Young & Dangerous: Reloaded
Daniel Chan
The story: Gangsters Chan Ho Nam (Him Law), Mountain Chicken (Oscar Leung), Tin Yee (Dominic Ho) and Pou Pan (Jazz Lam) run together as a group. Even though they are all members of the Hung Hing triad, they cross paths with Kwan (Sammy Sum) and end up seeking protection from Brother B (Paul Wong).

The Young And Dangerous series of Hong Kong gangster flicks in the late 1990s made stars out of the likes of Ekin Cheng and Jordan Chan. So the hope behind this reload is presumably to turn TVB actors Him Law and Oscar Leung into big-screen idols as well.
But instead of leaving his mark with a fresh take, director Daniel Chan is merely content to offer up a dated tale with no surprises. Someone is wronged, someone is framed, vengeance is sought and, ultimately, justice is served, gangland-style.
Just because the original flicks were made then does not mean that the reboot has to also feel like it was from the last millennium.
Taiwan’s Monga (2010) showed that it is possible to inject new life into a well-worn genre and make the audience care about the story and the characters. It was also powered by strong performances from Mark Chao and Ethan Juan, who was named Best Actor at the Golden Horse Awards.
While Him Law has the looks, his Chan Ho Nam is rather bland and expressionless and his romance with rich girl Chaoting (Hu Ran) perfunctory. Oscar Leung’s cheeky Mountain Chicken is not a strong enough character to make an impact either.
Things improve a little in the style department as the director plays up the comic-book roots of the film. Colourfully illustrated pages flip to transition between scenes, as the violence veers into the cartoonish with exaggerated blood-spilling in scene after scene of brawling.
The most cartoonish element, unfortunately, has to be the character of the villain Kwan. With eyeliner, a bad perm and a permanent slouch, he is guilty of bad taste among his crimes.
There is a cursory attempt to address the criticism that the Young And Dangerous films glamorise macho violence and gang life. Ho Nam and Brother B point out that they turned to the triads as a last resort and yet these revelations do not add much to character development. Nor do they temper the violence.
What is even more problematic is the ending in which justice is served in a fiery manner. Is this deliberately cruel vigilantism something the audience is supposed to rejoice over?
(ST)