Based on a 1992 article in The New Yorker about unchecked Chinese youth gangs in Queens during the 1980s and co-directed by Andrew Lau (whose Infernal Affairs was remade by Martin Scorsese into the award-winning The Departed), this one starts off strong but soon devolves into a fairly average, clichéd gangster flick featuring Chinese thugs (and a token Ray Liotta).

Numerous twists and a chaotic style complicate rather than enhance the plot, the acting is uninspired, the dialogue tired, and the execution ham-handed. Suitably, even off-puttingly brutal, but offers little novelty and less insight. (94 min)