Portland Street Blues (1998)

During the tense period leading up to the handover of Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to China, one of the stand-out film franchises was Andrew Lau's massively successful Young & Dangerous. Based on the popular Teddy Boy comic books by Cowman and Dickey Yau, they chronicled the careers of a group of young Hong Kong men as they progressed through the ranks of the city's triad organisations.

So popular was the series that the first three films were rushed into cinemas in the space of three months. A fourth followed one year later, and to satisfy audience demand a spin-off was released to expand on the background of one of Young & Dangerous 4's new characters - the Mongkok-based gang leader Sister Thirteen, played by Sandra Ng.

Portland Street Blues follows Tsui Sui Sui (Ng), the daughter of a low-level triad member whose youthful scams lead her into serious trouble. They eventually lead her into a leadership role within the Hung Hing triad, and a power struggle between rival gang members.

Young and Dangerous 2 (1996)

Less than three months after Young and Dangerous took the Hong Kong box office by storm, Young and Dangerous 2 was out in cinemas, offering fans of the first film a hasty second instalment of the youthful, energetic Triad soap opera. The ridiculously short span between the original film and its sequel suggests either the production team shot both films at once or, strangely more likely, an incredibly rushed sequel shot and edited at breakneck pace to get onto screens while audiences were still raving about the first film. To be honest, knowing the Hong Kong film industry, either possibility could be true.

Very little has changed from the first film to the second. Most of the original cast returns, including Jason Chu in a new role. The visual look and tone of the film is identical. Both films even share key plot points – notably a twist mid-film where members of the Hung Hing gang are framed for a crime they didn’t commit. Audiences seeking more of the same will likely be satisfied with this. Audiences wanting to see the story taken in a new direction, or significantly expanded, will not find a lot to enjoy.

Young and Dangerous (1996)

Young and Dangerous was released at the beginning of 1996: a collaboration between director and cinematographer Andrew Lau, screenwriter and producer Manfred Wong and executive producer Wong Jing. The film adapted the popular comic Teddy Boy by Cow Man, starred a group of up-and-coming Hong Kong stars such as Ekin Cheng and Jordan Chan, and successfully took Hong Kong by storm. The film was more than a success. It became a phenomenon, spawning five sequels, a prequel and four spin-offs between 1996 and 2000. Fourteen years later the film was still casting a shadow over Hong Kong cinema, with Ekin Cheng and Jordan Chan reuniting for the 2010 triad comedy Once a Gangster.

Young and Dangerous follows a group of five young men, friends since childhood, who work together for a local triad boss Brother Bee (Frankie Ng). When the power-hungry rival Ugly Kwan (Francis Ng) makes a play for the leadership of the entire triad, the five friends find themselves on the run and out for justice.