As I never saw the first chapter of 'Hak se wui yi wo wai kwai', I had no idea what to expect from this tale of Chinese crime gangs in Hong Kong. As I have, however seen a number of Hong Kong action/adventure epic (and ones even without Jackie Chan), it came as no surprise to me, what so ever. This film seems to channel a good block of Francis Ford Coppola's 'The Godfather (1972)' & several other films from that era (with a splash of 1940's film noir tossed in for good measure). The film is a bit slow in getting started, but when it does...WATCH OUT! The story is about a "family" (gang)looking for a new Chairman to take over from the old one who wants to step down & take life a bit easier. The most obvious choice is Jimmy, a (so called)businessman who only wants to run a business selling pirated DVD's in mainland China. Without revealing anything,things get nasty between other gang members, who seem to want another Chairman,instead of Jimmy. Although the film is distributed by a fairly well known U.S. distributor of Asian cinema (Tartan Films,inc.), I'm guessing that it probably won't play much outside of cinemas that cater to a (mostly)Asian audience (as will the eventual DVD release,which will be mostly made available in all of those little Mom & Pop Asian grocery stores that rent out Cantonese or Mandarin language videos---and without the English subtitles). This film is worth seeking out for crime drama fanatics (advance warning:there is some really nasty violence that occurs in this film, involving dog food, so be prepared)
Review of Election 2
