Best known as one half of the writing duo that created the Infernal Affairs phenomenon, Felix Chong is about to take the helm himself with Once A Gangster. Chong's Infernal Affairs partner, and frequent co-director Alan Mak is still hanging around as a producer but this one features Chong and Chong alone in the directors chair for another unusual spin on the Hong Kong underworld.
Celebrity cook Brisket (Jordan Chan) is known for his culinary sleight of hand, but hardly anyone realizes he used to be a young and dangerous slayer who cut human flesh rather than poultry meat. Now a family man who strives to be a caring father, he finds his idyllic life turn topsy-turvy when his Triad mentor comes out of nowhere and commands him to run for the "Dragon Head" in the underworld. Brisket's only chance to extricate himself from this quagmire is to lose the election to another candidate called Sparrow (Ekin Cheng), who supposedly is the designated heir apparent to the previous kingpin. Ironically enough, Sparrow has found his true calling in academia while serving terms in prison. He has set his mind to getting into the best university in Hong Kong rather than re-donning his Triad cloak. While these two reluctant candidates are racking their brains to outwit each other so that they can stay out of the race, their inglorious pasts eventually catch up with them as their followers are plunged into mayhem and bloodshed on pain of death to get their leaders onto the throne.