The pairing of Ekin Cheng and Jordan Chan in 1996's Young and Dangerous became a sensation, giving birth to a film series that spawned five sequels, two prequels, and three spin-offs, effectively creating (and maintaining) the "young Triad" genre. Fast-forwarding some fifteen years later, Cheng and Chan -- now both firmly planted in middle-age -- reunite in Once a Gangster, a parody of the Triad films that launched their careers.

Director and co-writer Felix Chong, perhaps because he co-wrote the Infernal Affairs trilogy, takes a bit of a different bend on the usual Hong Kong comedy. There are some of the usual tropes, such as recent pop culture references, impromptu musical numbers, and unabashedly shameless parodies of other Hong Kong films. In this case, the parody is most evident through the character of Yan, a riff on Tony Leung Chiu-Wai's character from Infernal Affairs. It's quite over the top (Yan seems to be nearly mentally challenged in his level of bumbling) but Wilfred Lau's performance saves it from becoming too farcical, and actually one of the stronger elements of the film.

Overall, Once a Gangster has more in common with Guy Ritchie's films, rather than Wong Jing's. In particular, Chong seems to have studied Ritchie's Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels, using an offbeat crime plot (basically, Ekin Cheng and Jordan Chan play two gangsters being promoted to become the next head of the gang, even though neither of them want the title) propelled forth by humor, fast talking, and bouts of sporadic bloody violence, brought towards the finale via a elaborate sequence (in this case, various groups trying to be the last and final people to steal a baton that will grant leadership of the gang) with all the action shown to the audience with inventive cinematography and a rollicking soundtrack.

This sort of film-making would be ambitious for a seasoned veteran, much less someone that is behind the lens solo for the first time like Felix Chong. While it is not a bad film in any way and is, in fact, is enjoyable for the most part, Once a Gangster can't quite hit the upper tier of Hong Kong comedies. Most of this is due to the unevenness of Chong's output. As solid as much of this movie is, many scenes end up feeling like they are either running too long or too short, or are too dark and muddled visually. Perhaps the budget of this film was too small to do any sort of reshoots, but whatever the case, the somewhat amateurish lack of polish to the finished picture keeps Once a Gangster from becoming an outstanding movie.

RATING: 6