ONCE A GANGSTER Review
ONCE A GANGSTER stars two actors who are famous for their roles in the hugely popular YOUNG AND DANGEROUS films - Ekin Cheng and Jordan Chan. Considering that the last YOUNG AND DANGEROUS film was made back in 2000, it is perhaps not surprising that Cheng and Chan are no longer looking very young or dangerous. And this is something that the filmmakers have cleverly made use of in this gangster satire.
It's triad election time, but how times have changed! Gangsters Sparrow (Ekin Cheng) and Roast Pork (Jordan Chan) are the next in line to compete to become Head of the Wo Yee Sing Society, but they are now older and wiser, and no longer keen for the position. Sparrow prefers to study and Roast Pork wants to stay a chef. Even the triad's symbol of power, the Dragon Head Baton, is sitting as an exhibit in a museum of Hong Kong history. So who is now going to lead the gang?
As the male leads, Cheng and Chan give decent but not spectacular performances. It is actually the supporting cast that manages to steal the show here. Alex Fong Chung-sun (as Kerosene) is great, while Candice Yu On-on (as Lady Pearl) dominates her screen time with her over-the-top performance. Singer-actor Wilfred Lau is hilarious as the undercover cop in scenes parodying INFERNAL AFFAIRS that run throughout the film.
The film's writer and director, Felix Chong, was one of the creative trio behind the phenomenally successful INFERNAL AFFAIRS. Nowadays, he collaborates frequently with Alan Mak (one of the directors of INFERNAL AFFAIRS), co-directing films such as OVERHEARD and THE LOST BLADESMAN. ONCE A GANGSTER is his debut as a solo director, with Mak taking on the producer role. Chong does a reasonable job here, though some scenes could look better with some improved art direction and lighting.
ONCE A GANGSTER makes lots of references to previous Hong Kong gangster flicks, and the familiarity certainly adds to the fun of watching it. Some of these are obvious, like a character thanking 'Andrew Lau the director of YOUNG AND DANGEROUS', and gang elders discussing the symbolic baton that features heavily in Johnnie To's ELECTION. Others are less easily recognized, such as a scene reminiscent of a classic scene from Wong Kar Wai's wonderful directorial debut AS TEARS GO BY, and the use of the theme song from Chow Yun-fat's THE INSIDE STORY. In fact, the title of that song (originally sung by Chow), which translates to 'Flying Sand in the Wind', is also ONCE A GANGSTER's Chinese title.
ONCE A GANGSTER offers bucket loads of light-hearted fun, and while not all the jokes work, it is nevertheless an enjoyable and entertaining movie fans of Hong Kong gangster films would appreciate.
ONCE A GANGSTER is distributed in Australia by Pinnacle Films and New Zealand by Vendetta Films, and will be available on DVD from September 2011.
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