Young and Dangerous 5
Reviewed by YTSL
Jordan Chan, Gigi Lai, Simon Yam, Francis Ng,
Chingmy Yau, Roy Cheung, Spencer Lam, Karen Mok, Michelle Reis. These
are some of the acting talent who graced previous episodes of the series
of movies that arguably made director (not just cinematographer) Andrew
Lau and producer Manfred Wong into the major players in the Hong Kong movie
industry that they now are. Understandably re most of them (but less
so for others), the characters which they brought to life are missing from
the 1998 addition to the "Young and Dangerous" saga. With additional
personalities -- I think specifically of those played by Anthony Wong and
Sandra Ng but also Vincent Wan -- who contributed to my interest in the
stories of the Hung Hing society either being relegated to or remaining
on the sidelines for this installment, I was rather skeptical that I would
be able to derive that much interest from that whose Chinese title of "98
Wise Guys: Dragon Contend Tiger Fight" has been culturally interpreted
as the "Battle of the Heavyweights".
As ever though, I found myself pleasantly surprised
that intriguing and amusing twists, turns, angles and personalities continue
to be created or found to keep things fresh (even if not all that unfamiliar).
Once more, one obvious way in which this was done involved travels to and
bringing in characters from other lands. In YOUNG AND DANGEROUS 5,
some time is spent in Malaysia (probably best known to Hong Kong moviephiles
as the territory where the stunt-filled climactic chase scene of "Supercop"
took place and from which Michelle Yeoh hails. In light of such as
the latter fact, it is pretty amusing to hear opinions voiced in this film
about Malaysian "girls" being known to be "always enthusiastic", there
being quite a few in them to be found in the brothels of Hong Kong's infamous
Portland Street, and those from Ipoh -- the real-life hometown of Ms. Yeoh
and Angie Cheung -- being particularly highly valued by the clients of
those establishments!). And it is in the Malaysian capital of Kuala
Lumpur that we are introduced to the characters played by Hsu Chi and Paul
Chun Pui (One of whom starts off seeming to be trouble but turns out to
be a "good egg"; the reverse of which applies to the other) along with
an elderly personage named Uncle Six whom Sister Thirteen (Sandra Ng) describes
as dressed like "Wong Fei Hung"!
Back in Hong Kong, a challenger appears once more
to Ekin Cheng's Chan Ho Nam. Rather ironically and somewhat bizarrely,
not only is he also named Ho Nam but so too is the actor who plays him
(Mark Cheng's Chinese name really IS Ho Nam). Before too long, not
only do the paths of Chan and Szeto Ho Nam intersect but also theirs with
that of the Malaysian individuals...all of whom are involved in the kind
of business that interest the Triads. But as Chan Ho Nam states at
one point in the film, what isn't?! And therein lies another theme
of YOUNG AND DANGEROUS 5: I.e., that as Triad society and individuals
mature, they (should) become more concerned with making money -- irregardless
of whether this is by legal or illegal means -- than with just being hot-headed
rascals.
Still, it seems that trouble will always dog Chan
Ho Nam. Even though he finds an unlikely ally (of sorts) in the new
anti-Triad section head (As one might expect, Danny Lee has few problems
making his policeman character into a substantial and credible figure),
misfortune and tragedy of one sort or another continues to befall him and
his ever dwindling group of close buddies. Lucky for him that he
seems to as easily find new friends and allies -- not to mention cute and
sweet female admirers -- as lose old(er) ones.
The way in which YOUNG AND DANGEROUS 5 ends (with
more than a hint of nostalgic yearning), the sense is that this is as far
as the series will go. Having now viewed all but the Prequel, I actually
do think that it is a shame that this is so. Though not without flaws
(with regards to this production: I thought that the fight scenes
were unexpectedly badly choreographed, executed and filmed), each and every
Triad Boyz episode has definitely kept me engrossed in the affairs and
development of quite a few characters who really don't seem all that individually
interesting yet have worked well as a group.
My rating for the film: 8.