Hak se wui: Yi woo wai kwai

The first "Election" film seems to be Johnnie To's most highly praised movie, which is strange, because I think this less-seen sequel is superior in every way. It has a plot you can actually understand, and a persistent style and tone.

"Election" had key moments apparently happening off camera so you could only deduce what was going on in the plot with super-human concentration. Not so in the sequel. You get the gist pretty easily, and pretty early on: Lok, the elected chairman from the first movie, is approaching the end of his tenure, but is considering breaking Triad tradition and extending his term. Meanwhile Jimmy is trying to set himself up as a legitimate businessman in China and move away from the Triad. He finds that government officials will only work with him if he takes the chair in his Triad.

So the stage is set for crosses, double-crosses and dealings with Triad "uncles" and cold-blooded subordinates.

"Triad Election", also known as "Election 2", is never less than engrossing and captivating. It's one of the best Triad films I've seen.

Election 2 is a sequel to the excellent Hong Kong gangster drama released one year earlier. The director and most of the cast have returned for this intriguing sequel. This explains why the movie doesn't only live up to expectations but is as great as the first part.

The film takes place about two years after the events of the previous movie. The two-year term of triad chairman Lok is about to expire as the next election nears but the chairman plans on refusing to step down and wants to keep his position. His biggest concurrent is businessman Jimmy who is forced into becoming a chairman by Chinese police officials to expand his business into China. Another opponent named Kun initially plans on murdering Lok but the current chairman proposes a joint bid instead and tricks Kun into kidnapping Jimmy's supporters. Lok then manipulates another potential candidate named Jet, an assassin living in the shadows, by promising him to become his successor if he helps him eliminating Jimmy. The smart businessman is however well aware that his life is in danger. Jimmy sends his wife to a safe house, plans on pinning recent crimes on Lok and thus become the next chairman.

This gangster movie convinces with a surprisingly realistic story. Despite its epic proportions, the director created a calm, coherent and fluid movie that is easy to follow even if you might not have watched the first film. The different characters are often diversified, dynamic and profound. The film has a dramatic, sad and serious tone that sometimes shifts to nihilistic, overwhelming and violent passages. The three most memorable scenes are Jet's assassination attempt on Jimmy, the gruesome torture sequences by Jimmy and his supporters and the final defeatist conclusion that offers food for thought and room for debates.

It doesn't happen too often that a sequel is as great as the original film but it's certainly the case for the Election duology. It wouldn't be exaggerated to call the Election duology Hong Kong's take on the Godfather trilogy. It would have been amazing to get even more entries into this franchise. Anyone who appreciates gangster movies should watch and purchase both parts without hesitation.

I recently saw this at the 2007 Palm Springs International Film Festival and I had never seen the first film of this series but this still stands on it's own without the benefit of seeing the first film Election. This being distributed as Triad Election although in the opening credits is called Election 2. This is the story of a large Hong Kong crime syndicate that has it's hand in several business dealings from bootleg compact discs to government contracts in Hong Kong and on mainland China. Ten of the actors reprise their roles here from the first film. Lok is the head of the crime family of which was elected to serve a two year term and now his term is up. He wants to hang on to his power and not go into semi-retirement as an elder or uncle within the Triad. Jimmy is the odd-on favorite to win the election this time around but he is a reluctant candidate. He only wants to be a underworld businessman which he never will be unless he accepts the position as the elected one term leader of the crime family. Veterna director Johnny To is back as the director as well as the screenplay team of Nal Hei Yau and Tin-Shing yip, cinematographer Siu-keung Chang and production director Tony Yu. This is a violent film and many comparisons have been made with the Godfather and other American gangster films. Not knowing anything about this or it's predecessor film I didn't really know what to expect here but this is a well-polished film with a good story and plenty of interesting characters. I would give this an 8.0 out of 10.

Election 2, like its predecessor and the acclaimed "Infernal Affairs", seems to usher a new wave Hong Kong crime cinema. Highly stylized and almost completely devoid of the typical "action" sequences that HK gangster pictures have become associated with, Election 2 is also one of the coldest films in recent memory.

The plot is somewhat unremarkable and predictable, but in this case its how the film is told that makes it stand apart. The underworld depicted by director Johnny To is populated by sullen, disaffected thugs in expensive suits, with no loyalties held sacred but to their insatiable greed. The isolation of these men, (and Louis Koo as Jimmy in particular), as they trade away the remaining scraps of their humanity is a chilling thing to behold. The lighting, music, and sparse sets all echo the overwhelming emptiness and dread radiated by these characters, excellently performed by an ensemble of talented actors. Characters carried over from the first film seem to have developed in the two year interim to Election 2, and have become much more realized than the rather thin caricatures of the original.

Johnny To also seems to have a better grasp of the subject; wisely opting for a more serious approach, he injects a political theme that elevates the material out of the typical power fantasy of gangster films. Although the film certainly has its share of violent scenes, they are a good deal less gory than the majority of "shock cinema" today, and somehow even more harrowing. One particularly chilling scene is almost completely silent, save the blood-freezing soundtrack's eerie drone. Presented in such icy fashion that it becomes savagely artistic, Election 2's violence will stay with you long after the credits run. Despite the fetishistic renditions of violence and Triad traditions, these power obsessed sociopaths are hardly glamorous; their quiet panic becoming palpable as the realization sets in that greed has condemned them all. It is a testament to the director's talent that even without a single likable character for the audience to root for; the film remains compelling right to the bitter end.

Election 2 is an uncompromising film; violent, serious, politically controversial, and spectacularly unsympathetic. It also depends in large part on the viewer having seen its prequel, a similar if inferior examination of the same subject and themes. It is also one of the most interesting crime dramas in some time. Special note must be given once again to the score, which raises the tension significantly, and gives it a unique flavor more akin to a horror movie than a gangster film. Johnny To has shaped a bleak monster out of the typical conventions of crime noir; it leaves the viewer with much food for thought on subjects many would find distasteful, but anyone with an interest in the shallow, ruthless underbelly of organized crime is recommended to give it a look.

"Triad Election" takes viewers deep into a ritualized world of the Triad Society crime organization which is full of betrayal, backstabbing, and power-grabbing moves for power. The movie contains complex characters, scheming political machinations, and explosive action sequences that creates balance against Jonnie To's unique directorial style and subversive plot twists. "Triad" is the sequel to the wildly successful "Election" (2005), which earned a number of awards and nominations including Best Film, Best Director, and Best Screenplay at the Hong Kong Film Awards in 2006. The "Triad" storyline expounds from its predecessor with a political subtext: the candidates here, elegantly played by Koo and Yam, are not only trapped by their own lust of power or wealth, but also by the mainland Chinese government's omniscient influence. To merges an intelligent screenplay with the hardball tactics of the Hong Kong underworld which contains political undertones and transcends an otherwise conventional crime drama storyline.

The slow burn caper maintains a business-like atmosphere, while its general sense of tranquility is interrupted with sudden bursts of intense violence. Noticeably absent is the trademark two-fisted gun play, sunglasses, and highly stylized action sequences so prevalent in Woo's films. To underplays the spectacle of violence -- he's more interested in the how the escalation reveals the character of the candidates. The majority of "Triad Election" is about the political maneuvering of organized crime, but when the conversations end, make no mistake, the blood flows mightily. "Triad Election" strongly resembles "The Godfather Part II" (1974), but it's resolutely a Chinese story, reaching back to the origins of Hong Kong crime syndicates, and showing how they struggle to keep a foothold in a modernized world. There are great modern crime movies out there -- Michael Mann's "Heat" (1995), Martin Scorsese's "Goodfellas" (1990), and Andrew Lau and Alan Mak's "Infernal Affairs" trilogy. "Triad Election" unquestionably belongs with such illustrious company.