Review: The synopsis of the review this very short, I know, but not because the story doesn't have any substance, on the contrary, Too Many Way has probably one of the best scripted stories I have ever seen in a Hong Kong movie. Some of you who know the International success movie Run Lola Run will notice the similarity in the concept between these two movies, but Wai Ka-Fai and Johnnie To's film was made a year before. So don't fool yourself, this is really not a rip off and even if they share the same concept, the approach is totally different.

"Too Many Ways to be No. 1" was released during the darkest year of the Hong Kong film industry. 1997 marked the year the "Young and Dangerous" series would rule the box office and also be remembered as the year of flops. Even though it was the most productive time in Hong Kong film history, it was also the most disasterous, for more than half of the movies released flopped and came to poor reviews. But this Milkyway production decided to take this opportunity and use the Triad theme, not as a serious Triad drama, but as a completely revamped black comedy, degrading the triad instead of glorifying it unlike the "Young and Dangerous" series. Mixing a completely unexpected multi-story concept with the artistic vision of Wai Ka-Fai, "TMWTB No. 1" is a complete sugar high for the brain and candy for the eyes.

The movie is separated in two, the first part you will see what will happen to Ah Kau , played by Lau Chin Wa, and Brother Bo played by Francis Ng. If they accept to go to China and delivers the cars to the Triads. The second part take us back at the beginning of the first part and then we see a changed Ah Kau who decide to finally become someone and accept to follow Bo in Taiwan. I can't tell you much more about the story because it will ruin the movie, but I can say that a lot of unexpected things and connected events happen during the movie, but every plot were well presented and hopefully you won't get lost in the movie. But I would say that I preferred the first part to the finale, but in overall, if you like non-chronological stories or films in the vein of "Run Lola Run," you will enjoy the story of "TMWTB No. 1" a lot. The visual aspect of the movie was also very original; maybe some of you might find it annoying because some scenes are filmed in ingenious but chaotic ways. This approach will please those who like dynamic, stylish and innovative movies.

The movie focus primary on the character of Lau Chin Wa, and again he was as excellent as usual. Also the fact that he plays the same character two-times but in a completely different way each time was very fun to watch. Lau Chin Wa shows that he can really handle almost any kind of role with this performance only. You also have Francis Ng, who is just a secondary character but a very important one. The second story shows us more about his character than the first one, but in both stories his acting skills were very good, no surprise why he is now one of the best actor in Hong Kong right now. The story will also take the time to show you a little about the rest of the gang but not enough to really understand and appreciate the rest of the cast but maybe that's a good thing, for it gives more development for the main actor. In general I didn't find any characters annoying or intolerable and most of them were great and funny to watch.

Black comedy is probably my favorite type of humor. "TMWTB No. 1" is not your typical crazy slapstick Hong Kong humor at all, but pure genuine black humor, a type of humor that can be easily appreciated by an international public. Most of the time the characters were in trouble and the way they tried to remedy the bad situations were just laughable. The humor was also very situational in general, some of the earlier events will have a chain reaction to future even then, I never expected them to connect. I was also surprised at how violent the movie was. I mean it's a comedy after all, but after that I saw the movie, I was no longer wondering why the movie was a Category 3. The movie is not as violent and shocking as Ebola Syndrome or other classical Category 3 movies but I never expected that much blood. Sensitive hearts might be shocked by some of the scenes but those who like violence mixed with comedy will enjoy these moments a lot.