Hong Kong Godfather
1985; directed by Johnny Wang Lung-Wei

Hong Kong Godfather isn't quite "the greatest Triad movie of all time" that the box cover exclaims it is. But if you're a fan of 1980's hard-boiled Hong Kong gangster movies, then you're going to find a lot to like here, namely "Beardy" Leung Kar-Yan and his buddies kicking a whole bunch of ass in various ultra-violent ways.

Like a lot of the movies in the genre from the era, the plot here is simple. Leung Kar-Yan plays a Triad who gets out of "the game" after the death of his wife to concentrate on raising his daughter. Several years later, there is a power struggle in the gang that results in the dai lo (Sek Kin) being killed by a traitor (Shum Wai). I'm sure you can guess what happens next -- Beardy picks up his chopper and sets out to get revenge.

Hong Kong Godfather suffers from a lot of the pitfalls of 80's gangster movies. There was obviously next to no budget, resulting in the film looking extremely cheap, even by HK industry standards of the time. Also, the film is drenched in 80's cheese. Some might view this as welcome nostalgia, but really, it's hard to take someone seriously as a tough guy when they're sporting a perm/rat-tail combo (which Norman Chu has the unfortunate luck to be stuck with here).

But despite its' problems, Hong Kong Godfather is still a fairly satisfying Triad romp, especially if you're in the mood for some mindless violence. The highlight in that regard is a bit where Sek Kin's grandson gets hit with a backbreaker and then tossed through a plate glass window. It's the sort of off-the-wall and over-the-top thing that only occurs in the world of Hong Kong movies, and is a nice reminder of why fans still like them, even if the industry as a whole is only a shell of what it once was.

RATING: 7