Fridae

Produced during the decline and free fall of the Hong Kong film industry in the 1990s, the original Young and Dangerous film, its sequels, spin-offs, and multiple prequels probably kept the ball rolling. Starring Ekin Cheng and Jordan Chan as teenage recruits making their rise in Hong Kong's triad societies, the franchise brought youthful attitude and punk cred to the classic gangland film formula of justice, loyalty, and brotherhood popularised in the 1980s by John Woo. And like John Woo's gangland films, the series was accused of glamorising gangsterism; in Singapore, the first film was banned, then released under a completely different title (as 新警察故事之人在江湖, aka New Police Story!) and edited to incomprehensibility while its tamer sequels suffered less cuts from the censors.

As its title suggests, Young and Dangerous Reloaded is a remake of the first film in the franchise. A group of young punks join a triad under the tutelage of an Honourable Underboss who by virtue of his stand-up qualities, has unfortunately earned the enmity of a Dishonourable Underboss whose power grab in the triad will necessitate the setting up of the Honourable Underboss, his untimely death, the honourable revenge by his underlings (aka our young punks), and the obligatory ending spiel about the triad as an arena where the ageless values of truth, loyalty, and brotherhood are upheld.

It's a typical John Woo story that was already perfunctory and old hat by 1996, and the 2013 film feels even more dated despite its attempts to reload the franchise. As a reboot and remake, the film is set in a schizophrenic modern day where characters use smartphones, flash drives, and huge widescreen LCD monitors while using the street lingo of the 1990s, scenes are filmed in the lurid, over-saturated colour tones of John Woo's 1980s gangland films, and every other screen transition employs intercuts of pages from the "Teddy Boy" comic book. Under a director with more style and verve, this schizophrenia may affect a postmodern charm. Daniel Chan, however, is not such a director and the film's tone and intent feels inconsistent as a result.

Like the original cast, the cast of 2013 consists of TVB's current brat pack. While his portrayal of series protagonist Ho-nam is as wooden as Ekin Cheng's, Him Law and his colleagues seem to lack a particular oomph or punk factor here, and are largely forgettable and easily eclipsed by their female co-stars. One suspects Law and friends didn't quite know whether to play their roles straight or otherwise, given the script's veering from short bursts of cartoon violence and comedy to melodrama.