Movie Review: Triad/紮職

Triad/紮職, released in 2012, came out shortly before Young and Dangerous Reloaded.

But Daniel Chan, the director of Triad, probably didn’t care.

Because he’s also the director of  Young and Dangerous: Reloaded/古惑仔: 江湖新秩序.

He didn’t care if someone saw one movie and not the other.

They still saw his gangster movie.

William Chan plays… William, a bookish young man who finds himself in need of help.

Luckily (?) for him, his friends, Derek and Edward – played by Derek Tsang and Edward Chui- have aspirations that are decidedly non-academic.

Before he knows it, William is drawn into the life of a young gangster, following local dai lo Patrick, played by… Patrick Tam, who is the boss of the Yau Ma Tei wholesale fruit market.

This movie is worth watching just for Patrick Tam’s performance. He’s excellent in the role and a lot of fun to watch.

“Recognize, b*tches…”

Soon enough, William is a rising gang star, making money, getting tattooed, getting in fights, and making both friends and enemies.

“I can see my reflection in my suit!”

He meets a spoiled rich girl (is there any other kind?) named Michelle, played by… Michelle Wai.

“Is that a chopper in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?”

She had gotten into a confrontation with Sister Irene -played by Irene Wan- who is backed up by the young gangster Kin, played by… Deep Ng.

So we know he wasn’t the first choice when they wrote the scrīpt.

And we’re spared a character named Deep.

At least in the narrative if not the film itself.

We see a lot of Irene Wan, even if her character isn’t in the movie a whole lot.

Ummmm…

William (the character, not the actor) intervenes in the conflict between the women.

But not before a few drinks are thrown.

Minutes later, he and Michelle are sucking face in a Mongkok alley.

That’s not a euphemism.

It’s also not a place I’d want to kiss a woman.

And there ain’t many of those.

Michelle (the character, not the actress), being rich, offers him a chance at a normal life.

Well, as normal as being a kept man can be.

What path will he choose? What will he do?

What do you thinkhe’ll do ???

This movie isn’t called Kept Man or William My B*tch.

It’s called Triad/紮職!

This film hearkens back to the classic gangster movies of yesteryear.

“But the hair… I need The Hair…”

The themes, the plots, and even the look are very, very familiar. It tells a story we’ve seen before, but with newer, younger faces.

And if it doesn’t necessarily do anything new, who cares?

It’s Category III, thanks to some profanity and other triad stuff.

It doesn’t suck the China Market C*ck either.

Triad was even made the way they used to make these movies.

There were 15 shooting days, with a minimal crew, and they only went into overtime on 3 days.

There were no permits either. In one scene, 150 goo wak jai roll across Nathan Rd., and the only people who knew it’s just a movie are the actors and crew.

“You lookin’ at us?”

An interesting twist at the end reinforces one of the central ideas in Johnnie To’s Election: in the gangster world, loyalty, honor, and brotherhood are spoken of in reverent tones, but when push comes to shove, they’re bullshit.

Now let’s hope Daniel Chan doesn’t make a movie about some old-ass white guy hobbling around Macau.

But if he does, I’m available.