves fruitless when the elders agree to do the credible and honorable thing by sticking to the majority and making the credible choice.

Big D doesn't take losing the election and wasting bribe money very well. He goes ballistic. First, he kidnaps two of the elders and beats the tar out of them and insists that he will not accept losing. The police get wind of all the gang turmoil and commence to rounding up the various leaders and question them. The police readily admit the Triads are so deeply ingrained in the culture, the best they can hope to do is quell any violence, to ask for some peace, which is just what they do. But, Big D would rather risk warfare than concede.

The middle section of the film centers on the Wo Sing Societies ceremonial baton, a 100 year old relic that is handed down to the new chairman, a symbol of their unity and acceptance. Pro-Lok and Pro-Big D factions chase the baton across the Chinese countryside. The whole endeavor becomes a rather valiant but somewhat absurd attempt to clutch to the archaic traditions that clearly no longer hold the same relevance that they once did. Those both sides risk life an dlimb to get teh baton, Big D getting the baton first wouldn't mean much other than a way to wag his tongue at the heiarchy that voted against him.

Now, while other reviews may get into it, I'm not going to reveal what happens at the end of the movie, who gets the baton, who gets power, and all that. A little mystery is good, especially in a film like this where it's third act really shows some cleverness, twists, and moments that make the film go from pretty average to very good. One of the standards of HK film these days is to try and make a series of films, like with Infernal Affairs. Election does brim with enough characters and surprises that a sequel (which, by the way, has been announced) will be very welcome.

Johnnie To has always frustrated me. Out of the gaggle of directors who made their names in the 80's (his Big Heat was one of the best HK crime flicks of the decade), he has made the transition into the more commercial world of HK films much better than his contemporaries like Ringo Lam and Tsui Hark. When the mid-90's shift to pretty boy actors, slicker productions, and general pop-appeal took over Hong Kong cinema, Johnnie To took it in stride and found success. But, while almost always entertaining, I found his commercial pandering diluted what could be much better films. A dash of over the top gunplay and action here, a goofy joke there, and a cheeky referential nod there always seemed to keep his films from being truly great. His films were like being served a high class meal, only to top it off with a Marshmellow Peep as dessert.

With Election Johnnie To has delivered his most mature film to date. He still straddles the line of pure entertainment and more thoughtful cinema, but he doesn't let those commercial tendencies destroy what is a great gangster picture, one of the best in recent years. While there is some comedy, it isn't pushy or silly. It actually fits within the films commentary on the Triad's uneven honor code, like in a scene where one Triad is beating up a rival, only to get a cell phone call informing him that his gang has switched alliances and now he must help out the man he was just beating. Likewise there is one belated action scene, but it doesn't involve any bullet ballet (no guns in the film at all) and speaks more of the loyalty of the gangsters willing to fight outnumbered, be bullied and battered, all out of honor and allegiance to their organization.

Election does have some unwieldy and uneven bits. The story is full of characters, maybe too many, like the colorful lot of elders and some henchmen, standouts being the dedicated Jimmy (Louis Koo) and the scrappy Jet (Nick Cheung). I found myself wishing to see some more of them, which hopefully the sequel will delve into. Reflecting very closely to their characters, the two lead performances show the model of reserve and the model of needing to be reigned in. Simon Yam gives a quiet performance and speaks volumes with his eyes of Lok's strategizing mind and viciousness lurking under his clam surface. On the opposite side, Tony Lueng plays his role very broad, borderline cartoonish, making Big D very much the bratty, petulant insecure child. So, while Simon yam shows a very humanized side of the gangster, Tony Lueng instead falls back on a well-worn caricature. While both are engaging, one enhances the realism, the other detracts.

The initial hubbub proved to be much ado about nothing. It is a very good film but it isn't exactly shockingly groundbreaking or an absolute masterpiece. It does sets the bar for future HK crime films much higher, but I wasn't surprised. Johnnie To has always leaned towards a more evenhanded portrayal of Triads and Election is just the further evolution of his demystifying what has often been a glamorized society in HK films, where the Triad was often either painted as some heroic figure, two-guns-a-blazing, or a cardboard villain. While I think Johnnie To is still finding that balancing act between realism and commercialism, Election points to those prospects looking even brighter; it is, by far, one of the better films in his career.

Conclusion: Election is a great Triad film, one that is unafraid to confront the gangsters skewed sense of honor and tradition that is in total conflict with their amoral behavior as criminals...

Gathering up a lot of attention through its very explicit poster, showing various hand signs associated with triads and getting a Category III rating automatically because of that "provocation" and content, the latest stylish, cinematic outing from Johnnie To within his particular, dreamy cinema landscape became a hit in Hong Kong at the time of release, something To usually can't count on with these particular productions of his. Also invited to the Cannes Film Festival and rumored to be an 180 minute epic, it was reduced to 100 minutes for cinema and dvd so with a few aspects such as that in mind along with To's rising star status internationally in addition to being a Hong Kong poster boy for dependency, how does this triad story fare then?

If you want to be really simple about it, Election is a very polished triad story. However, it's does not have the appealing nature of the triad life style as seen in Young And Dangerous or the farce like traits of Too Many Ways To Be No.1. It is however To's attempt at trying to advocate the issue of loyalty in a worldly perspective. Probably having pondered it for some time, he's come to a downbeat conclusion and within his Hong Kong world, the triad society is a place where the traditions speak of loyalty, only no one seems to be practicing it for very long stretches at a time. It sets the stage for another fairly visuals driven time with a Milkyway production and Johnnie To at the helm. Cinematographer Cheng Siu-Keung's lighting scheme balances the ordinary and contrasts, only not for the sake of being cool but it speaks to the script intentions by award winners Yau Nai Hoi & Yip Tin Shing.

Because the concepts of triads as originally conceived hundreds of years ago is nowhere to find today. Oh the initiation ceremonies may speak to the contrary but when it comes down to it, the seniors are the only ones proud of their heritage. However they have no leverage in the struggle to maintain a harmonic and respectful triad society. They are seen in smoke and shadows, used only by their successors as instruments of power and warfare. Even the police (head officer played by David Chiang) realize that it's not their job to eradicate but to maintain balance and harmony as best they can. Out on the field and within the inner politics, the only word is business. This is sad and I think Johnnie To feels the same way. Because you can arguably call triads at one point in history heroes with values and even the world outside the triads has very little of that in the new millennium.

Even more so is the sad views apparent since Election focuses on that very occasion where corruption, greed and bribes circulates like your everyday election, wherever you go it seems. The hypocrisy reaches all new levels with To's characters as the famed Baton, really a symbol tracking back generations, is for some reason an aspect the power hungry individuals they take seriously! Johnnie To vents. In fact, he vents well and in a valid way but presents Election as a different beast compared to past acclaimed works and I'm not sure it'll find fans in all camps. His cinematic world does contain what you do expect, including stylized settings and some odd ball humour worthy of Takeshi Kitano status but he's got more interest in the theme and edge, which there is plenty of.

Characters are only designated a purpose. A purpose where colourful actors are brought in to bring the outermost workable traits, a choice that works well...for the likes of Simon Yam and Tony Leung. To assigns several scenes the task of being interesting while talky and the plot driven character traits of Lok and Big D serves the frame well. The power struggles are nothing new, in fact the supporting character gallery is unfortunately a little too big to be coherent or fully realized in the hands of more un experienced actors such as Louis Koo and Nick Cheung. They still are in a place where they need more fully fleshed out writing to support them and To has too much confidence in these particular guys.

What To and Milkyway knows is that Hong Kong cinema needs them though but does not need them to give in to the Hollywood way. Based on the direction and star power, Election will easily make acceptable tours of duty around the Asian territories, international film festivals and slowly but surely, bring more noteworthy status to Johnnie's international image. In my mind, that's a grand plan if anything and since To now finally scored a hit again making his type of film, the future is suddenly looking bright.

As mentioned, the length was trimmed significantly and not that it lacks character, the biggest knock in an otherwise immersing work is that the film is very inconclusive in its development of secondary characters (again Louis Koo and Nick Cheung). There's got to be more to it and it came as no surprise to hear that Election 2 is already in the works. So Election is a work worthy of criticism, a work of patience, style, humour and a view of the triad world where hope for loyalty is lost, even for humanity as a whole. It's felt and it's another welcome, if not masterful addition to the filmography one of Hong Kong's very best. Let's just hope the entire scope of the saga can reach even more satisfying level come sequel time.