Seventeen years ago, an assassin ambushes triad boss Yau. Yau’s wife, Nam, sends Chai, Kam and others to find the assassin. Chai catches the assassin and discovers that he is Meow, Chai and Kam’s childhood best friend. To save his friend, Chai helps Meow flee Hong Kong. Though Yau survives the attack, the injuries leave him crippled for the rest of his life.
Acting
Bosco Wong's silent anguish when choices collapse around him.
Direction
Terry Ng squeezes seventeen years of history into every strained glance.
Writing
The childhood flashback that makes the ending devastating.

Director
Terry Ng Ka-Wai
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Triad films peaked in 1980s-90s Hong Kong cinema; this revival deliberately echoes Johnnie To's moral complexity and Andrew Lau's visual swagger.
The seventeen-year gap mirrors actual production delays — the original Triad (1999) was planned as a trilogy that took 24 years to complete, making Chai's aged weariness unexpectedly authentic.