In the film, David Lam plays Tung, the leader of a rag-tag "gang" of former Mainland soldiers who are tried of working for fifty dollars a month, and so hatch a plan to sneak into Hong Kong, rob a jewelry store and then return to the Mainland to live off their spoils. The plan goes awry almost immeadiately when one of the gang is killed by the border patrol, and things are screwed up even further when they go to commit the robbery, only to find that someone has already tried to rob the store and botched the job. Desperate for money, the gang agrees to pull off a hit of what they think is a low-level Triad. But the target actually turns out to be a cop, and they quickly become Hong Kong's most wanted criminals. Backed up against the wall, the gang must try to keep both the Triads and the police off their trail as they once again attempt to rob the store.

Upon viewing Long Arm of the Law, it's easy to see the impact it had on the Hong Kong gangster movie. Of course, there are the overt gags such as people wielding dual handguns and Mexican standoffs that would come to be some of the most used visuals in HK Triad pictures. But, more importantly, it's how Long Arm of the Law treats the characters that would set the bar of how things were handled in the genre from now on. Unlike most of the previous entries in the genre, there are no "good" or "bad" characters. On both sides of the law, the characters operate in a gray area where brotherhood and loyalty -- not things such as laws or money -- dictates the characters' actions. Both the gang and police do despicable acts at times; for example, one of the gang forces a club hostess to orally satisfy him at gunpoint, while the police show little regard for innocent bystanders in their pursuit of the gang. But there are several small scenes (again, from both sides of the legal coin) that show the characters are capable of compassion, and this makes them, and the story as a whole, that much more relevant to the viewer.

Action-wise, Long Arm of the Law also changed how things were handled in mainstream Hong Kong productions. With Billy Chan's action direction, Johnny Koo's camerawork and Peter Cheung's editing (all of which won Hong Kong Film Awards), it's gritty, violent, and exciting. The last twenty minutes centers around a frentic shootout in the back alleys of Mongkok, and it still stands up well today. Even though there might not be enough action to satisfy die-hard gunfight fans (the first half-hour or so of the movie is frankly pretty slow) what is there gives enough oomph to the proceedings to make thinks all that more electric. By the time Long Arm of the Law ends, the viewer will feel -- much like the characters in the film itself -- both physically and mentally drained, and that, in this reviewer's mind, is one of the things that seperates a great film from a good one.

Rooster and Bull's Eye. Their leader is Tung (David Lam) who has a perfect plan for a "job" in Hong Kong. In 48 hours, they are to cross the border, rob a jewelry shop and then get back across the border...

Review: Rated at number one of the 'Ten of the Best Heroic Bloodshed Flicks', I had high hopes for this movie, beating the ranks against movies such as A Better Tomorrow and Hard Boiled. This movie in reality does stand a chance against John Woo's master pieces. Sure I can see why many people can see this movie as a diamond in the rough or a hidden gem in the Hong Kong action genre.

Leading actor David Lam Wai (noticeable in movies such as A Chinese Ghost Story and Project A part 2) does show promise. Although the rest of the cast are a mixed bunch.

With the lack of noticeable actors it's obvious why the movie hasn't proved to by a fan favorite. I myself pined to see some familiar faces. Sure we get to see former Jackie Chan stunt man - Ben Lam take the role of a police officer, that isn't enough. Even the movies police chief i wished to see him replaced with a husky James Tien or Danny Lee!

But the film does earn some brownie points from its graphic violence - the guy having his ear lob blown off or the violent death of the police officer at the ice rink.

As you can expect the story of the mainland thieves going to Hong Kong for their get rich quick scheme ALWAYS goes wrong. Yet this movie lines the plot with unnecessary storylines of the mainland gang sleeping around or the frankly square character 'Rooster' forcing a classy call girl at gun point forcing her to give him some 'oral pleasures'. There is also the worn down subplot of Chung being reunited with his mainland love, Sheung who is now a nightclub hostess.

Watching this movie often reminded me of Ringo Lam's City on Fire where both movies feature various cast members. Hell even this movie has background music which was used in Sammo Hung's "Eastern Condors".

As you can predict, Long Arm of the Law falls short of the finish line, yet ventures off into two sequels, it must have went right somewhere...

Considered a forerunner to the "heroic bloodshed" genre that John Woo fully brought to light and life with A Better Tomorrow in 1986, Johnny Mak's Long Arm Of The Law did indeed pave way for modern era gunplay and its themes but stylistically Woo plowed his own path. Mak's particular handling of this aspect surfaced more distinctly subsequently in Ringo Lam and Kirk Wong's work so with that out of the way, how does Mak's successful and acclaimed actioner hold up over 20 years down the line?

Because that question is always interesting when dealing with movies that set a standard, a tone and trademark traits for a genre. They're not necessarily always the best ones but merely the first. I'm happy to report that Long Arm Of The Law holds up extraordinary well though, both in its execution of bloody violence but as an exploration of characters. Big bundle of credit goes out to writer Phillip Chan (Hard Boiled and director of Night Caller) who infuses the script with believable characteristics of the O Gang. Not sympathetic in any way via their choices, there's of course a subtle critique here of Mainland ruling that don't allow these character to prosper. And time is seriously running out. They are vicious and cold blooded, no doubt about it but Mak allows us to share times with characters such as Ah Chung (Kong Lung - director of The Red Panther) who never wanted more than to settle down with his girlfriend. On the other hand, throughout one never feels for anyone who decides to turn to crime for no actual valid reason, a balance Chan and director Johnny Mak realize must be maintained. And they do.

Because infrequent director Mak (he would handle over directing duties to brother Michael for the unrelated sequels to Long Arm Of The Law) has an exhilarating and spot on vision. The premise is a raw, gritty one so directing style suitably emphasizes that and we're taken on a journey throughout a variety of realistic and seedy locations. All nigh on perfectly captured by Mak and cinematographer Johnny Koo (who deservedly was nominated for his work). There's never a sense of the fact that we're looking at an artificially constructed underworld that only caters to movie reality. No, Mak takes us below and onto the streets for all his crucial moments, the most vivid imagery being ones of violence.

Billy Chan of Sammo Hung's stunt team handles the various detours into gunplay and violence with great skill, getting the shock factor just right. What viewers will take away from the movie is quite extensive, gritty gunplay that dominate the latter half of the film (again, think Ringo Lam, save for a few moments of stunts that screams John Woo) but the cold blooded deaths such as the one at the shopping center ice rink and the execution of a woman towards the end are grisly, thoroughly excellently performed acts of action directing. The Hong Kong world become victims of the O gang and the enemies it makes. With that, an aura of unapologetic pessimism enters and works in Johnny Mak's favour. He solves nothing by the end but nor should he act as a saviour.

Casting a majority of fresh faces or ones that never broke out until being showcased here, going with no star power was a gamble that struck a chord with audiences. So much so that lead David Lam as the ruthless, charismatic leader Tung was nominated for his performance. Tung is in actuality the character less concerned with sharing his future with anyone. He just needs the money so he can live the life China never was able to give him but Lam keeps the character dimensional enough by working with these beats. Wong Kin is another standout as Tung's right hand man, Chubby. The loyal member of the gang but also lowly when it comes to enjoying the good sides of life, it's more of a shock that he can transform himself from a seemingly shy character to equally cold blooded when it comes down to it. Best supporting actor winner Shum Wai also adds excellent colour to Tai who may be looked upon as a powerful crime lord from his followers perspective but gets extremely small, extremely quick in pressured situations. Ben Lam and Tommy Wong can be spotted briefly playing cops.

With Long Arm Of The Law, Johnny Mak secured his reputation as an influence and deservedly so. The film goes familiar places when viewed today but it's easy to single it out as a more thoughtful and well-executed work than most that followed. It's today overshadowed by the excellence John Woo, Ringo Lam and Kirk Wong showcased for the world but no doubt, Long Arm Of The Law holds up, shocks and involves to a great extent still. To continue not to recognize Mak's work would be shameful, even if it's gone over 20 years.