Film Review: Young and Dangerous (1996) by Andrew Lau

“I’m Chicken of Hung Hing Society. This is my brother Nam.”

Written by Man Kai Ming, nicknamed ”Cow Man”, and inked by main artist Lun Yu Kwok, ”Teddy Boy” was a very successful Hong Kong comic series about the life of the Hung Hing Society triad member Chan Ho Nam. This very impressive comic with a print run of 2335 issues, was first published back in April 1992 and lasted 28 years when its production came to a stop in April 2020. ”Young and Dangerous” was the first live-action adaptation of Man’s work which became so successful that it spawned five sequels, numerous prequels and spin-offs.

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The film kicks off in Hong Kong, 1985, as members of a local triad headed by Ugly Kwan are harassing and beating up a group of five teenagers, Chan Ho Man, “Chicken” Chiu, Dai Tin Yee, and brothers Pou Pan and Chow Pan from a poor housing estate. However, after rescued by another more understanding triad leader, Uncle Bee, they decide to follow him and thus become the new recruits of his Hung Hing Society. Fast forward ten years, apart from drinking, gambling and harassing the locals like the triad members do, Chan and his best friends have also worked their way up and become Uncle Bee’s trusted enforcers.

As Chan progressively rises up in ranks, the jealous and overly ambitious Kwan tries to persuade them into working for him but without success. While Chan and his mob are on a mission in Macau to assassinate a rogue triad leader, Kwan makes use of the opportunity and attacks them in an ambush which results in Chow Pan’s brutal death. Furthermore, he has Chan and Chicken’s girlfriend kidnapped and drugged into having sex which is against the triad code. Back in Hong Kong at the Hung Hing meeting, Kwan is able to put the blame on Chan, Uncle Bee and even Chairman Chiang for the failure in Macau. He then successfully nominates himself as the new Chairman and expel Chan from their society while Chicken seeks shelter in Taiwan. A few months later, Kwan has Bee and his entire family killed which prompts Chicken’s return to team up with Chan to take down the ruthless Kwan.

Director Andrew Lau Wai Keung started his film career as a cinematographer and is well known for his creative use of lighting and the hand-held shaky camera technique which he continues to explore in this production, especially during the action scenes to emphasize the chaotic violence. This actually works well and makes the action seem more brutal due to the use of cleavers, hatchets and knives by the triad members as their preferred weapons. Also by incorporating some of the original comic book images into the film’s scenes, he is able to give it a refreshing and cool look. Furthermore, the Hong Kong cityscape like the neon lights and backstreets are all put into great use to create the overall mood.

Singer Ekin Cheng and dancer Jordan Chan are surprisingly good at portraying the young and low-level triad members; both are charismatic enough to command likable presence on the screen. However, Chan, with his unconventional looks and approach, seems to display more acting skills, including some humor, than Cheng who is definitely lacking when displaying emotions. Nonetheless, they both fit their characters and share good chemistry on screen as the pair of main leads. Ultimately, the film belongs to the amazing Francis Ng, playing Hung Hing Society’s most ambitious and cruel leader Ugly Kwan. No doubt Ng is having a ball chewing up the scenery while upstaging just about everyone on set in a performance that resulted in his own spin-off, “Once Upon a Time in Triad Society” in 1996.

The adorable Gigi Lai lands the role of Smartie, a car thief who also serves as Cheng’s triad member character Chan Ho Nam’s love interest. Though Simon Yam appears briefly as Chairman Chiang, it is still a welcoming presence which also adds a bit of star power. Shaw Brothers veteran, Wang Lung Wei turns up as a gang boss and the father of Chicken’s girlfriend while comic writer Cow Man himself shows up as another gang leader at Uncle Bee’s funeral.

Although “Young and Dangerous” is basically about the triad culture and therefore condemned as glorifying their lifestyle, the story also touches heavily on brotherhood, friendship and royalty. In addition, it is a decent and entertaining watershed production with arresting visuals which was also a box office sensation that continued to spawn many sequels and moreover, made both Ekin Cheng and Jordan Chan into huge stars.