The Cult Film Archive

The Hung Hing boys are back in town. Nam is being pushed to become leader of Causeway Bay but doesn't count on nose-picking, medallion wearing wildman Fei who is also vying for the position. Etiquette is not Fei's strong suit and he's determined to make the inauguration� a touch special. Events seem to be linked to Chicken's spell in Taiwan the previous year where his cousin Darkie introduced him to Mr Liu, an impotent Triad leader. Chicken falls in love with Liu's girlfriend (let's face it Chicken would fall in love with your budgie if it was female), a treacherous manipulator who wishes to own a casino. As the opening ceremony approaches Nam is running out of luck - Smartie is in a coma, Yi has (under duress) betrayed him and new boy Banana Skin's wardrobe needs serious attention. But at least the crazy priest is still around to supply spiritual guidance�

The first film proved such a hit when it was released in January 1996 that two sequels were made and hit the cinemas before the summer of the same year! All three became top ten smashes. Director Lau also shoots his films - he started off as a cinematographer working for such talents as Wong Kar-Wai, Ringo Lam and Tsui Hark. The results are assured and only sporadically flashy with some great fast tracks, Lau preferring to let the characters develop in soap opera style. In some respects this is more like The Sopranos but without the ugly cast or psychiatrist, while structurally it resembles The Godfather Part II but handles the temporal changes without resorting to cliché and we're mercifully denied a Hong Kong Al Pacino boring you senseless. Compelling for its own sake, this is not A Better Tomorrow for the Nineties, it's a whole different game and far better for it.