Gong woo

I find this movie to be very cleverly written and directed. IMDb has the wrong names however. Jacky Cheung's character is called Mr. Left not Left Hand and Shawn Yue's characters name is Yik. All that aside, I really liked this movie. It's not your typical triad movie with lots of fighting and no character development. Don't get me wrong there is some action in this movie but unlike most triad movies you actually care what happens to the characters. I loved the dinner scene where Hung and Lefty are talking and the room behind them seems to be moving in an odd fashion, maybe it was a play off their emotions but I thought it looked really cool.

I was a bit surprised by what this movie really was about. Because as you are watching it you think you know exactly what the movie is about and where its going, but the last 15-20 minutes gets you. You realize that you don't really know anything, everything you thought you knew is wrong.

There was much hype about the latest crime underworld movie called Jiang Hu. Sad to say it didn't do so well in the Hong Kong Box office and it was repeatedly slammed by Critics. Ironic though is that I find most non-official Critics such as fellow IMDb users, Internet users, and myself giving this film anywhere from thumbs in the middle to thumbs up. I'm probably not going to go much into the film since most reviewers have already elaborated on it. I am going to say though that it was sort of a waste to pit most of the "Infernal affairs" cast into this movie and yet you walk out not necessary caring for one of the characters. Andy Lau and Jacky Cheung are the highlights of the film though. Their dinner conversations on playing "Triad-chess" ignites the fuse on this film. Edison Chen and Shawn Yue surprisingly have improved on their acting on a margin of 80%. The last thing(s) that captivated me on this movie was the Musical Score, the wonderful lady- sung ballad in the opening and closing credits, and Chapman To's rendered Jiang Hu theme. For those who are looking for an abundance of Triad fight(s), look elsewhere. Sure this movie still has some violence, greed, lust, and full-on betrayals, but it is rather jelly-filled dialogue instead. Jiang Hu isn't a terrible movie but it isn't a best I've seen either. I give it a 7/10.

In my opinion, this movie is to Chinese cinema what the likes of Scarface and Taxi Driver and The Godfather are to American cinema. They're genre pieces, and many people who don't like that genre won't like the movie. And many who do like the genre will find some problem with it, too. But they are important classics that will leave footprints on whatever comes after. Therefore everyone needs to watch them and decide for themselves. I am in no way making a direct comparison between Jiang Hu and the American movies I listed. I know of nothing from Hollywood that directly compares. However I feel its following and its importance have yet to be discovered, and therefore have not been realized. It is shot beautifully, scripted masterfully and cast perfectly. And, if you have the chance, buy the special edition. The packaging and presentation are so absolutely top-shelf that I truly have not seen anything nearly this grand from any American distributor for ANY American movie. My friends will have to come to my house if they want to watch it. I refuse to loan it out.

TRIAD UNDERWORLD is a little masterpiece of cinema. Though it was made in 2004 it is only now available in this country courtesy of Palisade Tartan Asia Extremes, but the wait was well worth it. Not only is the story (as written by Chi-Long To and Director Ching-Po Wong) mesmerizing through out the film, but the fact that it pulls a Guy de Maupassant-type ending that takes the audience by complete surprise. The aspect that makes this film an art work is the extraordinary creative cinematography by Charlie Lam and Kenny Lam: every frame of film is like a masterpiece of lighting and brilliant use of colors that give clues to the characters and the story - shots taken from beneath a glass floor during a fight, interludes of a near blank black screen except for windows of carefully suggestive color and luminous lighting, extensive use of slow motion photography during the very choreographed fight sequences all contribute to the mood of the Hong Kong underworld in the finest manner. The musical score by Mark Lui also deserves special recognition: often soundless mayhem is accompanied by ballades using both Eastern and Western thematic material.

The story seems rather straightforward: Triad leader Hung Yan-jau (Andy Lau)'s wife gives birth to a baby boy, and event that causes Hung to consider considers leaving the world of the gangsters. Hung's closest lifelong friend Left Hand AKA Lefty (Jacky Cheung) reminds Hung that Hung has always said he would leave the crime world if he had a wife and child. Lefty is more the playboy and both Hung and Lefty own spectacular restaurants. Should Hung decide to leave, taking his wife (Chien-lien Wu) and newborn son to New Zealand then the head of the Triad would pass to Lefty. Despite disagreements the two men stick together, especially when it becomes known that two young members of a rival gang Wing (Shawn Yue) and Turbo (Edison Chen) are out to become the next leaders of Hong Kong's famous 'jiang- hu' underworld and they are ordered by the competitive gang to Triad to kill Hung. There are brutal encounters and balletic street fights that take place outside the seeming quiet elegant restaurant dinner being observed by Hung and Lefty in honor of Hung's newborn boy. And at the denouement the roles of all concerned are revealed in a terrifically exciting manner! What had seemed to be action inside and outside is actually an amalgam of past and present!

The cast is uniformly excellent and the pace of direction is impeccable in arriving at the surprising ending. But the true glory of this film is the cinematic magic: a more artistic use of film would be difficult to imagine. This is one of those movies that should be part of the libraries of audiences who love fine thrillers and art lovers who are keen on performance art. Highly recommended.

Grady Harp

First of all, I have to say, the acting in this film is aces! Andy Lau and Jacky Cheung are terrific as two best friends who are powerful gangsters. Edison Cheng and Shawn Yue are also very engaging to watch as two young men involved in the gangster underworld. The scenes, the camera work, the peculiarly cheery music playing in the background all add to the pure visual pleasure. This is a great stylish looking film. One of the most watchable scenes in this movie was simply Andy Lau's character and Jacky Cheung's character having a meal in an empty, elegant Italian restaurant. These two actors play off each other very well. It was riviting to watch them talk to each other.

But the story? I had trouble figuring out the story. I rented this movie without English subtitles and my understanding of cantonese is very general.

I watched it twice to figure out everything. The twist in the end is surprising but not very satisfying.

What I got from this movie was this: this is not really a typical Hong Kong gangster film. This film is really about the deep friendship and love (I mean the platonic kind) between two good friends.

Is this film worth watching? Absolutely. Is the story good? So so. Even though I was not particularly satisfied with the ending, I still think it's a film worth watching and enjoying.