Following a police raid on a triad drugs shipment which leads to the arrest of a drug dealer the man's wife decides to try to extort money out of the triads by suggesting they know the account details of where Triad boss Lin Ho-lung keeps their money. Unwilling to risk the possibility that the man might talk they take drastic action and launch an attack on the police station where he is being held. That isn't the end of their problems though; Lung's friend and financial backer is kidnapped and held for ransom. Lung doesn't realise that those responsible are working with people close to him and soon is involved in a full scale war with rival gangs as well as the police.
If you want full on action this is probably the film for you; it is very violent with numerous shootings; limbs being hacked off with swords, explosions and a very gruelling torture scene that certainly made me wince! The basic story is simple enough although with just about every group having insiders they shouldn't trust there is always the possibility of sudden betrayal. The action set pieces are exciting and feel realistic; this isn't the highly choreographed action that approaches dance one finds in some Hong Kong films. Director Denis Law did a fine job keeping the action gritty while also having some more gentle moments; the scene where to senior triad members remember their childhoods while playing hopscotch was a delight. The cast did a solid job; particularly Sammo Hung, who impressed as Lin Ho-lung; Wu Jing, who plays his right hand man Lok Tin-hung and Tien Niu who plays Lung's wife and shows that women shouldn't be underestimated. Overall I'd certainly recommend this to fans of full on Hong Kong action.
These comments are based on watching the film in Cantonese with English subtitles.
