Wong Kar Wai had written numerous scripts before his directorial debut in 1988 with As Tears Go By. While I would enjoy many of his later works, this earliest endeavor was not one of my favorites. Andy Lau’s gangster boss Wah was torn between his “little brother” Fly and the gorgeous Maggie Cheung’s Ngor. Would not have been a difficult choice for me but gangster brotherhood was a powerful force even when one of the gangsters was inept and a trouble magnet.

Wah’s Auntie sends his cousin Ngor to stay with him while she is seeing doctors in town. After a late night incident where the two seem to be attracted to each other, Ngor goes back home with a clean bill of health. Later, Wah visits Ngor but is pulled back when Fly lands in trouble-again. This is the second time he’s had to face death for the completely inept gangster whose mouth is bigger than his brain or brawn. Even though rival gangster Tony has a proper gang, Wah's gang appears to consist of him and Fly after another member leaves to get married. After handling Fly’s problems he goes back to Maggie but is once again called back to deal with Fly’s issues.

While there is a brotherhood among gangsters, when one guy’s reckless actions repeatedly put your life at danger, it’s time to jettison him one way or another. I’m guilty of becoming sympathetic with characters in gangster movies, but not this one. The sheer stupidity of Wah’s and Fly’s actions drained me of any sympathy for them. Maggie’s character Ngor was thinly drawn and also didn’t evoke any sympathy. Wah could be aggressive and worked in a field with a short life expectancy and he didn’t have any money to show for it. Why would a nice girl want to get involved with him?

WKW had some interesting shots throughout the film, especially Maggie in a moment of indecision when she slowly walks up the stairs to join Wah. The fights were brutal but not choreographed very well with many scenes rather rudimentary. The use of Top Gun’s “Take My Breath Away” took me right out of the moment and to another film from the 1980’s with a romance and a band of brothers. Andy Lau’s character seemed to fit into the underworld. Maggie did the best she could with Ngor. My biggest problem was with Jacky Cheung’s Fly and his manic performance. I cannot remember the last time I wanted a character to die a painful death who was not a “villain” this much. But in the end, his actions would have classified him as a villain regardless of how the underworld would have viewed them.

There were elements of this film that I found engaging, but Fly’s ridiculous behavior and Wah’s ride or die commitment to him were beyond my understanding. I may have struggled with much of this film but at least I found the ending satisfying.

2 February 2024