Underworld-themed movies have been made by many Hong Kong directors. The morality of the rivers and lakes has been shown in many movies. The film has its own flavor. Without complicated plots and characters, the central tension of the whole story lies in the conflict between Andy (Andy Lau) and Wu Fei (Jacky Cheung), as well as the eldest three played by Wan Ziliang. Brother Hua is the boss of Wufei, he must do his best to "cover" Wufei; and Wufei has repeatedly clashed with Wan Ziliang, who is quite powerful in the underworld. Andy was repeatedly involved in it until he was finally killed. As soon as you enter the rivers and lakes, the involuntary sense of fate is inherited here. Wufei can't look back, because he once said that if he is not developed, he can't go home to see his mother; Brother Hua can't turn back because he is Wufei's "big boss", "I don't care who you are in charge of you".
To be a "big guy", you have to cover your "little guys" well, to be a "little guy" you have to be absolutely loyal to the "big guy", to do some big things so that you can be looked up to by others, this is the most important thing in this movie and can even be used The value of life to defend. These values are repeated in subsequent Hong Kong gangster films. Similar to "revenge". However, the classical values such as "acting chivalrous and righteous" and "serving the country and the people" seem to have been completely abandoned.
It's still a man's movie. Maggie Cheung's cousin, A'e, failed to get rid of the female characters in traditional Chinese martial arts movies - just a symbol of a stable life, she didn't have enough strength to pull the male lead out of the rivers and lakes. This character exists only to enrich the structure of the story and give Andy a sense of the tension between the rivers and lakes and love. If the role of girlfriend is replaced by another role, such as parent or child, the tension remains, perhaps even deeper and stronger. In my opinion, it may be related to not fully telling the love story between Ah'e and Andy.
The most impressive scene in the whole film is definitely when Andy was hit on the back of the head by the police and fell to the ground at the last moment, with his big eyes. There was a lot of content in those eyes, a little bit of surprise, a bit of reluctance, but surprisingly calm. It's like accepting your destiny.
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