Once Upon A Time In A Triad Society (1996) was another entry in the Category III sweepstakes. 1997 was fast approaching and that would mean and end to the Category III genre. Francis Ng stars as a notorious and ruthless triad boss who trusts nobody and back stabs those who, he feel would have do the same thing to him if they had a chance. One day, his enemies try to rub him out for good. But he escapes death and spends some time in a hospital. Whilst he's convalescing, he reminisces about the past and talks about why he became a gangster.

What will happen to this nasty triad? Does he give up the life? Will he treat others with kindness? Who'll run his empire whilst he's out of commission? How does this near fatal set back change his life? To find out the questions to these answers then you need to track down a copy of this violent, bizarre and highly entertaining film. Francis Ng is the man!!

Highly recommended.

This movies is about a Hong Kong gangster. He gets shot in the beginning and while comatose has time to reflect on how he became the way he is. There are 2 different versions of his story. Then he wakes up and some more stuff happens. This is one of those movies which is not so much plot driven as by the ambiance, the characters and the dialogue.

The main actor, Francis Ng, is awesome. He is wickedly funny. The supporting cast is OK. The production quality is somewhat uneven, although i loved the vitality of the scenes shot on the streets of HK. The story and dialogue are the main scene stealers. Very unorthodox, with characters thinking within themselves, as they converse with others. Entertaining and highly recommended flick.