Starring Ekin Cheng, Jordan Chan Siu-chun, Peter Ho Yun-tung, Shu Qi
Director Andrew Lau Wai-keung
Category IIB
The sixth 'official' entry in the Young And Dangerous saga is also one of the more interesting. Since 1996, producer/writer Manfred Wong has racked up a half-dozen chapters detailing the exploits of young punks Chan Ho-nam (Ekin Cheng), Chicken (Jordan Chan) and their circle of friends and foes.
There have also been another four peripheral instalments, most recently a prequel, Those Were The Days (released in April 2000). Though they are open to charges of glamorising the triads, and will never win awards for cinematic technique, the 10 Young And Dangerous pictures represent the most sustained series to emerge in Hong Kong cinema since the industry spiraled into a depression in the mid-1990s.
Originally based on Cow Man's popular comic book characters, the denizens of Young And Dangerous have progressively become more complex, mature, and less glamorous. Born To Be The King is more a political than an action tale. There are still a number of rumbles, but the focus is the double-dealing and back stabbing (both literal and figurative) that take place during a Taiwanese leadership struggle. There is a bold edge to the script, written by Wong and Candy Lo.