Triads: The Inside Story

Well for a Hong Kong movie from the late 1980s that deals with Triads, then I must say that "Triads: The Inside Story" (aka "Ngo joi hak se wui dik yat ji") was actually not all that shabby.

Sure, it was fairly generic in terms of Triad movies go, as they tend to be cut from the same place essentially. But "Triads: The Inside Story" managed to be entertaining and enjoyable enough given the material that writers Chun-Wai Ko and Yin Nam had managed to put together. And director Taylor Wong actually brought it to the screen in a very satisfying manner. While the storyline was generic and somewhat predictable, the movie was still watchable.

The movie does benefit well from having a rather good cast ensemble, which included the likes of Yun-Fat Chow, Fui-On Shing, Kenneth Tsang and Michael Wai-Man Chan, to mention the most recognizable of actors from the Hong Kong cinema. So if you are familiar with the Hong Kong cinema, these should definitely prove to be familiar faces.

There is a good amount of drama and action in the storyline to make it interesting, so it definitely not a boring movie that proved to focus either too heavily on the drama or too heavily on the action.

"Triads: The Inside Story", while actually having a terrible title, was an adequate movie that definitely had some interesting aspects to bring to the table. If you enjoy Triad movies, then this is well worth sitting down to watch.

My rating of "Triads: The Inside Story" is a six out of ten stars.

If Triads: The Inside Story is supposedly an inside look at how the titular gangs operate, one must wonder how on earth they managed to stay in power for so long if their work was as snooze-inducing as this. The greatest tension here is whether or not you can stay awake. Everything moves at a snail's pace, and when events do happen, there's no explanation given to them, so that you're not only left bored, but confused. Taylor Wong's extremely simplistic and flatly disconnected direction lends the film an almost documentary-like quality, as the camera merely rolls while men converse in a room, creating a sense that the audience is virtually eavesdropping, with scant style or dynamism to maintain any form of engagement. Although there are occasional moments of flair and creative shot choices during the film's limited action, this is an exhaustively unengaging affair. Every character in this film is just so wishy-washy, it was nearly impossible to find someone to care about, much less root for, a product of incredibly half-baked writing. The result is that this might be the closest I've come to seeing Chow Yun-fat phoning it in; he's still got a lot of natural charm and charisma to burn, but he ends up spending most of the film on the sidelines until it's necessary that he finally springs into action right at the end, even then it feels too little too late. But honestly, who can blame him when he's been lumped with something this generic in a year he was delivering absolute winners and some of his best performances? There are at least some reliable performances from genre regulars Roy Cheung and Shing Fui-On, although far from their respective bests. Despite a decently produced musical score and a smattering of great car stunts, Triads: The Inside Story is a film I can only truly recommend for the Chow Yun-fat completionists among us, myself included.

This is an excellent Chinese gangster movie, a tale of a man who, having relinquished his place in the Triads, finds himself thrust back into it unprepared on the death of his father. More thoughtful than many in the genre, its complex plot and good camerawork make it a masterpiece. Chow Yun-Fat is not in his typical 'silent gunman' type role, using more emotion to great effect as someone who is clearly distasteful of the violence surrounding him but is slowly forced to become part of it to survive. I am a big fan of both the actor and the genre, but nevertheless this film is a head above most other Triad movies due to its well developed plot and high production values. Get it on DVD now.

This movie tells the story about a triad leader being killed in a gang fight in Hong Kong. His son, a well educated business man living in the United States, goes back to Hong Kong and slowly gets himself involved in his father's dirty business... sounds familiar??

However, Triads: The Inside Story is more than a Hong Kong interpretation of Francis Ford Coppola's classic film the Godfather. As the title suggests, it is supposed to give insights to one of the most mysterious crime organizations in the world. The producers, Cheung Kuen, and several actors in the film, such as Chan Wai-Man and Shing Fui-On, are rumored to have triad connection themselves. And yes, we do get a glimpse at these elements, namely the "Induction Ceremony" at the beginning and Yeung Kong's "Promotion Ceremony" after he saves Li Man-Ho (Chow Yun Fat). But that's pretty much it. The filmmakers cannot show too much because of censorship. In Hong Kong, merely being a member of the triad, or doing anything related (such as holding one of those ceremonies in the film), can get you arrested. A too-detailed narration of triad materials is likely to be seen as promotion and needless to say it is a definite no-no.

The plot is somewhat messy. There seems to be two sub plots: 1) Li Man-Ho (Chow Yun-Fat) being forced to get involved in the triad business, and 2) Yeung Kong (Roy Cheung) tries to break free from the elders' interference and run the gang his way. A story about these two men is enough to make a good movie, but instead, director Taylor Wong tries to tell more. The plot ends up being confusing. The characters are underdeveloped, wasting talents such as Chow and Cheung. The theme is cliché: triads are evil so don't get involved. This message is found in all films of the genre, because filmmakers can then justify making movies that praises triad members as heroes without being criticized.

Like many young men growing up in Hong Kong, I have always been curious about the mysterious triads, and this film does satisfy my curiosity somewhat. This film is a classic in the sense that later films in the genre, such as the Young and Dangerous series, clearly borrow material from this film. However, the poorly written script prevents the movie from getting any score higher than a mere pass. I give this it 5 out of 10.