The story begins in Hong Kong in the year 1985, where a local mafia boss named Ugly Kwan and his goons are violently assaulting seven teenagers that include Chan Ho Man, “Chicken” Chiu, Dai Tin Yee and the two brothers Pou Pan and Chow Pan from a low class housing rental. Nevertheless, once again prompted by Uncle Bee, a gentler triad boss, they feel obligated to assist him, resulting in their status as the new members of his triad organization called Hung Hing Society. Ten years later, Chan along with his childhood friends are now Uncle Bee’s most trusted enforcers, and apart from drinking and gambling also go around terrorizing and harassing locals.
As Chan’s rise in rank is steadily witnessed, the envious and power hungry Kwan attempts to get them to join him in his endeavors, but without any success. While Chan and his gang are on a mission to eliminate a rogue triad leader in Macau, Kwan takes advantage of the situation and lies in wait to ambush them which leads to Chow Pan being tortured and eventually killed. He also has Chan’s and Chicken’s girlfriend abducted and raped which is against the triad code. At the meeting of Hung Hing in Hong Kong, Kwan cleverly accuses Chan, Uncle Bee and even Chairman Chiang for allegedly messing up in Macau. He mindfully submits himself for endorsement for the position of the new chairman and gets Chan out of their society as Chicken goes to Taiwan. Now, unlike before, they are roaming free and have so much to give. With this freedom Kwan slaughters Bee accompanied with his whole team and fam, those together make Chicken come back for Chan to work together and lun Kwan down.
Inception abruptly shifts from being a crime thriller to a surreal perspective inducing dream encasing illusion. The fantasy film meticulously assembles different elements of chaos which would otherwise have been out of line, while simultaneously, one of the most compelling storylines remains the core component. There is an enormous correlation between the riveting scene switch as well as camera shots; employing a wide range of angles showers the viewers with perspectives, while earning Marvel’s signature mark. Amidst the dreary action-packed scenes, the wider camera angle allows Lau’s vision to expand as he seamlessly blends and shapes the setting. Lau has an extensive background working alongside seasoned cinematographers, allowing him to aid his previous vision of animating a Japanese manga single-handedly while also getting engrossed with the meticulous details of the chaotic scenes to accentuate the surrealism.
It is surprising how effortlessly Ekin Cheng, the singer, and Jordan Chan, the actor, portray teenagers with no stature within a triad. Jordan, whose worldview is far more multifaceted, seems to excel in acting more than Ekin Cheng does. Although I must say, Cheng is poor at displaying emotions, portraying a character that has a Brooding Look. Jordan Chan appears ordinary enough on the other hand. It is amazing how they both manage to fit into their characters without much of an issue even though one may have to question whether their chemistry is believable at all considering the fact that a fair share of emotional range is required of both of them simultaneously. But that question is interring given the fact that the story narrates itself in the cinematics of most high budget action films. The most amazing character within the triad society is Kwan, the head of the ugliest onderscheid society. Francis Ng. It’s hard to describe how Ng is ruining this film by trying on almost everyone in the set in 1996 and the environment turned out to be such that he decided to entirely free up the role of chi.
Gigi Lai is perfectly cast as Smartie, a dream car stealer whom Cheng’s triad character Chan Ho Nam loves. Even if Simon Yam has a cameo as Chairman Chiang, it’s still a nice touch that introduces an element of star power to the proceedings. We see Shaw Brothers veteran Wang Lung Wei in the shoes of a gang leader and Chicken’s girlfriend’s father and comic writer Cow Man himself is also another the other leader of a rival gang during Uncle Bee’s funeral.
Now, despite the fact that “Young and Dangerous” is also banned since it deals with the triad culture which some may argue romanticizes the triad way of life, it also examines the concepts of brotherhood, friendship, and loyalty. Also, it is a quite interesting and entertaining watershed work with beautiful film which also was a box office hit and continued producing numerous more sequels and more importantly turned both Ekin Cheng and Jordan Chan into superstars.
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