Review of Once a Gangster (2010) by Erique T — 16 Aug 2010
Although they hardly make triad movies like they used to in Hong Kong anymore, Felix Chong still chooses the old format for his witty, satirical look on local life, and perhaps more specifically the close ties of the family unit.
Many of the gags presented here require at least some knowledge of the political and economic climate of the region, and, keeping the Chinese censors' firm grip on the filmaking industry in mind, a few of them even seem a bit edgy, but most are just easily recognized film parodies, which of course is exactly what you bargain for when Jordan Chan and Ekin Cheng get together in a gangland comedy.
After a weak start and an irritatingly delayed appearance of Chan Ho-Nam-double Swallow, the movie gains momentum and proves utterly entertaining as it presents a kind of bizarro-triad universe, where everything we know about the jiang hu seem to go down the drain.
This review of Once a Gangster (2010) was written by Erique T on 16 Aug 2010.
Once a Gangster has generally received positive reviews.
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