User reviews

Stumbling upon the 1996 Hong Kong movie "Once Upon a Time in Triad Society" and seeing that it was a spin-off from the "Young & Dangerous" series, I must admit that I was interested to watch it. And given my fascination with the Hong Kong cinema, then I just had to watch it.

Oddly enough then I actually never have seen the movie before now in 2023, and I do like the movies of Francis Ng.

While the "Young & Dangerous" movies are quite enjoyable, then writer Kai-Cheung Chung didn't really managed to put together something outstanding here. Sure "Once Upon a Time in Triad Society" was watchable, but it was by no means an outstanding movie, nor was it a milestone notch for Francis Ng.

The storyline in "Once Upon a Time in Triad Society" felt a bit too cluttered and random, and there was a general lack of red thread throughout the course of the movie. It made it a somewhat monotonous movie to sit through. And while I did manage to sit through the entire movie, this is by no means a movie that I will ever return to watch a second time.

The movie does have a couple of familiar faces on the cast list, with the likes of Francis Ng and Michael Wai-Man Chan. And this movie was by no means a memorable movie for a talented actor such as Francis Ng.

Watchable for what it was, but nothing noteworthy or outstanding. This was hardly a gem in the Hong Kong cinema, so I hadn't really been missing out on something grand.

My rating of director Michael Wai-Man Chan's 1996 movie lands on a four out of ten stars.

Once Upon A Time In A Triad Society (1996) was another entry in the Category III sweepstakes. 1997 was fast approaching and that would mean and end to the Category III genre. Francis Ng stars as a notorious and ruthless triad boss who trusts nobody and back stabs those who, he feel would have do the same thing to him if they had a chance. One day, his enemies try to rub him out for good. But he escapes death and spends some time in a hospital. Whilst he's convalescing, he reminisces about the past and talks about why he became a gangster.

What will happen to this nasty triad? Does he give up the life? Will he treat others with kindness? Who'll run his empire whilst he's out of commission? How does this near fatal set back change his life? To find out the questions to these answers then you need to track down a copy of this violent, bizarre and highly entertaining film. Francis Ng is the man!!

Highly recommended.