Ying hung ho hon (1987)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Taylor Wong

Writer:

Stephen Siu (writer)

Release Date:

20 February 1987 (Hong Kong)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Plot:

After being released from prison, Tang Kat-Yung exacts revenge on Li Ah Chai, in this sequel to Rich and Famous.

Plot Keywords:

Hong Kong | Revenge | Sequel | Police | Gangster

Cast

Yun-Fat Chow	...	Li Ah Chai (as Chow Yun Fat)
Andy Lau	...	Lam Ting Kwok
Alex Man	...	Tang Kat-Yung
Pauline Wong	...	Wai Chui
Carina Lau	...	Lau Po Yee
Danny Lee	...	Supt. Chang
Fui-On Shing	...	Luk / 'Number 6'
Chun Hsiung Ko	...	Chu Lo-Tai
Chung Lin	...	Big Eye
Hong-Ning Ng	...	Chuan
Elvis Tsui	...	Chai's Man
Kwan Yeung	...	Kit
Siu-Lung Leung	...	Lui
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
San Yip	...	Kwok's wife

Also Known As:

Hero
Heroic Hero (literal English title)
Rich and Famous 2
Tragic Hero (Hong Kong: English title)
Ying xiong hao han (Hong Kong: Mandarin title)

Runtime:

UK:88 min

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Cantonese | English | Mandarin

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Hong Kong:IIB | Singapore:M18 (re-rating) | UK:18

Company:

Win's Movie Productions Ltd.

Quotes:

Li Ah Chai: [on the phone with Supt. Chang] I've been on the streets since I was barely seven. I've seen a lot of killing in my time. I'm tired. I don't bear a grudge against anyone. Not even my father, who introduced me to this life. I understand the price I have to pay. I'm resigned to my fate. Mr. Chang, get ready to collect a lot of bodies.

Movie Connections:

References Scarface (1983)

A completely mediocre Triad thriller

"Tragic Hero" is a film that is most definitely trying to emulate the classic Godfather films, focusing on family, crime, loyalty, and revenge. Also, this is part of a two part series as The Godfather also was (at the time). However, this film comes nowhere near the level of those classic films and actually fairs worse than other Triad thrillers being released in Hong Kong at the time.

One reason is the acting. With the exception of Chow Yun Fat, the acting is generally over the top and unbelievable. The audience tends to find the proceedings humorous simply because the actors' inability to maintain any degree of seriousness. As a result, we find the film not truly emotionally involving or intense since we don't particularly care what occurs with these characters.

Another reason is its lack of focus. The narrative tries to incorporate many different story elements into the film, but this results in portions of the movie becoming underdeveloped as well as lacking any real sense of coherency. The audience sometimes becomes lost at the proceedings we are viewing, not knowing what the character's motivations are.

The film's climax does contain a decent gun fight, but again since we don't care about the characters, we don't care who lives or who dies; The scene loses it's intensity and suspense because of this. The other action set pieces are rather mundane in nature, with a feeling of it being too controlled rather than free flowing.

In general, this is a strictly average film and isn't recommended to the general film viewer... Only hard core genre enthusiasts and fans of Chow Yun Fat should consider this film for viewing.