Young and Dangerous

Based on a popular graphic novel (itself a thinly fictionalised commentary on real-life power struggles in the Hong Kong-Macau triad underworld), this low-budget firecracker is the kind of movie that gives immorality a good name. Shot (mostly hand-held) by its director and scripted by its producer Manfred Wong, it's founded on a clash between 'good' triads and 'bad' triads. The five adorable heroes are foot soldiers in the Hung Hing gang, laddish as they come but dedicated to ideals of loyalty, righteousness and 'brotherhood'. The bad guy is Hung Hing branch leader Kwan (Francis Ng), who usurps leadership of the gang but then overdoes the power thing. A huge - and largely deserved - hit in Hong Kong, it rocketed all its young leads to stardom.