BROTHERHOOD is a decent contemporary crime flick from Shaw Brothers, featuring Tony Liu who always convinces more in contemporary fare than he does in the historical flicks he appears in. The story moves at a fair old clip, beginning with a gang of jewel thieves who end up mostly dead thanks to various double-crossings, and this is all in the first ten minutes or so. Liu and his buddy Ai Fei head off to Kowloon, where they soon get involved in a plot involving rival gangs. The supporting cast is very good, with Lily Li standing out as a romantic interest who kicks backside with the best of them, and plenty of reliable tough actors including Chan Shen and Chiang Tao. The plot delves into the usual backstabbing and power struggles and remains fresh and involving despite the familiarity of the subject matter; you're never quite sure what's going to happen next. Regular action helps a lot too, especially during the breakneck (literally!) climax.
2 Reviews
"Brotherhood" - Noble criminal among the modern triads
ChungMo23 January 2010
A year after the crazy "Super Inframan" director Hua Shan was set to work on a number of gangster films including the anthology series "The Criminals" which re-enacted famous recent HK crimes. The HK gangster film is a curious genre has it seems that gangsters are given an element of honor and respect you see given to the martial art clans in Wu Xia films. Perhaps they are connected in ways. This film is no exception.
A young man in a small country gang becomes embroiled in the world of big time gangsters in HK after his boss is killed for their loot. He gets involved in an "honorable" gang (with a beautiful Korean girl) and discovers that his boss' killer works for a rival gang. Killing the killer causes a power struggle in the rival gang leading to establishment of the killer's wife as the leader. Instead of wanting to kill the young man she wants him to become number 2 in the gang and perhaps more. Lots of commotion and fights ensue.
First off, you could drop the story into ancient China and nothing would be out of place. The gangsters all know kung fu and fight with knives. The elaborate rituals that the gangsters engage in provide a little interest. Hua Shan makes use of some seedy locations in Kowloon City but that's it for uniqueness. A very uninspired story.
A young man in a small country gang becomes embroiled in the world of big time gangsters in HK after his boss is killed for their loot. He gets involved in an "honorable" gang (with a beautiful Korean girl) and discovers that his boss' killer works for a rival gang. Killing the killer causes a power struggle in the rival gang leading to establishment of the killer's wife as the leader. Instead of wanting to kill the young man she wants him to become number 2 in the gang and perhaps more. Lots of commotion and fights ensue.
First off, you could drop the story into ancient China and nothing would be out of place. The gangsters all know kung fu and fight with knives. The elaborate rituals that the gangsters engage in provide a little interest. Hua Shan makes use of some seedy locations in Kowloon City but that's it for uniqueness. A very uninspired story.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
