i caught this movie on the i-channel, but i missed the last 15 minutes of it... I've seen a lot of hk movies like this one, some arent as good, if you want to see an older classic, i reccommend "Hard Boiled" with Chow yun-fat
This movie is about a cop who gets assigned an undercover case working for the triad, until he can get enough evidence to bust them. What insues is a battle between the triads/rival bosses and the police. Its a good movie , i only wish i could have seen the end of it, if your planning to have a Hong Kong movie weekend, throw this one in.
Plot summary
Five years ago, Shing, an outstanding trainee at the police academy, was hand-picked to go under cover in the Hung Hing triad. There, he became close friends with their toughest leader Fei Lung. When territorial war breaks out between Fei Lung's buddy Leopard and a rival gang led by Tall Guy, Shing comes into contact with White Head, another undercover cop. Soon, Shing is caught between the need to protect White Head, and his loyalty toward Fei Lung.
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great cop/triad movie, beliveable charecters...
More than just another undercover cop in the Triads movie...
Oddly enough with my fascination and love for the Hong Kong cinema, then I never heard about "Century of the Dragon" (aka "Lung joi bin yuen") before now in 2021 as I sat down to watch it.
One might argue for or against "Century of the Dragon" being just another triad and undercover police movie, but there is just something to the storyline that sets "Century of the Dragon" aside from the myriad of similar movies that flooded the Hong Kong cinema during the 1990s.
The storyline was pretty good, although it essentially was just another undercover police officer sent into the Triads movie. But the pacing of the story from writer Jing Wong in the hands of director Clarence Fok made it work out quite well, and saved it from slumping into being just another undercover cop in the Triads movie. Thankfully it didn't end up that way.
And I will say that the storyline does have enough turns along the way to remain interesting and thus preventing from becoming a generic and predictable one. So thumbs up to writer Jing Wong for that. There is a great combination of action, drama and suspense to the storyline to add variation to the movie as you watch it.
Something that definitely helped "Century of the Dragon" stand out was the cast ensemble, which included Hong Kong heavy weight actors Andy Lau, Louis Koo and Anthony Chau-Sang Wong. I must say that I really think Anthony Chau-Sang Wong is so well-cast for movies as this, just a shame that his character didn't have more on-screen time.
If you enjoy the undercover cops and Triads movies, then I can warmly recommend that you sit down to watch "Century of the Dragon", especially if you enjoy Hong Kong movies.
My rating of "Century of the Dragon" settles on a six out of ten stars. Definitely well-worth a watch.
"prequel" to Infernal Affairs?
If you like the "Infernal Affairs" series you will most likely enjoy this film as well. Andy Lau and Steven Chang also are in the cast of this film and the roles they play seem very similar to the ones created in the "Infernal Affairs" films. Regardless this is an enjoyable film told with great performances from Louis Koo and Andy Lau. Filmed three years before "Infernal Affairs" it clearly hasn't the budget of "Infernal Affairs". However the story of the film creates the same compassion for the character as "Infernal Affairs", so it is a very enjoyable film to watch. And Yes, I do think it is the same story. Watch it, it really is. A cop goes undercover to infiltrate the gang and becomes the sole insider reporting to one cop who may or may not be crooked... Very similar. But bravo for achieving the same theme as successfully with a much smaller budget.