"Young and Dangerous" is a fairly straight forward Hong Kong triad action movie, and it was actually quite good, despite it being semi-old (from 1996).

The story is about the Hung Hing gang, who is part of the triad, but more so, it is the story of a couple of the gang members of that particular part of the triad. Chan Ho Nam (played by Ekin Cheng),'Chicken' (played by Jordan Chan),Fao Pan (played by Jason Chu) and Yee (played by Michael Tse) who become the key members of the Hung Hing gang, and their struggle against one of the other triad bosses, Kwan (played by Francis Ng),attempts to overthrow and set up the gang. But it is also the story about brotherhood and loyalty.

Although predictable and without any real plot twists, then "Young and Dangerous" was actually good entertainment and the story held up its own. But most memorable was the performances by the cast hired for the various roles; most noticeable was Jordan Chan, Francis Ng and Ekin Cheng in my opinion (and in that given order).

If you are a fan of Hong Kong cinema and enjoy triad/gang member movies, then you definitely have to check out "Young and Dangerous". I bought parts 1, 2 and 3 together, and must say that I am looking forward to seeing the follow-ups.

"Young and Dangerous" is a worthy addition to the DVD collection of any fan of the Hong Kong cinema.

The "Young and Dangerous" movies are a series of films about the experiences of young triads in Hong Kong's criminal society. They are based on a Hongkongese comic book known as "Teddy Boy", a fact which would be unknown if not for the movie often cutting to hand-drawn images, revealing how closely the film resembles the comic book.

The film's structure seems to be fairly episodic; there's not much of an overarching narrative that I could detect, and thus the scenes only have power based on the performances. The stand-outs for me were Ekin Cheng as the protagonist and the stunningly beautiful Gigi Lai as his love interest.

Despite being a HK crime flick, "Young and Dangerous" isn't heroic bloodshed; there's very little gunplay and none of the violence is shot in balletic fashion.

Unfortunately, with little cohesion to each scene, "Young and Dangerous"'s power feels muted, especially in its climax; however it is entertaining for most of its run-time.

Y&D is the best HK Triads Movies ever, even to this day IMO. Y&D 1,2 and 3 are wicked must-see movies that any fan on HK cinema should watch. If you can watch them one after the other, the better.

Unforgettable characters and surprisingly good soundtrack. Standout actors/characters include Ekin Cheng (Lam),Jordan Chan (chicken),Gigi Lai (the gf, especially in Y&D 3) and Francis Ng (the villain from Y&D 1).

Contrary to some ppl's opinion on the lack of plot, I thought that it was quite good, definitely interesting and not boring. The twists were unexpected and the pacing was really good.

I had no problems following the story. My one complaint would be to the translators because it could have been so much better! The subtitles only convey a little more than half the depth and expressions~

Even so, these are still movies that are very entertaining and it's quite an accurate portrayal of HK gangsters. Don't ask me how I know this ;) lol