Young and Dangerous (1996)

Such a frustrating disappointment

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Funny, strange, confrontational and subversive, this is one of the most interesting experiences you'll have at the cinema this year.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

The "Young and Dangerous" movies are a series of films about the experiences of young triads in Hong Kong's criminal society. They are based on a Hongkongese comic book known as "Teddy Boy", a fact which would be unknown if not for the movie often cutting to hand-drawn images, revealing how closely the film resembles the comic book.The film's structure seems to be fairly episodic; there's not much of an overarching narrative that I could detect, and thus the scenes only have power based on the performances. The stand-outs for me were Ekin Cheng as the protagonist and the stunningly beautiful Gigi Lai as his love interest.Despite being a HK crime flick, "Young and Dangerous" isn't heroic bloodshed; there's very little gunplay and none of the violence is shot in balletic fashion. Unfortunately, with little cohesion to each scene, "Young and Dangerous"'s power feels muted, especially in its climax; however it is entertaining for most of its run-time.

I saw this movie was I was 10 years old. I am almost 20 now and still love this movie when I re-watch it.Lang Kwan was the best evil boss I've seen in all of the series. And the way the movie show how friends stay loyal is what I love about this movie.This movie does promote some approval of triad ways, since is no cops that always interfere but later on in the series, it started to show some aspects of that.In this movie, it is mostly about a bad boss trying to take leadership of a district while trying to rid of his rival who is righteous.

YOUNG AND DANGEROUS (Gu Huo Zi: Zhi Ren Zai Jiang Hu)Aspect ratio: 1.85:1Sound format: MonoThe end of Hong Kong's 'New Wave' revolution - initiated by Tsui Hark's THE BUTTERFLY MURDERS in 1979 and consolidated throughout the 1980's by the likes of John Woo, Ringo Lam, et al - was signalled by the inexplicable commercial success of Andrew Lau's YOUNG AND DANGEROUS, a visually frenetic melding of teen idol actors and old-fashioned Triad sensationalism, adapted from the graphic novels by Niu Lo (aka Kau Man). Ekin Cheng (known at the time under the English name Dior Cheng) plays a rising young star in the Hung Hing society who falls foul of rival gangster Francis Ng (GEN-X COPS), a psychotic killer who covets the Hung Hing leadership for himself. Betrayal and murder ensue, until Cheng and his loyal friends mount a counterattack against Ng, leading to a redemptive finale.Director Lau also serves as cinematographer on this dog-eared potboiler, adopting a hand-held camera style which simply emphasizes the impoverished budget and hurried production schedule, and the decision to print key action scenes in the 'jerky-cam' style popularized by Wong Kar-wai in the likes of CHUNG KING EXPRESS (1994) is profoundly irritating. Manfred Wong's screenplay takes too long setting up the basic premise, and the film's opening half is almost derailed by needless comic set-pieces involving Cheng's relationship with Gigi Lai (playing the tough cookie sister of another gangster) which threaten to sink the entire production until events take a turn into dark-hearted melodrama, culminating in a dramatic showdown between Good and Evil.Actor/pop singer Cheng is a bland leading man (it's doubtful he'd amount to very much without the floppy fringe and Lau's complimentary lighting scheme), and he's upstaged throughout by Ng as the monstrous psychopath who ruins the hero's life whilst murdering everyone who opposes his methods, innocent and guilty alike. The movie's only real claim to fame, however, is that it kick-started the career of second-billed Jordan Chan (KITCHEN), an unlikely heartthrob whose natural acting ability atones for a lack of movie star good looks, and who has since emerged as one of HK cinema's shining lights; his performance in YOUNG AND DANGEROUS as Cheng's loyal, hare-brained best friend is charming and unaffected, and seemingly effortless. HK movie veteran Simon Yam (BULLET IN THE HEAD) makes a brief appearance as head of the Hung Hing group, and Spencer Lam plays a former triad-turned-priest whose Christian piety doesn't prevent him from landing a few well-aimed kicks on Ng during one of the film's more bizarre episodes! Director Lau went on to better things (including the recent "Infernal Affairs" series), though not before directing SIX sequels to YOUNG AND DANGEROUS, the first of which appeared in HK theaters mere months after its predecessor!(Cantonese dialogue)

This movie has been the center of many lifestyles of my friends who are chinese, and for good reason. This show the better side of organized crime with good acting, funny scenes, and they actually had the guts to kill off a main character.