This follow up to Johnny To's 2005 gangster drama treads a lot of the same ground that the first film did but manages to top that earlier effort in both the drama and the brutality associated with Triad life. It's a bleak movie, but one well worth investigating for fans of To's work or by those who just enjoy a good crime story and who don't happen to mind healthy doses of politics thrown in for good measure.

Two years after the events in the first movie, Lok (Simon Yam of Dr. Lamb infamy), the current boss of the Wo Shing gang, is getting ready to step down as leader and it's time for an election to appoint his successor – or so tradition dictates. A few up and coming Triad heavies are interested in following Lok's reign, primarily Jimmy (Louis Koo) who is the popular choice among the gangsters despite the fact that he personally doesn't really want to be in charge and in fact harbors plans to go legit. On the other end of the spectrum, Kun (Ka Tung Lam) has made it perfectly clear that he wants Lok's seat and he might just be ambitious enough to get it though what he doesn't realize is that Lok has implied to Jet (Nick Cheung), his personal hired gun, that he'll be taking his place.

If that weren't complicated enough, Lok doesn't really want to give up his position as chairman and if at all possible he intends to stay on despite the fact that Triad law states he cannot be chairman for more than two years. Kun, being the one who wants Lok's position the most, objects for obvious reasons and the two come to develop some serious issues over this while Jimmy makes a poor decision and messes things up in a few different ways.

While in the first movie To portrayed the gangsters as right bastards, at least in that story they were men of power able to make a difference even if it wasn't necessarily in a positive light. Here they fight among themselves in what at first seems to be a completely futile and utterly selfish power struggle, not able to ally themselves with one another for fear of being stabbed in the back. The ranks of the organization have grown ripe with liars and no one trusts anyone else anymore – a point that To makes painfully clear in his obvious condemnation of the Triad lifestyle. These are not heroic men, nor do they really have any genuine honor, instead they are nothing more than snakes not to be glamorized but to be looked down upon and they're all shown as very pathetic by the time the movie ends.

Performances this time around are strong across the board with Simon Yam in particular doing an excellent job in his part. Those familiar with Yam from his various cop films and Category III films will enjoy seeing him in a completely realistic part and doing very well with the material. If in the first film he seemed a little larger than life here he's taken down a few pegs and forced to scramble to hold onto the only thing that he really cares about, and that's his position of power. Yam is contrasted nicely against Ka Tung Lam as Kun, whose ambition and intent is obvious which makes him more of the aggressor this time around. It's interesting to see how the central characters change as the film progresses, as fear becomes a driving factor and they in turn become more desperate and self serving because of it.

The film's main flaw is that in a few too many ways it mirrors the story of the film movie. It definitely takes a different approach to it but the basic idea behind the story is the same even if it takes things to a different level. With that in mind, and knowing going into the film that To is not at all keen on glorifying the Triads and as such that the film will be a condemnation of sorts, it isn't overly difficult to figure out where it's heading early on. In the end though, the film is still very good. It's well shot with some moments of truly shocking violence that punctuate the drama nicely and all involved in the cast do a fine job with the material. Even with a few issues in terms of repeating itself, the film is definitely worth a look.

Video:

The anamorphic 1.85.1 transfer looks very nice on this DVD release with a few caveats. Blacks are solid, colors are very well defined though flesh tones are a little sickly looking. Compression artifacts are a non-issue though some edge enhancement is present and the picture is not properly flagged for progressive scan playback which may result in some sawtooth artifacts depending on your setup. There's plenty of both foreground and background detail present in the image from start to finish and color reproduction strong. There's a tiny hint of aliasing present in a few scenes, print damage is pretty much non-existent and while there is some fine film grain in one or two spots, that's okay as it isn't ever once overpowering or distracting in the least.